The Magical And Strange Characters In Washington Irving'sRip Van Winkle

Washington Irving is known as being one of the most famous American authors in history. He has created fresh and exciting stories such as “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” “The Devil and Tom Walker,” and “Rip Van Winkle” that continue to captivate those who read them even today. In these three stories, Irving takes a stance on what the early Americas were like as he creates settings full of both mystery and wonder. His settings are symbols of both America’s mystery and potential, and he uses personification and motifs to convey this message.

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" 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

“Rip Van Winkle” was based right around the time of revolutionary America, one exciting place within the story was a quaint little village full of life, color, and culture. “…There were some of the houses of the original settlers standing within a few years, with lattice windows, gable fronts surmounted with weathercocks, and built of small yellow bricks brought from Holland” (Irving 62). When Irving described this village he was sure to include the heritage found within this small mountain town, the brightly colored yellow bricks from Holland and lattice windows, each detail shows just how important culture was in early American lives. Irving was not only able to show the importance of culture, he was also able to illustrate life in the village. When Irving said, “There were some of the houses of the original settlers” he showed the importance of past in this village and how an interesting land can also have an interesting history. Irving also showed histories yet to be discovered. When he said, “… Every hour of the day produces some change in the magical hues and shapes of these mountains…” (Irving 61). Another very exciting place in “Rip Van Winkle” is the Kaatskill Mountains Irving describes these mountains with such beauty. When Irving describes this mountain he shows them as changing, as if each time you looked at them there was a new

Stories come and go, but Washington Irving integrates “Rip Van Winkle” into American Mythology by describing mysterious events and their consequences. Rip Van Winkle, the main character, unknowingly walks into a mystical trap that costs him dearly. The man agrees to help a seemingly helpless fellow carrying a keg of liquor, and he enters an amphitheatre that held “a company of odd-looking personages playing at nine-pins” (Irving, 68-69). After settling down, Rip Van Winkle tries the mysterious liquid and slowly falls into a deep sleep, and twenty years later, he finds himself in different society and is confused to the point he “can’t tell what’s [his] name, or who [he is]” (Irving, 69-75). As Irving crafts his story, the main character comes

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.

Washington Irving's portrayal of Dame Van Winkle is not fair because it states that in the story, “Rip Van Winkle,” Rip only helps the townspeople, he never works at home, and he tries to skip going home. Rip wakes up early every morning and leaves the house and goes around town asking people if they need help. Rip helps the townspeople run errands. Rip also goes and talks to the old men at the barbershop. Dame always has to work at home by herself because Rip is always somewhere in town talking to the kids or adults.

At its most basic level Rip Van Winkle is a humorous story of a man who sets off into the mountains to find so much needed peace and quiet, then sleeps for twenty years. Washington Irving uses a combination of satire, imagery, and irony, intertwined with symbolism, to paint an allegorical image of the American Revolution. Irving particularly focuses the tale of Rip on America’s political struggle during the latter half of the eighteenth century while highlighting the role of England as a colonializing society. The use of symbolism helps in creating a vivid mental picture and a physical sensation of the subject without directly referring to the details of the revolution itself. Understanding the symbolism helps in deriving the full meaning of Irving’s writing and the themes it addresses. Ultimately, an analysis of the symbolism will help in understanding the American struggle against England, and how the American Revolution shaped the future of America.

Rip van Winkle written by Washington Irving; a story inspired by German Folklore, turned into American Mythology. This story has all the fixings for a great read; a nagging wife, a man who goes forward in time, and different but interesting changes of the storyline and scene. Irving’s use of imagery really helps the reader understand the scene and concepts of the story. At the same time, this keeps the reader interested and engaged for the whole story. A man sleeps for twenty years, pre-revolutionary war to post-revolutionary war, and finds himself in a completely different world; but how does this shape American Mythology? As we read into the story the answer to that becomes clearer, the American people, after the revolution, were struggling with forming their own identity. This story was

Washington Irving (1789-1859) was a cultural and diplomatic ambassador to Europe who went to publish his first work, Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon in the year 1820 using Geoffrey Crayon as his pseudonym.This work contained his two most popular short stories, “Rip Van Winkle” and “The Legend of Sleepy

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”.

Irving used satire in his stories to send the readers a message. He used humor to describe his wife and their relationship. When Rip awakened from his deep sleep he found that his wife had passed and the revolution war was over. Irving compared the two events, the Americans were free from the King’s rule and Rip was free from his nagging wife. He used satire to better tell his stories and to connect the two incidents.

Washington Irving was a writer of many fiction and nonfiction books. Irving “wrote numerous short stories, biographies, histories, and stories of his travels.” (Irving,Washington) Irving was known as "the Father of American Literature." (Gallagher, Edward J.) Washington had over 15 writing's he had produced. Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of a Sleepy Hollow are his most well known novels. Washington “best known as the first American to make a living solely from writing.” (“United States ) He was one of the best writers for 76 years, he made stories for people to enjoy. In his 18 century novel the Rip Van Winkle Washington Irving explores the theme freedom from tyranny by using symbolism and imagery.

When read at first glance, Washington Irving's "Rip Van Winkle" seems to be a tale of a lazy man who just wanted some peace and quiet, and ended up with almost too much of it. When analyzed at a deeper level however, "Rip Van Winkle" is more a symbolic story about the changes in the world going on at the time the story was written. Irving wrote "Rip Van Winkle" to show the world the struggle of the newly independent Americans trying to cope with life after English rule.

In the late 1700's and early 1800's, literature began to show it was changing thanks to the newly formed democracy in America. As is the case with any young government, many different interest groups arose to attempt to mold the government according to their vision of democracy. Washington Irving, a native New Yorker born in 1783, grew up in a world engulfed in these democratic ideals. He grew up to be, as many would grow up in this atmosphere, a political satirist. This satirical nature of Irving's shows up well in "Rip Van Winkle", as he uses historical allusions and symbolic characters to mockingly compare colonial life under British rule to the democracy of the young United States.