Research Paper On Rip Van Winkle

In Washington Irving’s “Rip Van Winkle,” an allegorical reading can be seen. The genius of Irving shines through, in not only his representation in the story, but also in his ability to represent both sides of the hot political issues of the day. Because it was written during the revolutionary times, Irving had to cater to a mixed audience of Colonists and Tories. The reader’s political interest, whether British or Colonial, is mutually represented allegorically in “Rip Van Winkle,” depending on who is reading it. Irving uses Rip, Dame, and his setting to relate these allegorical images on both sides. Irving would achieve success in both England and America, in large part because his political satires had individual allegorical meanings.

He ‘s a lazy and obedient hen-pecked husband. “In a word, Rip was ready to attend to anybody’s business but his own; but as to doing family duty, keeping his farm in order, he found it impossible.” His idleness to his responsibility can be seen as American’s unwillingness to be a servant of England. “There is phlegm and drowsy tranquility” around the town before the revolution war. However, after Rip awakes from his sleep for twenty years, everything in the town has changed. “There was a busy, bustling, disputatious tone about it, instead of the accustomed phlegm and drowsy tranquility.” Also, the sign outside the tavern where he spent much of his time has changed from King George to General Washington. 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.

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.

Specifically, it reflects on his uncertainty and acceptance of the change he experiences by going in and out of the mountain. Rip may also be a metaphor for the creation and persistence of America. As a whole, the story and passage act as a way to reconcile a new identity with new surroundings, which many people in 19th century America were experiencing at the time. Splitting from the global powerhouse of England in the 18th century meant not a lot was certain for America in its early years. This anxiety is represented well by Rip’s identity crisis when he returns unknowingly after his twenty-year disappearance; many new immigrants to America may have felt the same way.

Society has changed drastically throughout the centuries, but have become corrupted by many essentials. Many debates have been occurring over this topic, but Humans are born pure, but society has corrupted them to be evil due to the government, surroundings, and religion which makes evil extrinsic.

Irving’s character Rip Van Winkle was seen by the townspeople as “a kind neighbor, and an obedient henpecked husband” (1). Van Winkle’s kindness is seen by everyone, even animals as Washington states, “and not a dog would bark at him throughout the neighborhood” (1). The love from animals

“Rip Van Winkle” is a classic American Mythological story that tells the tale of a man who sleeps for twenty years after drinking a mysterious drink. Rip Van Winkle is a very lazy, American man who one day, ventures off into the woods with his dog named Wolf. While in the woods, he finds a group of men playing Skittles and drinking liquor in the middle of an amphitheater. He joins them, and drinks some of their alcohol, but he soon passes out. When he awakens, twenty years have passed, and he missed the Revolutionary War, his children growing up, and even his wife passing away. What characteristics make this folklore such a classic fable in American literature? The story is set in the past, features exaggerated and strange characters, and

Chapter 5: Victim-Offender Mediation covers the concepts, components, elements, methodology and history of VOM. In this chapter the authors described the dimensions of VOM Effectiveness. This covers restitution and repair of damage, recidivism, diversion, cost fairness participation rates and participant satisfaction. The others even covered concerns and ongoing issues like compromising the separate preparation of the victim and offender prior to the mediation session, pressuring participation and controlling the dialogue, applying VOM in cross-culture contexts, and cultivating a referral base. (Umbreit, M. and Armour, M.P. 2006 p. 136) VOM remains central to the restorative justice movement because it serves to remind us of the centrality of the victim and the victim’s harm and the power of the victim’s voice and story to advance the dialogue, creating the context for offender’s accountability and deep learning. (Umbreit, M. and Armour, M.P. 2006 p. 137)

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

Thus he recapitulates the country’s heady release from British rule, and consequent complications” (218). Rip Van Winkle was faced with the same situation as America, he now had to find his place in this unfamiliar world. He saw the whole world past quickly past him and now he had to deal with the repercussions of the choice that he had made.

Before the American Revolution, people used to have determined beliefs, traditions and government, but after the war, society was confused. For example, the website saylor.org stated, “Politically, the American Revolution carried significant and historic consequences … established a republican form of government out of what had been a monarchical and colonial political system. It altered the position of American people from being subjects of the British crown to citizens and political participants of a republic” (How Revolutionary Was The American Revolution?). Now, people had more freedom and the ability to express their thoughts on what they wanted for their country. As a result, people was struggling to leave old habits. The symbolism in this quote emphasizes how America had to adapt: “Rip now resumed his old walks and habits; he soon found many of his former cronies, though all rather the worse for the wear and tear of time; and preferred making friends among the rising generation, with whom he soon grew into great favor” (Irving, 1014). This quote is of great importance because it shows the reader that Rip Van Winkle himself represents the old country. Since all the news about the revolution and his family happened so fast to him, he does not know how to deal with them. For this reason, he kept his “old habits”, while at the same time, he adapted to his environment. Given these points, “Rip Van Winkle” can be analyzed as a story about the struggle for identity because of the

In Washington Irving's "Rip Van Winkle," Rip's character is closely correlated with the theme of nature and its prominence over the ever-changing world. The story is set in the Kaatskill Mountains, an important setting with a luminance that does not falter throughout. Similarly, Rip is immediately described as a respectable and well liked man in his mountainous setting. Right off the bat, the two can be easily associated. The magical elements in the story cause Rip to fall asleep for twenty years, and upon waking, he is in a world completely changed by the progression of time. However, despite the extreme alterations, only Rip and the nature that he is so familiar with are able to prevail, remaining ultimately unaffected by the

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

"Rip Van Winkle" has been a well-known story told throughout time. There is not a doubt that as a child, many of you heard the words of Washington Irving's famous tale of the man who slept for twenty years. Nor can one forget the "elves" that Rip Van Winkle spent the night with in the amphitheater. Like many stories, Irving's "Rip Van Winkle" has been told so many times throughout American history that it has lost its original purpose. The story is now remembered for its fairy tale like quality and its appeal to the children and the young at heart. However, when given the chance to delve into the depths of what Irving was trying to portray, one may see the

In the beginning of Rip Van Winkle, Rip is portrayed as lazy husband who would do anything for others except his own husbandly duties. Rip Van Winkle’s wife, Dame Winkle, who is nothing like her husband goes around doing her wifely duties, as a wife and mother, regardless whether her husband Rip meets her needs. Despite been such a likeable person to his friends and neighbors, Winkle makes his wife’s life complicated. Dame Van Winkle is the typical wife that takes care of the obligations she has at home while Rip refuses to be productive around the house. The story emphasis’s how relentlessly Dame nags Rip. However if Rip had assumed his share of household responsibilities perhaps Rip might not have felt an impact. Dame’s life is further complicated by the absence of 20 years of her husband. When Rip returns Dame is dead and he is taken in by his daughter who replaces the maternal role that his wife (dame) had