The Identity Crisis In Washington Irving's Rip Van Winkle
Washington Irving’s “Rip Van Winkle” enjoys the reputation of being one of the first great American short stories written by a pioneer of American fiction, and of capturing a transtemporal portrait of American life. Yet because of the ambivalence with which Irving treats the new nation in this work, scholarship has debated whether this story is simply “the first truly American folk tale, or a derivative vehicle used to undermine the young republic” (Wyman 220). I argue that this short story cannot be reduced to either an experiment in genre or a political critique. Rather, Washington Irving’s “Rip Van Winkle” depicts storytelling as the key to connecting national identity with mythology, and thus to strengthening a post-Revolutionary America. To understand this connection, we must first discover that Rip Van Winkle himself represents storytelling and authorship. Rip is far from being the ideal American …show more content…
As Sarah Wyman points out Rip’s “inability to read and understand the signs and symbols (he) encounters may result in more than dramatic confusion,” essentially ostracizing him once again from the people of his village (217). Not only is the town unrecognizable to Rip, but the strange new words he encounters like “congress” or “General Washington” are to him as incomprehensible as “perfect Babylonish jargon” (Irving 478). Rip’s struggle comes to a climax as he exclaims, “God knows, I’m not myself…every thing’s changed, and I’m changed, and I can’t tell what’s my name, or who I am!” (Irving 480). The echoes of a young America can be heard in this desperate cry for identity; less than forty years old when “Rip Van Winkle” was published, the nation still had much to determine about its identity and what it meant to be American. Without a canon of origin mythology and literature to draw upon, Americans might have struggled much like Rip to find their place in a new
Rip Van Winkle And The Emergence Of American Mythology
529 Words | 3 Pages“Rip Van Winkle” and the Emergence of an American Mythology. By Danise Bachman Rip van winkle in indeed a classic piece of American mythology. Washington Irving set this story in the past and filled it with exaggerated and sometimes, strange characters. It also features a mysterious and magical occurrence that put the main character to sleep for twenty years!
How Does Truman Capote Embraces The American Dream
361 Words | 2 PagesCapote’s nonfiction novel embraces the American Dream through the ideals of its characters and the narrative conveying the concept of violence assimilated with the ambition to achieve such success. Capote’s tactic is to narrate “from the perspective of self-effacing omniscience,”
Debra Marquart's Syntax In The Horizontal World
640 Words | 3 PagesCharlie Chaplin once said, “I don't think the real America is in New York or on the Pacific Coast; personally, I like the Middle West much better, places like North and South Dakota, Minneapolis and Saint Paul. There, I think, are the true Americans.” Debra Marquart distinguishes this so-called ‘true America’ in her 2006 memoir titled The Horizontal World. This memoir is a detailed account of her childhood in the Midwest. In an excerpt from The Horizontal World, Debra Marquart utilizes syntax, diction, and imagery to characterize the Midwest.
Literary Analysis: Exploring American Identity
906 Words | 4 PagesLiterary Analysis: Exploring American Identity Introduction This essay compares “In response to executive order 9066” (poem) by Dwight Okita to “Mericans” (short story) by Sandra Cisneros. Specifically, the essay explores the central theme of American identity in the two literary works. The “Mericans” is about a little girl who has a story about the new world and the old world. In this case, the new world is America.
How Does Washington Irving Use Imagery In Rip Van Winkle
456 Words | 2 PagesImagery is defined as the use of “figurative language to represent objects, actions, and ideas” in a way to “appeal to our physical senses” (LiteraryDevices Editors). Washington Irving is an American author during the early ages of an independent America. Taking place before and after the American Revolution, Irving offers offers a unique perspective on small American towns. Throughout his short story Rip Van Winkle, Irving incorporates the element of imagery to connect the audience to the setting, relate the character to the audience, and enhance the reader's experience. Irving writes as the main character, Rip Van Winkle.
Rip Van Winkle Compare And Contrast Essay
634 Words | 3 PagesOver the course of this week we read two works of writing. One is the short story “Rip Van Winkle” by Washington Irving in 1819. The other is Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography. These two stories are pinnacle pieces of literature. One being a well known fictional work through the United States, the other is the writing of and by one of America’s Founding Fathers.
Literary Analysis Of Oscar Wilde's Impressions Of America
718 Words | 3 PagesIn the 1800’s, America was the subject of many romantic visions and musings. The British and East Coasters alike saw everything west of Appalachia as a wild wonderland: home to cowboys, adventure, and opportunity. Oscar Wilde, a renowned British author and satirist, voyaged across America to test the truth of these claims. Afterwards, he published his findings and opinions in a piece known as Impressions of America. In the piece, he makes it clear that America did not live up to his expectations, and would disappoint his readers as well.
Washington Irving's The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow
1343 Words | 6 Pages“Little minds are tamed and subdued by misfortune; but great minds rise above them” (Irving). During his time in the 1800’s there were many major events happening in America. There were many conflicts such as the War of 1812, the Missouri Compromise, Trail of Tears, and the Mexican-American War. America was growing very fast, Thomas Jefferson purchased Louisiana from Napoleon in 1803, the southern states were large crop growers, the north was very industrial, and seventeen new states were added. There were many political movements such as women’s rights, women at the time were inferior to men and could not vote.
Who Is Chris Mccandless An Inspiration For Into The Wild
752 Words | 4 PagesSaid Webster 09 November 2014 2p/Doris ExRWC Supplied with almost no survival equipment, Christopher McCandless undergoes many discomforts, risks, and sacrifices as he tramps around the continent. Although the protagonist enthusiastically justifies the vagabond lifestyle that ultimately kills him, his remarkable escapade, as told by Jon Krakauer’s book Into the Wild, is both cautionary and inspirational. Chris McCandless graduated from Emory university in Atlanta in 1990 and then vanished. His family heard nothing of where he went or what he was doing, despite a desperate search, until his body was discovered two years later in Alaska, along the Sushana River.
How Does Rip Van Winkle Characterize The Great American Dream
949 Words | 4 PagesThe Great American Dream is an ideal that states through hard work and dedication, every American citizen has the opportunity to accomplish personal goals and achieve success. The amount of effort put forth to obtain these goals, and achieve individualized success is decided upon by that citizen. Some of the more common goals and successes are ownership of property, obtaining wealth, enjoying liberties, experiencing patriotism, and raising a family. In “Rip Van Winkle” by Washington Irving, the main character Rip is able to obtain the Great American Dream through laziness. Washington Irving satirizes the Great American Dream in his short story, and in this paper I will analyze how “Rip Van Winkle” can be read as a parody.
Character Alikeness In Rip Van Winkle And The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow
1927 Words | 8 PagesIrving’s Character Alikeness Biographical and short story writer, Washington Irving is known for his works “Rip Van Winkle” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” However, he does have additional short stories. Between 1819 and 1820, Washington Irving published The Sketch Book, which was made up of approximately 30 short stories. Within those works were characters such as John Bull, Rip Van Winkle, Ichabod Crane, the Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow, and several other unnamed characters. Now, the nameless characters in Washington Irving’s tales had just as deep impacts in their stories as named characters; from those deep impacts came about noticeable character resemblances between those characters.
Literary Analysis Of Rip Van Winkle
952 Words | 4 PagesIn novels focusing on parody of European attributes of romanticism Washington Irving created the unexampled masterpieces. “Rip Van Winkle” being one of the unexampled works of Washington Irving combines gentle and perfect humor. This story is Irving’s imaginative reworking of an old German tale in which his valuable parody professionally covered. In the story Washington Irving gave the national shade to the description of events and outlandish beings for America.
Similarities Between The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow And Rip Van Winkle
493 Words | 2 PagesWashington Irving’s, The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. is a collection of thirty-four of his essays and short stories. Attributed to the fictional Dutch historian character, Diedrich Knickerbocker, are two of Irving’s most popular stories, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle. Rip Van Winkle is the story of a Dutch villager, living at the foot of the Catskill mountains before and after the American Revolutionary War. Van Winkle is genuinely loved by the people of his village, especially by the children whom he tells ghost stories to, plays with, and gives toys. However, this simple, easy-going man has one great error in his character: he is incredibly lazy, despising work in all forms.
Change In American Literature
970 Words | 4 PagesThis quote brings about an interesting topic, American Literature and the significant changes throughout history encouraged many people to create change in literature. The literary arts became a powerful tool in communicating different worldviews and the integrating of historical moments in time. This movement created a unique blending of different races to integrate through literary arts causing many cultures to unite internationally. Literature encouraged intellectual American’s to be a part of the change in their communities. For many people, this movement triggered an internal need for social and cultural change.
Analysis Of Washington Irving's The Spectre Bridegroom
965 Words | 4 PagesHugh S. Dawson also added some thoughts to the ideas of Young, Fetterley and Fiedler about Rip Van Winkle that Rip Van Winkle being Gothic story once more shows the advantage of marriage to avoid from wasting life in impenetrable forest [6, 14/08/2015]. Another bestseller work of Washington Irving is “The Spectre Bridegroom” that also included in “The Sketch Book by Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.”. If Irving in “Rip Van Winkle” headed to mix the physical and metaphorical dream reflecting the sigh of freedom in colony, in this work he brought the new American breath to the old Europe. Unlike other works, Irving described the happened events in Germany. All these hinted at that Irving wanted to ruin the old fences around Europe that formulated for many years.
More about The Identity Crisis In Washington Irving's Rip Van Winkle
Rip Van Winkle And The Emergence Of American Mythology
529 Words | 3 PagesHow Does Truman Capote Embraces The American Dream
361 Words | 2 PagesDebra Marquart's Syntax In The Horizontal World
640 Words | 3 PagesLiterary Analysis: Exploring American Identity
906 Words | 4 PagesHow Does Washington Irving Use Imagery In Rip Van Winkle
456 Words | 2 PagesRip Van Winkle Compare And Contrast Essay
634 Words | 3 PagesLiterary Analysis Of Oscar Wilde's Impressions Of America
718 Words | 3 PagesWashington Irving's The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow
1343 Words | 6 PagesWho Is Chris Mccandless An Inspiration For Into The Wild
752 Words | 4 PagesHow Does Rip Van Winkle Characterize The Great American Dream
949 Words | 4 PagesCharacter Alikeness In Rip Van Winkle And The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow
1927 Words | 8 PagesLiterary Analysis Of Rip Van Winkle
952 Words | 4 PagesSimilarities Between The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow And Rip Van Winkle
493 Words | 2 PagesChange In American Literature
970 Words | 4 PagesAnalysis Of Washington Irving's The Spectre Bridegroom
965 Words | 4 Pages