In 1819 one of the most influential folk tales in American literature was “Rip Van Wrinkle” published by Washington Irving. This folk tale intertwines fantasy with reality and captures what it is like waking up in an anomalous yet familiar place. The main themes of Rip Van Wrinkle is Rip’s laziness, Dame’s henpecking, and the difference between Pre-Revolutionary and Post-Revolutionary times. This American Mythology follows a slothful man who desires not to be bothered by his “shrewish” wife and the toil of having a farm. When going to the Catskills Mountains to nap Rip gets his wish by encountering peculiar elderly man who gives Rip a sip of an alcoholic drink from a mysterious keg. Although he is free from his burdens, he misses twenty years of his life One of the themes in Rip Van Wrinkle is Dame’s constant pestering and antagonizing. Dame Van Wrinkle is portrayed as Rip’s stereotypical henpecking wife who has no dialogue in the tale but remains comical storyline. She is seen as an acerbic old woman as described in this quote, “tart temper never mellows with age, and a sharp tongue is the only edged tool that grows keener with constant use” (Irving, 65). Even when Mrs. Wrinkle dies it’s from breaking a blood vessel while anathematizing a peddler. Dame’s pestering is simply an effect Mrs. Wrinkle constantly being in a state of stress and anxiety. She has to take care of her children Rip the second and Judith also her husband Rip who eschews doing tough labor. Unlike Rip
The monograph revealed information over Sam Patch’s background of his family and particularly short overlooks of industrialization on the working class on America in the 1820’s. Sam Patch was a piece of one of the primary families that were making America's first material fabricate. He moved to Pawtucket with his mom, father and siblings when his family had been told by Samuel Slater of conceivable openings for work. Sam Patch started working in mule spinning which “required experience, along with a practiced mix of strength and a sensitive touch” (Johnson, 2003, pg.32). As Sam Patch was being formed by his work and workmates in the plants at a very young age, his father Greenleaf could not look for some kind of employment and began drinking. Later in the novel, as youthful Sam Patch awed his workmates, he became one of the primary American mule spinners. At the point when not working at the mill, Patch, alongside other Pawtucket young men, made thrill seeker jumps from Pawtucket Falls. The Pawtucket young men, Johnson composes, “all jumped in the same way[…]” (Johnson, 2003, pg. 39). To these young men, this was a talent—one that “called for bravery [...] self possession and a mastery of skills as well” (Johnson, 2003, pg. 39).
A famous writer, a renowned poet, and a American hero, Edgar Allan Poe has helped shaped modern day literature. Taught in schools as being a tortured soul, Poe’s dark writing has shaped American English for the better. Edgar Allen Poe’s early demise came as a shock to many during the time. Poe left this world in a mystery, much like some of his most famous works. The way in which Poe died, is never as simple as it seems. The limited details of his demise has left a hole in American literature and history. Modern day textbooks such as Great American Stories detail his death in zero to none detail, “A week later, he was found near Baltimore tavern-delirious, his clothing torn and wet from a raging storm. He died four days later” (95). This
One of Washington Irving’s short and most famous stories ‘The Legend of Sleepy Hollow’ has become a ghoulish characteristic yet an individual might still be unaccustomed with its idiocy (Hoffman, 425). Based on the real legend of Ichabod Crane, the story reveals how he disappeared. For that reason, the story revolves around the themes of wealth, appearances, truth, warfare, supernatural, gluttony and greed. On the other hand, 'The Tell-Tale Heart ' is a short story that has been written by Edgar Allen Poe. Within the story, Poe reveals two major themes of madness and guilt whereby the narrator unable to deal with his guilt making him confess everything to the police
John Updike is considered one of the greatest writers in modern American history. He is known for the idea that seemingly ordinary aspects of American life are actually quite fascinating. He wanted readers to see the beauty and magic of life, so he tried to describe everyday things using the most clear but beautiful language possible. Many of Updike’s pieces are drawn from his own life such as his marriage and his boyhood, as shown in three of his short stories: “A&P”, “Ace in the Hole”, and “Pigeon Feathers”. Updike’s narrative technique is explored through the analysis of plot structure, thematic patterning, and irony in these three short stories.
E.L. Doctorow’s novel Ragtime is a story involving certain characters, each trying to find his or her place in America. Doctorow focus’s on many themes throughout the novel, however, one theme that he gives to the reader from the very beginning of the novel is the American dream. Many characters throughout the novel individually take diverse journeys in order to fulfill what they might describe as “The American Dream.” Throughout Ragtime several characters venture upon momentous journeys whether they be sensible or unwise, in order to try and achieve their personal pursuit of the American dream.
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
These two stories by Washington Irving and Nathaniel Hawthorne respectively, illustrate different examples of men wandering away from home, for somewhat different reasons, with somewhat the same results with the exception of the overall outcome upon the men. Careful analysis of the two stories can reveal both the similarities and the differences between the two, and how those things are important to the story as a whole.
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.
“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
Today, it is more evident than ever that there are deep divisions within modern society along the lines of race, class and gender. These divides are highlighted by recent protests, riots and movements. These issues are relevant in modern society as well as in two famous stories. Both F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men use character development to make commentary toward these points. Fitzgerald’s novel covers the tumultuous journey of Nick Carraway through the swanky social elite of the 1920’s. Steinbeck’s text covers the opposite end of the spectrum, detailing the experiences of George and Lennie, ranchers during the great depression. While also providing a riveting and captivating plot, these seemingly antithetical tales both develop their respective characters to be normal, everyday people who face difficult problems because of their class.
Some characters in this novel are alienated by mainstream society because they do not fit society’s ideal image of a person. And they are all not accepted as human beings. Throughout John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, the social injustice of how people were treated during the Great Depression is explored through the characters Crooks, Curley’s wife, and Lennie, to show that society actually needs to become stronger than it really is.
In "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall," Katherine Anne Porter gives readers a glimpse of the thoughts of a woman about to die. Lying in her bed in her daughter Cornelia's house, eighty-year-old Granny Weatherall drifts in and out of consciousness. Through her thoughts of events both current and bygone, it is learned that Granny has worked hard all her life, and frequently tells herself that she did a good job. She thinks of events that made her stronger: digging holes for fence posts, "riding country roads in the winter when women had their babies" (311), taking care of sick animals and sick children. Though Granny Weatherall tries to assure herself that her life has been
"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
The range of psychological approaches also took great part in the story. When the people are in dilemma, they try to solve the problems in different ways as they are different fruits of different trees. The reason is people are treated in different spheres and in different societies, some of them are free citizens of the free country, some of them slaves of the colonies. Some of them choose the difficult way to solve the problem, but some of them choose the tricky way to get rid of it. Or people choose the tricky way without intention of doing it, maybe under pressure of other people or maybe under the formed situation similar to the happened issue in the scene of presence of spectre bridegroom in the castle of Katzenellenbegon family. Baron could not allow Starkenfaust to introduce himself and explain the reason of his visit. Unwillingly he masked under a spectre figure, thinking as the best way of swaying away from the castle of Katzenellenbegon family. At the end of the story the force of free and true love unmasked the spectre bridegroom.
Washington Irving and Edgar Allan Poe were both writers who exemplified the writing style of the Romantic era. Both writers used their great talents to take the reader into the story. For example, Irving, in “Rip Van Winkle”, starts the story by saying, “Whoever has made a courage up the Hudson must remember the Kaatskill Mountains.” He also involves the reader in the story by taking us into the everyday lives of the Van Winkles and goes into some detail describing Rip’s “business”.