Rip Van Winkle's Embodiment Of Freedom

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

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.

            If there's one passage in this story that would summarize the entire story it would be this one. Every theme throughout Rip Van Winkle is touched on somewhere in here and the constant theme of "who Rip is" is the underlying question of both this story and this passage. In the beginning of the story I think we all took a liking to such a friendly character who cares so much about pleasing everyone. However, towards the end of the story Rip seems to examine his life and realizes that he doesn't like everything about himself, and that quite possibly some changes are in order.

Rip Van Winkle’s positive traits also symbolically represent the ideal of what “New Americans” wanted to be; beloved, free-spirited, and kind. No one has no problem with Rip Van Winkle and his eagerness to do anything for anyone, except his wife. Irving states, “Morning, noon and night, her tongue was incessantly going, and everything he said or did was sure to produce a torrent of household eloquence” (2). Yes, Rip was extremely caring and helpful but he also came with his own bad traits. Rip was stubborn, very irresponsible, and he lacked ambition. All of these bad traits which happened to get on Dame Van Winkle’s nerves. Rip can never catch a break with Dame Van Winkle. Dame Van Winkle would get angry at him for anything and everything he did, it was a never ending tirade “sharp tongue is the only edge tool that grows keener by constant use” (2). Dame Van Winkle would nag Rip to death over his chores and duties so much that his only refuge would come from running away. Washington uses the character of Dame Van Winkle as a symbol for Royal England and its treatment of the Colonies. Rip Van Winkle's character portrays

In the story, Rip Van Winkle, Rip is seen by many of his peers as a person they can always go to for help, he is incredibly dependable. The story states, “the women of the village ,too used to employ him to run their errands, and to do such little odd jobs as their less obliging husbands would not do for them.”(10). Meaning Rip is always there to give a helping hand, even when others do not want to. Robin too is persistent, he spends hours upon hours looking for Major Molineux, until he is successful. In the story, Robin states, “I pray you tell me the whereabouts of is the dwelling of my kinsman, Major Molineux.”(2). Which shows that even from the beginning, Robin will do anything to find him. Another similaritiy the two share are the many setbacks they go through to acheive their goals. For example, Rips goal was to simply enjoy some time away from Dame Van Winkle, his horrendous wife, but falls asleep in the mountains, and wakes up in distress and shock due to his changed town. However Rip does gain a sense of peace by telling his story to whoever will listen, and the almost comforting death of Dame. Robin’s goal in My Kinsman, Major Molineux, is simply to find the location of his relative Major Molineux. Robin goes through a great deal of trouble, because he is seen as an outsider in this foreign town. Robin too reaches his goal, and finally finds Major Molineux, that is, after he is sleep

The character of Rip Van Winkle was one who was considered lazy and unproductive. He was "one of the happy mortals...who take the world easy, eat white bread or brown, which ever he can be got with least thought or trouble..." (Irving 983). Winkle was the kind of

The short story, “Rip Van Winkle”, is a tale of a man who went up into the mountains and after a long string of odd events went to sleep. He woke up twenty years later. He went from being use to what the world was like before the Revolutionary War of the United States to how things changed after the war. When he came back from the mountain he found that his wife and friends were gone. His children were grown up and living in this new world that he had stumbled into. He found that changes had been made to clothing and how people acted; buildings that used to be in the town were now gone or changed, and a government that he had no idea about. In this short story the author used the differences between pre-Revolutionary War and

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

This negative image of her is built in contrast with the positive perception of Rip, also caused by the traditional customs and standards of the time. She is thought to be directly accountable for her husband leaving, and so, sleeping for 20 years and missing so much of their joint lives. Dame Van Winkle is partially condemned because her husband considered that her nagging was so much to handle, that in a way, made it impossible for him to stay around for a sufficient period of time, thus forming durable emotional links with the family, needless to say being a constructive and supportive representative of the Van Winkle household. This mirrored the patriarchal society at the time and how roles where designated on the base of gender; whomever would go outside these clearly represented limits, would easily be banished, just like in the case of Dame Van

Furthermore, Rip Van Winkle’s identity itself represents America’s journey before and after the American Revolution and the difficulties that were faced. When the reader is first introduced to Rip Van Winkle, he is a well-known man. The community loves him and he has made a name for himself based off the needs of others. He is very dependent on the community and the community is dependent on him. The following citation how well-liked Rip Van Winkle is before he takes his trip to Kaatskill mountains. “Certain it is, that he was a great favorite among all the good wives of the village […] The children of the village, too, would shout with joy whenever he approached.”(https://www.ibiblio.org/ebooks/Irving/Winkle/Irving_Winkle.pdf, Page 8) When Rip returns, he is faced with the reality that he has lost any form of identity he once had. Nobody recognized him, the children laughed at him, and even the dogs barked after him, none of these were the case before his trip. Irving used Rip Van Winkle to represent America

When Rip arrives to the town his only worry on his mind is the mouth lashing he will receive from the wife. Rip arrives in the town shocked when he finds the image of King George III replaced by George Washington. As Rip continues through the town he becomes confused, unable to understand the current election process that is occurring, when he is questioned by townspeople as to “which side he voted?” (7). The author states, “ ‘I am a poor quiet man, a native of the place, and a loyal subject of the king, God bless him!” (7). After hearing that Rip Van Winkle was a loyalist the townspeople feared the old ways and became extremely angry with Rip. One main issue of the story was one of identity, especially at this time in history. The citizens of America, twenty years after Rip Van Winkle finally awoke, found their identity.. Rip, who was having difficulty finding himself throughout the story, finally finds his identity when his daughter finds him and takes him home to live with her. Rip Van Winkle is told his wife has long been dead. With the overbearing authority Dame Van Winkle gone, Rip Van Winkle is able live the rest of days happy. Rip, much like America, could now enjoy the new freedom that he deserved. Not only that, but the irony in his named alone. ‘Rip’ being a play on words, rest in

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

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

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