Sleepy Hollow, The Devil And Tom Walker, And Rip Van Winkle

Unlike “The Tell-Tale Heart”, ‘The Legend of Sleepy Hollow’ plot is built around the main theme of superstition. Ichabod tends to be horrified and terrified with the Headless horseman stories. ‘Irving depicts a strong, controversial understanding between the supernatural superstitions the townspeople believed and the natural Sleepy Hollow setting ‘(Hoffman, 425). Despite the story describing in details the natural setting such as trees and birds of the area, there is also a vibrant understanding of privileging supernatural ideas. For instance, Irving believes that it is simply Brom Bones in disguise when finally, the headless horseman appeared.

Edgar Allan Poe and Washington Irving are both enthralling writers. They both have unusual styles of writing but they are similar in some ways. The writers are comparable in the use of tone in their works. Irving‘s use of tone in his stories are typically optimistic, yet dramatic. Poe’s uses of tone in his stories are filled with horror and are also dramatic. Poe and Irving use different techniques to develop a complex meaning in their short stories. For instance, elements such as imagery, tone, and irony are placed in these stories contribute to make these stories intense.

At first glance, "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Washington Irving seems to be an innocent tale about a superstitious New England town threatened by a strange new comer, Icabod Crane. However, this descriptive narrative is more than just a simple tale because it addresses several gender issues that deserve attention. The pervasiveness of female influence in Sleepy Hollow and the conflict between male and female storytelling in this Dutch community are two pertinent gender issues that complicate Irving's work and ultimately enable the women of Sleepy Hollow to control the men and maintain order.

Washington Irving’s, the author of the story “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”, uses imagery throughout the story to interpret the setting and mood of the story. At the beginning of the story, Erving uses suspenseful imagery to describe the location of the valley that he lives in as one of the quietest places on earth . He ackno in the story “Not far from this village, perhaps about two miles down the road, there is a little valley or lap of land among the hills, which is one of the quietest places in the world.” The main character Ichabod Crane is a school teacher, Erving the author uses imagery in such a way to give the readers the full effect of what his classroom looks like. “His schoolhouse was a low building of one large room, rudely constructed of logs; the windows partly glazed, and partly patched with leaves of old copybooks,” he says this in such a way that the reader can imagine the school room as if they were there and it adds suspense to the rest of the story. Washington Irving set the mood of thrilling suspense and the spooky setting of a quiet town by using imagery throughout his story of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”.

One of the main values looked at in Irving’s short story is the difference between the natural and supernatural. There is a huge contrast throughout the story of this and this mainly has to do with the setting. Irving looks at the natural setting of Sleepy Hollow compared to the supernatural thoughts of the residents. “… Or tapping of a woodpecker, is almost the only sound that every breaks in upon the uniform of tranquillity.” (Irving, 1820) and “… That holds a spell over the minds of the good people.” (Irving, 1820) are both two quotes that show the contrast between the natural and supernatural. With out both aspects it would change dramatically the setting, characters and plot of the story. Similarly to the themes in Burton’s adaption of Sleepy Hollow the values are much darker and eerie compared with those in Irving’s original. One thing both versions have in common is the value of the difference between supernatural and natural. Although it is looked at in a different way Burton still has it reoccurring throughout the film. In the film the whole idea and the actually reality of the headless horseman is all very supernatural and not very realistic although the rest of the movie has more of a natural feel to it. The setting is used to show the supernatural and natural values, as without the particular atmosphere that Burton has created it would not come across of

The short story I have chosen to read by Washington Irving is 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.'; This story takes place in a little village on the Hudson River which by some is called Greensburgh, but which is more generally known as Tarry Town. The main character in the story, Ichabod Crane, who 'tarried'; in Sleepy Hollow came about for the purpose of instructing the children of the vicinity. The main point of the story began with the arrival of a Negro with an invitation to Ichabod to attend a party at the Van Tassel's mansion. After receiving the good news, Ichabod fixed up his best and only suit and borrowed a horse from Hans Van Ripper, in order to impress Mynheer Van Tassel's daughter, Katrina. He did so

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.

The original story by Washington Irving starts out in a small town of Sleepy Hollow. Irving paints an image of bountiful crops, beautiful scenery, and

When one is in the Devil’s house they will be sure to lose. From beginning to end, Irving uses setting to show the triumph of the Devil over Tom Walker. Throughout the first few paragraphs of this story, Irving uses vivid images to enable the reader to paint a mental picture of this setting in his or her mind. There is a reason that Washington did not make the setting a magical fairyland or the beach. The setting of this story truly shows that the Devil is present, and that he is working his magic on Tom Walker and his accomplice, Mrs. Walker. For example, “About the year 1727, just at the time that earthquakes were prevalent in New England” (Irving 229). Irving uses an allusion

“In the dark shadow of the grove… [Ichabod] beheld something huge, misshapen, black and towering...up in the gloom...some gigantic monster” and “summoning up, [from his trembling body] a show of courage...he demanded in stammering accents- ‘Who are you?’”. In the short story, the “Legend of Sleepy Hollow”, Washington Irving, tells the adventures of a schoolteacher, Ichabod Crane, in the haunted town of Sleepy Hollow. There, he pursues the local beauty, Katrina van Tassel, competing with the town’s rowdy prankster, Brom Bones. As the plot intensifies, Ichabod’s superstition eventually leads to his downfall when he is chased by the legendary ghost of the Headless Horseman in a terrifying and vivid scene after a party at Katrina’s house. The next day, Ichabod has disappeared, his fate unknown. Throughout the story, Irving creates suspense with the use of imagery to build up a frightening scene in the reader’s mind and ambiguity to make them anxious as they feel a sense of mysteriousness as to what really happened.

The historical context urges the Irving’s great tale into the world of American mythology. Another example of the impact of mythological setting lies near the beginning of the plot arch. Rip goes up into the Kaatskill Mountains to hunt; a place that Irving depicts as remote in the following excerpt from the story: “Rip had unconsciously scrambled to one of the highest parts of the Kaatskill Mountains…and the still solitude had echoed.” The isolation that Rip had while in the mountains, where he would later sleep for twenty years, impacts the reader. It shows the reader the reason why nobody ever found him, as well as evoking a deeper emotion and concern for Rip as he slept out there all alone. Emotions find themselves imbedded in this mythology once again.

The narration in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow functions as a way to give authority to the women of Tarry Town. This power of feminine is elicit by Washington Irving who gives respect and superiority to women indirectly, but yet evidently through third person narration. Furthermore through Katrina he parallels the power of Tarry Town’s women by illustrating their agency to beget the downfall of Ichabod.

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”.

“The dominant spirit, however, that haunts this enchanted region, and seems to be commander-in-chief of all the powers of the air, is the apparition of a figure on horseback without a head.” Although the movie Sleepy Hollow is based upon the book The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, there are also distinctions which allow each to tell their own tale. Washington Irving’s short story inspired Tim Burton’s film but did not limit it. The foundations of the two are much the same but their story lines unfold diversely. Some of the similarities include the setting, characters, and plot points. Two of the many contradicting ideas are the character of Ichabod Crane and the conclusions. The similarities and differences of both accounts can be stated plainly

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.