Rip Van Winkkle Figurative Language Analysis

Being away from a termagant wife and doing squirrel hunting even though you don’t want to hurt one in Catshill mountains is fun. Then you should be quick to accept the consequences of sleeping through one of the most important acts in American history. A story told by Diedrich Knickerbocker (aka Washington Irving) tells about a henpecked man who had a behavior that lead him to missing the Revolutionary War. Diedrich Knickerbocker’s “Rip Van Winkle” is an all time favorite short story that pushed the limits of short story to the limits. Diedrich Knickerbocker used a suitable theme, unique characterization and literary devices to enhance his composition. For Rip Van Winkle the only theme that mattered is personal. A king can be jettisoned and replaced by a president, congress, a constitution, and a different flag, but in the end all that matters to Rip is freedom within his four walls at home.

Wasinston Irving has a Midas Touch in figurative language. There are a number of figurative examples in this story. For instance a simile is when Rip Van Winkle 's children are identified, "His children too were as ragged and wild as if they belonged to nobody. His son Rip, was generally seen trooping like a colt at this mother 's heels, equipped in a pair of his father 's castoff galligaskins, when he had much ado to hold up with the one hand, as a fine lady does her train in bad weather." This describes his children using simile as a way to enhance and elaborate their charateristics. A second example is metaphor as shown in “a sharp tongue is the only edged tool that grows keener with constant use." This metaphor shows how his termagant wife 's tongue is getting keener with daily exercise. There are also examples personification as he describes the Katsill Mountains as "clothed in blue and purple" and they "print their bold outlines on the clear evening sky," to demonstrate how the Katsill Mountains change as the seasons change and