How Does Washington Irving Use Mythology

Through the course of “Rip Van Winkle” you stumble upon many remarkable and strange characters. Washington Irving reveals these complex characters through humor and exaggeration. Irving not only gives readers the characters

Rip Van Winkle desires to leave his nagging wife, driving him into the woods revealing a gorgeous, woodland landscape and a

Rip Van Winkle is described as a man who “was one of those happy mortals, of foolish, well-oiled dispositions, who take the world easy, eat white bread or brown, whichever can be got with least thought or trouble, and would rather starve on a penny than work for a pound” (46). He was a stubborn man

In an English interpretation, one could see Rip Van Winkle as the mother country or England. Rip is “a kind neighbor, and an obedient hen-pecked husband .” (430) To an English citizen reading this story, it could easily represent the English monarchy. For years before the

The first reason about why “Rip Van Winkle” is about the struggle finding an identity is because of the characters that appear. Rip Van Winkle, the protagonist in the short story, is

Washington Irving’s Rip Van Winkle, at first glance, seems rather straightforward. A young man, in a rather small village, trying to get away from his duties of being a husband and his wife in general. However, while analyzing it further, it appears Irving is trying to give insight into his thoughts and feelings surrounding the American Revolution. As many thoughts and feelings are hidden in the writing of this text, the search for an identity during this time is the one that sticks out the most while reading Rip Van Winkle. There are many aspects of the short story that put emphasis on identity during this time in American history. There are many metaphors, comparisons and situations that point to identity being an important aspect of

Rip Van Winkle knew how to make the most out of his freedom and this aura about him led other people to follow

In conclusion the moral of "Rip Van Winkle" is that life passes by with or without a person and that change is inevitable. Irving is revealing to his readers through this story that if you live an inactive life, never accomplishing anything, and are always contented with the bare minimum life will pass by, you only have two choices, either you are in or out. Life will not stop because of one individual.

Rip Van Winkle, a story written by Washington Irving in the early 1800s, demonstrates the emergence and development of American Mythology. Packed full of mythological elements, Irving’s tale depicts a man who encounters mysterious and fantastical characters in equally intriguing settings. Rip Van Winkle displays three major factors that contribute to mythology: mysterious, historical setting, remarkable and strange characters, and heroic, magical events and their consequences.

When Rip was driven out of home by the frequent nagging and the tart tempers of Dame Van Winkle, he would frequent the village inn that had a portrait of King George III. When Rip went hunting in the Catskill Mountains, he never returns until twenty years later. However, when he ascends from the mountains he assumes he has slept for one night.

Washington Irving wrote the books The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Rip Van Winkle, and The Devil and Tom Walker. Out of these three books my favorite one to read was Rip Van Winkle. The book Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving, is about a man named Rip Van Winkle who is adored by the town's children and women but is always fighting with his wife which causes him one day to go hunting in the woods where he ends up helping out a strange man. The man brought him to a weird place where all of them drank this weird alcohol from keg. He then woke up from passing out for twenty years not knowing where he is or how he got there.

He was one to tell ghost stories to kids and help the men in the village work, he even gossiped with the women. Since this was the case, Rip had no time to work and fix his priorities. The narrator says “ He had a lot of things to do, but he had no time to work in his own house or on his own farm…... His children wore ragged clothes, his house was in old bad condition.” This quote proves that Rip Van Winkle had not only treated his kids in a disrespectful manner by not giving them the living necessities they needed, but he also didn’t take care of his living

• This essay discusses Washington Irving’s “Rip Van Winkle” and its role in American Mythology. The characteristics of the story’s main characters will be analyzed briefly, as will their effects on the plot. • • In “Rip Van Winkle” the main character, Rip, seems to have an aversion to responsibility. As the story progresses, we that he persistently neglects his responsibilities. He seems to not even care about his own son, who is said to be a ditto of himself.

When read at first glance, Washington Irving's "Rip Van Winkle" seems to be a tale of a lazy man who just wanted some peace and quiet, and ended up with almost too much of it. When analyzed at a deeper level however, "Rip Van Winkle" is more a symbolic story about the changes in the world going on at the time the story was written. Irving wrote "Rip Van Winkle" to show the world the struggle of the newly independent Americans trying to cope with life after English rule.

Rip Van Winkle is a man that does good for others, but can’t make a profit for himself. In the book “Rip Van Winkle” by Irving the setting is a Dutch Village in the mountains, during the Revolutionary war. Rip is married to a nagging wife, and has a child named Judith. Rip was unhappy with his life especially his wife. “Times grew worse and worse with Rip as years of matrimony rolled on; a tart temper never mellows with age, and a sharp tongue is the only edged tool that grows keener with constant use” (Irving 406). When rip would do his best, and would even help his neighbors Dame Van Winkle would still nag, and yell at him.