Satire In Washington Irving's The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow
Created in the midst of neoclassicism, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by Washington Irving is an American classic, and a common tale to tell around the campfire. In a time of reconnection with the roots of Greek and Roman schools, this gothic tale was created and holds up to other more free form stories that of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. How, you may ask, is this possible? How can a time of critical thinking and harsh minds swell under the creepy campfire story that is “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”. The answer can be found in similar Knickerbocker stories. The narrator has used the fictional story of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” to show how ignorant the belief and retelling of urban legends is.
Satire is found in many of Neoclassicism
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After a night with his lady love, Ichabod returns home after the party only to be stopped at the bridge by the Headless Horseman. The whole interaction takes about a paragraph in which Ichabod makes a failed attempt on escaping the horrible Horseman. The narrator tells us exactly how it all went, how Ichabod did not run away and stood proud. How he questioned the Horseman and how he only tried to escape when there was no other choice. How he, in on last ditch attempt to survive, was struck in the back of the head with the Horseman's head. But the story continues after this, explaining to the reader that no one knows what had actually happened. Which begs the question, why include this ending at all, this dramatic conclusions to Ichabod's life? What other reason would there be than to expand on the hilarity of the urban legend.
In conclusion, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” is nothing more than a satire on the urban legend. The author Washington Irving created this whole legend in order to express to all of America the stupidity and ridiculousness of the urban legend. Why should we be afraid of Bloody Mary if no one can decide who she actually is, what she looks like, and how she died? Irving expresses the exact reasons for the urban legend and why they don't make
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