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Sleepy Hollow And To Build A Fire: A Literary Analysis

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In the short stories “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and “To Build a Fire”, the overarching theme is insiders versus outsiders, which is brought to light by the contrast of Romanticism and Naturalism. This theme can be shown through various pieces of evidence from each of the short stories. The theme, even though it is underlying, is extremely vital to the understanding of the two stories. In the “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and “To Build a Fire”, the underlying theme of insiders versus outsiders allows a specific contrast of the two literary periods of Romanticism and Naturalism.
In “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” the main character, Ichabod Crane, is a massive outsider to the town of Sleepy Hollow. Ichabod’s style and way of life is very different …show more content…

In the place where Ichabod is from, this is not uncommon. As the story progresses, we see more and more instances of Ichabod not being able to relate to the townspeople. An example of Ichabod being different from the townspeople is that the men of Sleepy Hollow are known for their strength and broadness. Ichabod is seen much differently; “he was in form and spirit like a supplejack – though he bent he never broke” (7). The differences between Ichabod and the townspeople are not of great size; however, over time they can still produce a big problem.
The theme of insiders versus outsiders can be strongly related to the literary period of Romanticism and can give the reader a greater understanding of the passage. In “The Legend of Sleep Hollow”, Romanticism is personified through Ichabod Crane; Ichabod is a schoolteacher who is much more intellectually advanced than the people of Sleepy Hollow. This relates back to the theme of insiders versus outsiders. Ichabod’s way of life is more advanced, not just intellectually but also in the way he dresses: “his appearance in the true style of a cavalier” (8). Unlike the people of Sleepy Hollow, Ichabod follows the rules of the

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