Rip Van Winkle: A Revolutionary Piece in Fairy Tale Clothing Essay example

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 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.

Ultimately, Irving’s “Rip Van Winkle” takes the form of an allegory, illustrating the atmosphere of the United States following the Revolution. The conjunction of the metaphorical relationship between Rip and his wife, the imagery of the changed town, and the necessity for Rip to adjust to his new liberty, mirror the promise of progress and freedom from the Revolution. Superficially “Rip Van Winkle” represents change, yet just below the surface lies an insight into the revolutionary

The next and main thing that he noticed was the town and country government changed during the time period that he was asleep. Nicholas Vedder’s inn was now gone since there was no one to take care of since Vedder had died. When Rip Van Winkle came into town for the first time, he saw that his old favorite place to gossip with friends was now gone and had been replaced with a modern inn. He was simply confused when he originally saw this change; not realizing yet those twenty years had gone by. The primary difference that he observed was that King George’s picture was not located on a sign that used to represent the country of England. But now the sign has a picture of someone that Rip Van Winkle did not recognize named George Washington. Rip Van Winkle did not know about the Revolutionary War or about the new government of the brand new country who won its freedom from England. His world that he thought he

“Rip Van Winkle” is an American short story by Washington Irving. Published in 1819, it is a quaint essential piece of American Literature. The story is narrated by Deidrich Knickerbocker, a character created by Washington Irving. Knickerbocker tells of the life of old man Rip Van Winkle and how he slept for twenty years among the trees in the Kaatskill mountains and returned one day to a new time, only to find that his home and all his friends had long since passed. In the story, the main character Rip says, “I’m not myself—I’m somebody else—that’s me yonder—no—that’s somebody else, got into my shoes—I was myself last night, but I fell asleep on the mountain, and they’ve changed my gun, and every thing’s changed, and I’m changed, and I can’t tell what’s my name, or who I am!”(Irving 38). Irving’s short story has the traditional elements of romantic literature and of the time. It uses fantasy and adventure elements to draw in readers, as well as excite the imagination. Before Irving, much of the literature consisted of sermons and religious works, whereas Irving began to write fiction. Many things were taking place during this time. America was becoming more settled, independent, and was going through a revolution, which is portrayed in the story. Also, the setting in the short story was full of local folklore. These elements help to create the atmosphere in which this tall tale takes place. Washington Irving details how

Her treatment of him earned Rip sympathy from others. His only weak point was his inability to work for profit. It was not that he lacked patience or perseverance; for, as Irving points out, “He would sit on a wet rock, with a rod as long and heavy as a Tartar’s lance, and fish all day without a murmur, even though he should not be encouraged by a single nibble.” Rip Van Winkle and his wife are exaggerated characters in the story, Rip with his

She has a lot of contempt for Rip due to his unwillingness to work and carefree lifestyle. Her abusive control over Rip represents King George and the British rule of the colonies. Even though the colonies were mistreated by the King they still stayed faithful and attached to the crown same as Rip stayed by his critical wife. Here the irony lies in Rip’s absence of feeling towards his wife Dame Van Winkle. Even though he was lectured and bossed around by her he still felt content.

Escaping his nagging wife, Rip, travels deep into the forest and pondered the views of “the lordly Hudson, far, far, below him, moving on its silent but majestic course” and “a deep mountain glen, wild, lonely, and shagged, unaware of the life changing events that were about to take place (Irving). He encountered a group of dwarves who had a keg of liquor of which he snuck many fateful drinks until falling into a deep sleep. When he woke up twenty years later having missed the revolutionary war, the deaths of many friends and family, the most prominent of which being his wife. Rip Van Winkle's 20 year disappearance into the wilderness illuminated where his true concerns lay, not in politics or even in the length of his life but the freedom from “the yoke of matrimony” (Irving). The romantic theme of nature and its mystical qualities gave Washington Irving's short story it's thought provoking

Washington Irving’s portrayal of Dame Van Winkle is not fair because he never described her, she had a very lazy husband, and her husband was willing to help other people but her. First, he is not fair to Dame Van Winkle Because he never really described her. He never described what she was like. He never described what she did to make there home better without Rip there.. Second, she had a very lazy husband that never did anything to help her around the house or on the farm. Rip Van Winkle was always trying to get out of helping her so that made her angry. She would always go to town to try to find him but he would slip away into the woods. Lastly, the author said Rip Van Winkle is always willing to help other people but he dreaded going

Have you ever met someone who was kind, humorous, very likable yet extremely lazy? Well, let me introduce Rip Van Winkle. In my opinion Rip truly “beat to his own drum,” he was a man who much preferred fishing, hunting squirrels and pigeons, visiting his friends at the Inn, reading ghost stories, fly kites, and playing marbles with the children in town instead of working a labor job. Consequently, since Rip refused to help and he was tired of his nagging wife Dame he decided to stroll into the woods of the Catskill Mountains one day with his lazy dog named Wolf where he fell asleep for 20 years, leaving behind his wife to care for everything until she passes away. In conclusion, I think Rip was very lazy, but I really liked he was a kind, good

Rip Van Winkle is set in the past with an interesting setting. Being set in the late eighteenth century in the Catskill Mountains, Irving uses imagery to visualize vivid colors and pictures. Irving describes that the sunsets “will glow and light up like a crown of glory,” which provides a majestic image of the sun (p. 62). It Is also described that the mountains are magical. The mountains are said to change in hues and shape depending on the weather, season, and

Rip Van Winkle is the very embodiment of freedom, a very unsightly version of freedom but freedom nonetheless. Running through the story, it is learned that Rip Van Winkle is a lazy and unproductive member of society. He doesn’t do any beneficial work for his family, his terribly passive behavior rubbed off of on his son, and so forth. Even then, he’s still being terrorized by various kinds of tyrannical powers: the tyranny of marriage (his very uptight wife, Dame Van Winkle, nags on him a lot), the tyranny of social expectations (a man in his prime is expected to do something beneficial), and the tyranny of government (he is under direct rule of King George III). Thankfully, a magical nap solved all of these issues.

Despite Irving's criticisms, he was a patriot and admirer of both the Revolution and his country, but he had serious questions about their democratic excesses. He was interested in the Revolution throughout his life and had collected many books on the subject. On its primary level, "Rip Van Winkle" is a public celebration of the American Revolution. The story opens with the prefigurative imagery of family breakups, specifically the Kaatskill (Catskill) Mountains that "are a dismembered branch of the great Appalachian family" (p. 769). In the story, Rip's colonial family is also dismembered as he escapes from his tyrannical wife, but he is finally rediscovered and reintegrated into his new American family at the end. The context of family

One thing we know about Rip Van Winkle is that this story is inspirited in a story belonging to a Dutch story, taking from the Dutch settlers of American colonies.