Washington Irving Research Paper

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

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.

American Romanticism illustrates the first truly American literary movement that began alongside the beginning of a new nation. American Romanticism appeared in response to the rationalists, such as Ben Franklin, which the American Romantics believed to be too single-minded and expressive. American Romanticism focused on the beauty of nature, imagination, feelings and expressions, higher truths in life that had to be discovered, and individualism. Consequently, this literary movement turned away from the corruption of cities and the rationalist mindset of the world and focused on nature and imagination. Washington Irving, in his stories “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and “Rip Van Winkle”, displays characteristics of American Romanticism and

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.

In Rip Van Winkle, Irving shows his doubts in the American Identity and the American dream. After the Revolutionary war, America was trying to develop its own course. They were free to govern their own course of development; however, some of them had an air of uncertainties on their own identity in this new country. Irving was born among this generation in the newly created United States of America, and also felt uncertainty about the American identity. Irving might be the writer that is the least positive about being an American. The main reason for this uncertainty is the new born American has no history and tradition while the Europe has a great one accumulated for thousands of years. Therefore, in order to solve this problem, Irving

Washington Irving’s Rip Van Winkle, at first glance, seems rather straightforward. A young man, in a rather small village, trying to get away from his duties of being a husband and his wife in general. However, while analyzing it further, it appears Irving is trying to give insight into his thoughts and feelings surrounding the American Revolution. As many thoughts and feelings are hidden in the writing of this text, the search for an identity during this time is the one that sticks out the most while reading Rip Van Winkle. There are many aspects of the short story that put emphasis on identity during this time in American history. There are many metaphors, comparisons and situations that point to identity being an important aspect of

"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

Irving uses the pseudonym to create a persona in the name of fiction. This rising form of literature seats itself well in the Romantic Movement where creativity is honored over reason. Irving wrote about a guy named Rip who was really a big hearted guy, always ready to help others in need, but didn’t always take care of his own priorities. He lost some of his motivation from his nagging wife to carry out what needed to be done to take care of his family. After he slept for 20 years and in the absence of his wife, he is finally relieved of being hindered and heckled by his wife. Hawthorne shows the value of being honest by an example of Young Goodman Brown who was susceptible to suspicious acts. If you go behind someone’s back, more than likely it is not a good act to carry out and more times than not, you will probably get caught and suffer some sort of consequence. Poe shows us that fear is a

“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

Rip Van Winkle, a story written by Washington Irving in the early 1800s, demonstrates the emergence and development of American Mythology. Packed full of mythological elements, Irving’s tale depicts a man who encounters mysterious and fantastical characters in equally intriguing settings. Rip Van Winkle displays three major factors that contribute to mythology: mysterious, historical setting, remarkable and strange characters, and heroic, magical events and their consequences.

Washington Irving was born in 1783 and died in 1859. He was the first American writer to receive an international literary reputation through his works, “Rip Van Winkle” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” He was also known as one of the inventors of modern short story and was able to financially support himself as a writer. He usually wrote comical pieces, but produced works with darker themes based on historical context. As for the historical context of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” it was based on the aftermath of the Revolutionary War, between America and Great Britain. Some historical elements featured the Headless Horseman, which was supposedly a Hessian. The Hessians were hired to aid the British in the war. The supernatural stories served as a reminder of the war and told by those who were traumatized. In Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Ichabod Crane is a schoolteacher who takes an interest in the wealthiest man’s daughter, Katrina

Could you imagine sleeping for twenty years? The story Rip Van Winkle has the characteristics of mythical stories. These characteristics include being set in the past in a beautiful setting, having strange or exaggerated characters, and featuring mysterious events with consequences.

Samantha Rockefeller Mrs. Patrick ENG 303-Sec 8 October 2, 2015 “Rip Van Winkle” Have you ever wondered what makes “Rip Van Winkle” a myth, or if the story even is a myth? In Washington Irving's short story "Rip Van Winkle" he uses 3 characteristics to present an authentic mythic theme. He creates a world for his story just beyond the realistic. The remarkable event of Rip sleeping for twenty years reminds the reader that time is very valuable, which is a theme in the short story. “Every answer puzzled him, too, by treating of such an enormous lapse of time, and matters of which he could not understand: war- Congress-

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.