Headless Horseman Character Analysis

Unlike “The Tell-Tale Heart”, ‘The Legend of Sleepy Hollow’ plot is built around the main theme of superstition. Ichabod tends to be horrified and terrified with the Headless horseman stories. ‘Irving depicts a strong, controversial understanding between the supernatural superstitions the townspeople believed and the natural Sleepy Hollow setting ‘(Hoffman, 425). Despite the story describing in details the natural setting such as trees and birds of the area, there is also a vibrant understanding of privileging supernatural ideas. For instance, Irving believes that it is simply Brom Bones in disguise when finally, the headless horseman appeared.

In the novel The Running Man, the author Michael Bauer highlights the experiences of three characters whose voices are misrepresented in the text. Tom Leyton has many dark secrets that he has kept hidden from everyone. Mrs Mossop’s painful childhood has also had an impact on her negative thoughts on Tom Leyton. Joseph Davidson is an introvert whose personal struggles impact on his self esteem and friendships at school. Techniques such as silkworm metaphor and motif represent their lives and how they play out during the novel,

“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” is short story of speculative fiction written by Washington Irving, published in 1820. It follows the journey of Ichabod Crane and Brom Bones in their attempt to win over Katrina Van Tassel. Many adaptions have been made of Irving’s original story with one of the most known being “Sleepy Hollow” a 1999 American horror film directed by Tim Burton. The movie follows a different but similar plot to the original story with the murders of the headless horseman being the main focus of the movie. In both versions it can be clearly seen how the setting has a huge impact on all aspects of the book and film particularly the themes, values and characterisation.

Over time, a change has occurred from the typical horror story to a violent and bloody legend. The original short story " The Legend of the Sleepy Hollow" is an example of a simple, yet mysterious fable in which Ichabod Crane acts as the protagonist. Ichabod becomes the victim of the feared headless horseman after believing the superstitious tales of this spirit preying in the night. The film that is supposedly based upon the tale provides a deceiving, yet compelling title of Sleepy Hollow, as one might assume that the film is a reenactment of the short story. The film and original tale differ in that the film has blood, gore and controversy while the story depicts a

One dark and lonely night, after a dance at the Van Tassel estate, Ichabod attempted to travel home. On his old horse, Gunpowder, he slowly made his way through the dark woods that crossed his path. Unfortunately, appearing from the dark shadows came a headless figure, which frightened Ichabod. In an attempt to escape, he ran to the covered bridge where the horseman was supposed to disappear into a burst of fire. Unfortunately, the figure flung its pumpkin head at Ichabod, knocking him off his horse and knocking him unconscious state that the next day, all that remained was a smashed pumpkin. Ichabod had disappeared. The story leaves you guessing what really happened. Did Ichabod run away, or did the Haunted Horseman kill him? Or was it Brom Bones, who married Katrina shortly after his opponent?s disappearance, and laughed every time there was mention of the pumpkin.

Sleepy Hollow is a gothic horror film directed by Tim Burton in 1999. It tells the story of when Ichabod Crane is sent to the isolated town of Sleepy Hollow to solve the mystery of the Headless Horseman. The isolated gloomy setting for example, when Ichabod Crane enters the town, the film techniques such as music and lighting such as when the Headless Horseman appears combined with characters that have supernatural powers including Catrina and Lady Van Tassel reinforces the idea that Sleepy Hollow is a gothic horror film.

Ichabod crane is tall and lanky. He is a teacher and can be scared very easily. Unlike Brom Bones Ichabod Crane was very smart, but Brom Bones was uneducated. Also, Ichabod Crane is not originally from Sleepy Hollow, but Brom Bones is.

“In the dark shadow of the grove… [Ichabod] beheld something huge, misshapen, black and towering...up in the gloom...some gigantic monster” and “summoning up, [from his trembling body] a show of courage...he demanded in stammering accents- ‘Who are you?’”. In the short story, the “Legend of Sleepy Hollow”, Washington Irving, tells the adventures of a schoolteacher, Ichabod Crane, in the haunted town of Sleepy Hollow. There, he pursues the local beauty, Katrina van Tassel, competing with the town’s rowdy prankster, Brom Bones. As the plot intensifies, Ichabod’s superstition eventually leads to his downfall when he is chased by the legendary ghost of the Headless Horseman in a terrifying and vivid scene after a party at Katrina’s house. The next day, Ichabod has disappeared, his fate unknown. Throughout the story, Irving creates suspense with the use of imagery to build up a frightening scene in the reader’s mind and ambiguity to make them anxious as they feel a sense of mysteriousness as to what really happened.

Washington Irving wrote “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” in 1820. It tells the story of a man named Ichabod Crane, a schoolmaster who persistently frightens himself with supernatural beings he supposes he sees and hears on his way home from school. Later in the story, Crane threatens to take away the love of a lady from a man named Abraham Van Brunt. This man, known as Brom Bones to the townspeople, took advantage of Ichabod Crane’s credulousness to scare him out of town through a prank in which he impersonated the dreaded Headless Horseman, the ghost of Sleepy Hollow. This caused Ichabod to flee town out of terror. Ichabod Crane’s characteristics of superstition, greed, and fearfulness ended up causing his downfall.

Ichabod Crane or Brom Bones? Both of these characters are from the tale The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is written by Washington Irving. This tale is about Ichabod Crane, the protagonist, liking a woman named Katrina Van Tassel, but Brom Bones, the antagonist, likes her as well. Brom and Ichabod have a feud about who Katrina would marry, so

This includes a “ghost of a Hessian trooper, whose head had been carried away by a cannonball, in some nameless battle during the revolutionary war… [riding along the shadows in The Sleepy Hollow's on his nightly quest for his missing head] (7).” Legend has it that people who wander around Sleepy Hollow are often clouded with illusions and sometimes see the Headless Horseman himself. This horseman and his tale plays a huge role in the plot of the story since the whole town, mentioned in the story, really emphasizes the story and makes the tale symbolize the

The film Sleepy Hollow directed by Tim Burton, centres around a detective who is sent from the city to a small country town to investigate a series of bizarre murders. While he is in town he has to deal with love, past issues and also discover why the horseman has returned from the dead to kill townspeople. The story is based around the battle of good and evil with Ichabod Crane being good as he believes in finding the truth in everything and the Horseman being evil personified as he will not stop killing. Burton displays the constant battle between good and evil throughout the film through the characterization of Ichabod Crane and the Hessian. Burton also uses settings to show what each thing represents like the forest is the gateway to hell

“The dominant spirit, however, that haunts this enchanted region, and seems to be commander-in-chief of all the powers of the air, is the apparition of a figure on horseback without a head.” Although the movie Sleepy Hollow is based upon the book The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, there are also distinctions which allow each to tell their own tale. Washington Irving’s short story inspired Tim Burton’s film but did not limit it. The foundations of the two are much the same but their story lines unfold diversely. Some of the similarities include the setting, characters, and plot points. Two of the many contradicting ideas are the character of Ichabod Crane and the conclusions. The similarities and differences of both accounts can be stated plainly

Ichabod Crane’s adventure related in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow demonstrates where someone’s unchecked and undesirable personality traits can lead him. Washington Irving wrote “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” in 1820. The story describes how Ichabod Crane persistently frightened himself by supposing he saw and heard supernatural beings. When Crane competed with Brom Bones for a lady’s love, Bones took advantage of Ichabod Crane’s character flaws scaring him out of town by impersonating the dreaded Headless Horseman. Ichabod Crane’s greed, superstition, and fearfulness resulted in his downfall.

Ichabod Crane’s appetite for the finer things in life and his fascination with superstitions brought him to the town of Sleepy Hollow but ultimately became the source of his departure and the focus of one of the towns ghost stories that he so enjoyed sharing in.