Irvings American Progeny Essay

Irving impacted the story and readers by setting the story in a remote or exciting region or time. He starts describing the location by saying,

The quintessential struggle for identity inundated the American people after the Revolutionary War; the country was faced with the struggle of not only establishing a new government but also with the feat of defining America as a new country. Many literary works and writings were crucial in facilitating the infant nation’s journey in separating from the English culture in order to create this unique American identity. This process of creating an American identity was not realized with either ease or haste, and the concept of American identity altered and grew concurrently with the nation. Literary figures portray different understandings of American identity, each perspective echoing the national reality at of the epoch or expressing a visionary idea of American identity. Nathaniel Hawthorne and Washington Irving, both from around the early nineteenth century, demonstrate the diversity that exists in the concept of the American identity, though this identity is based in a similar truth. Neither Hawthorne nor Irving are wholly able to separate the concept of American identity from the country’s history and past, as although America is a new county, its origin lies in its Puritan and English heritage; however, in his story “Rip Van Winkle” Irving only focuses on the muddled reality of a shaky and underdeveloped American identity whereas in The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne portrays an unique American identity that has begun to grow from the past while still being inseparable from

Stories come and go, but Washington Irving integrates “Rip Van Winkle” into American Mythology by describing mysterious events and their consequences. Rip Van Winkle, the main character, unknowingly walks into a mystical trap that costs him dearly. The man agrees to help a seemingly helpless fellow carrying a keg of liquor, and he enters an amphitheatre that held “a company of odd-looking personages playing at nine-pins” (Irving, 68-69). After settling down, Rip Van Winkle tries the mysterious liquid and slowly falls into a deep sleep, and twenty years later, he finds himself in different society and is confused to the point he “can’t tell what’s [his] name, or who [he is]” (Irving, 69-75). As Irving crafts his story, the main character comes

Washington Irving was the first American author to find success both in Europe and in America and was considered the father of American literature because of his writing which helped shape American literature. Known for his works which were inspired by German folklore which was introduced to him by Sir Walter Scott, some of Irving's works included a facet of the supernatural. A couple of his most well-known publications which depicts this are "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "The Devil and Tom Walker".

Rather than attempt to dissect the works of a more obscure writer I've decided to go with America's first well known and widely respected author, Washington Irving. Washington's story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is well known among my peers, but I can accurately assume far less have bothered to read it. I am sure most are familiar with the many movies and cartoon knockoffs the Headless Horseman has spawned. They shall not fret however, as I will explore this literary classic for thy dear lackadaisical MTV generation.

Does the name "Washington Irving" ring a bell? The author of the immortalized tales, "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle." A man who has passed away almost two centuries ago, and still yet, a man who has paved the way for American literature. Washington Irving was born in New York, New York on April 3, 1783, and turned to writing once the family's import-export business had failed. Realizing that there would be no more means to support himself financially, Irving took up his talent and his passion as his profession. Throughout his life, Irving traveled constantly; from London, England, to Madrid, Spain, as well as the Western prairie frontiers of his homeland. His most renowned work, The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., is a Salmagundi (the title of another of his books) of essays, short stories, and tales heavily influenced by German folklore. In this collection, Irving frequently describes abstract ideas and ongoing situations with the expert use of analogies and metaphors, while expressing the inner heart of his characters with such vivid intensity that they seem to come alive. In addition, Irving proves himself a "Jack of all trades" by providing subtle satire for the amusement of the reader. By exhibiting his prodigious expertise in these numerous fields of literature, Irving establishes the fact that he is one of the greatest writers in history.

Washington Irving’s short story “Rip Van Winkle” is a way to understand how society had evolved at the time of the American Revolution. At this time the American people, were struggling with finding their own identity. Irving uses his main character, Rip Van Winkle, to symbolize the struggle of early America. Irving uses many symbols in the story “Rip Van Winkle” to display the changes the society in America went through during this time period. Washington Irving’s shorty story “Rip Van Winkle” is about a man named Rip Van Winkle, everyone in the town loved Rip because he was always eager to help anyone and everyone, which ended up being his downfall on his walk through the mountains.

Washington Irving’s “Rip Van Winkle” is a staple of early American literature that has lived through the ages as a fable that as Americans we tell our children to entertain and illicit a message or moral that they will be able to take away from this slice of American literature. Irving’s story does in fact have a lot to say about America as a young and naive nation that has bred a national identity, but in the process has forgotten about the past and thrown away any sense of previous ideas of a national identity. Irving’s story is ultimately about the dangers of American innocence and progress as well as how this naive national sense of identity can help to create the good natured, but lazy Rip and the hostile townsfolk of Sleepy Hollow. Washington Irving’s story as a piece commenting on the formation of a national American identity is quite interesting in it’s views of America and what it stands for at the time after the Revolutionary War. The following paper will examine Irving’s short story and interpret it into terms of trying to understand Irving’s idea of what the American identity of the time is. To further examine the thesis the paper will look at the town as a representation of the danger of innocence towards the national identity. The second part will look at Rip Van Winkle himself as another piece towards the idea of innocence creating a danger for himself and the country as a whole. Finally the paper will

Although Irving would recognized as an author, both in America and aboard, his writing did not begin to support him until his mid-thirties Many literary sources consider Irving to be “America's first internationally recognized author” (519-520). Irving started writing at the age of nineteen, however, his first works were published under different pseudonyms. (“Washington Irving” 141). Using “the pseudonym Jonathan Oldstyle”, he contributed “satirical letters …to a newspaper owned by his brother Peter” (141). The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent was published “under the pseudonym Geoffrey Crayon” (May 520). The story, “Rip Van Winkle”, was credited as “a posthumous writing of Diedrich Knickerbocker” (Irving 1). Irving decided to “remain a bachelor” (Neider xii), when his fiancée, Matilda Hoffman died in 1809 (“Washington Irving”

Rip Van Winkle is an ineffectual male hero who cannot support his farm or family. Instead of facing the consequences of his idleness and facing his wife, who certainly makes the problem worse instead of better, he sleeps for twenty years. Finally, he is of such an age that his idleness is excusable and allowed. This makes him an antithesis to the American dream. He has no ambition, he does not work hard for himself, and he does not rise above where he began. He just likes to chat and have friends.He also sleeps through what was the defining moment of American history, and upon waking, he does not even care. This develops him as the American anti-hero, for he takes no part in the country’s founding or history. His story makes sense as more of an Old World story, one that the Dutch settlers, in their relatively old village, can retell. The story also shows that great historical events are often less important than the daily happenings in an individual’s life. The only oppressor Rip Van Winkle cares about having overcome is his wife.

Rip’s fascination with the past enables his escape from his new reality after he wakes up from his twenty-year slumber. Rip feels shocked and angry that King George’s picture no longer hangs on the wall, but instead he sees a mystery man, George Washington. When asked if he is democratic or republican, he replies “I am a poor quiet man, a native of the place, and a loyal subject of the king, God bless him!”(Irving 35). Rip’s fascination with the past makes him escape from his new reality that he is in now. He reminisces on the British-ruled colonies because that is all he knows and does not want to accept that he has been asleep for twenty-years.

After seeing all of these changes, at first Rip doubts his own identity, especially when he sees his son who is" a precise counterpart of himself." However, before long, "he resumes his old walks and habits," because he doesn't compelled to change himself into a post Revolutionary American. Since it never happens as an event in his life, it makes no drastic change in Rip's life. Because he has no indent to fit in the new society to be who he has to be at the new age, he tries to retreat or stay in the past which is what the Americans need to lead their cultural life.

Washington Irving was one of America’s first short story writers, who used mostly humor and ironic twists to his stories to keep people interested. One of his short stories, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, is iconic for its style of humor and irony. The story revolves around a schoolteacher, Ichabod Crane, and his adventure into Tarry Town, a short town in the area of Sleepy Hollow. There, he tries to woe with Katrina, a beautiful young women who is the daughter of the rich farmer of the village. He tries to tell her his feelings, but is unable to do so. The town hero, Brom Bones (who also has his eyes on Katrina), sees the nervous wreck of Ichabod, and tells him the story of the ghost in the woods, a soldier who was decapitated by a cannonball

American author Washington Irving, born in 1783 in New York City, was the youngest of eleven children and born to a Scottish-English immigrant couple. He best known for the short stories “Rip Van Winkle” (1819) and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” (1820). He underwent private education as a child, and was a rather uninterested student, as he often played truant from his lessons in order to attend the theater. His family was included in the small merchant class occupying the city. Irving toured Europe from 1804 to 1806, financed by his older brothers whom were troubled over his well-being. There, Irving honed his social and conversational skills to such a degree that made him a highly sought out guest. He returned to New York in order to pursue

National mythology can give people illusions that they are greater than what could have been and often cause conflicts between nations, so why are they pushed so much into society? Americans often believe they live in the greatest country in the world, because of our history, our wars. In paintings from hundreds of years ago you’ll see a white man heroically allying himself with a group of “savages” that he somehow befriended, or a white man perched on his white stallion riding off to save the world. National mythologies were important during this era, because they represented what your nation was and how it was viewed. How people should or shouldn’t live. In Rip Van Winkle some of the national myths were freedom, progress/change as a country. In the American Revolution we fought for freedom in the same way Rip fought for freedom from his wife. After the American Revolution we progressed by trying to make the states work together by creating a new government just like the change Rip had to go through after he woke up from his 20 year slumber. Irving needs readers to understand the importance of the setting, the characters and events because they are what brings national mythology to life.