Have you ever wondered why American Mythology became so popular in the United States? Mythologies were important during this era because it highlighted the nation's values and ideals. It also celebrated its heroes. As the United States began to break away from Britain, they wanted to feel a sense of independence. In the story “Rip Van Winkle” by Washington Irving, a national mythology is created through the experience of the, the main character, Rip Van Winkle. Irving’s national mythology “Rip Van Winkle” greatly impacts its readers through his use of extraordinary settings, intriguing characters, and mythical events.
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! These characteristics make for an enchanted story that has charmed readers for two hundred years.
Misogyny is the dislike of, contempt for, or prejudice of women; Washington Irving has been accused of misogyny because of the treatment of women in his stories and their content. Washington Irving was a writer during the 1800’s, and some of his most popular works include “Rip Van Winkle” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” Within these tales and other works of Irving’s, aspects of misogyny is discernible, though there is debate about whether the author himself was a misogynist. I believe that the misogyny that is shown throughout a select few of Irving’s works is due in part to the time period, not entirely Irving, himself.
Washington 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. Therefore, Van Winkle must endure the unrelenting nagging of his wife, Dame Van Winkle, every day. When he can no longer deal with the words of his wife, Van Winkle decides to wander the mountainside with his loyal cur dog, Wolf. After some time, Van Winkle hears his name called out by a Dutch man,
How the Grinch Stole Christmas and A Christmas Carol are two very similar stories. In the stories A Christmas Carol and How The Grinch Stole Christmas, there are two characters who are a good example of this. A Christmas Carol is a story about a grumpy old man named Ebenezer Scrooge who only cares about money and needs to be taught a lesson. The story teaches a very good lesson, and modern authors still draw from it’s storyline. They also draw from the lessons it teaches while people read it. The second story is called How the Grinch Stole Christmas. It has to do with a “Who” who is very mean, and the whole town, except one girl, hates him. It is very similar to A Christmas Carol, when it comes to the main character. Both of their societies sort of reject them, and they are very nasty people.
An American folklore that established Washington Irving as one of the first American authors, “Rip Van Winkle” is a short story about a local Dutch-American villager and the mysterious event that kept him away from home for twenty years. Narrated in the third person omniscient, the narrator depicts a panoramic view of the natural landscape as well as provides an objective view of the main character’s thoughts. To provide a closer view of his personal thoughts, Robert Coover reintroduces Rip Van Winkle with his own monologue in Rip Awake to give him a voice to describe the aftermath of his experience when he returns home. Irving and Coover demonstrates
Rip Van Winkle was the first, as well as the greatest, true Romantic American Hero. Many different qualities, values, and characteristics make up a Romantic American Hero and Rip possessed virtually all of them. A short few of these qualities that Rip is most known for include his innocent and pure purpose, his honor and integrity, and also his quest for a higher truth. Rip shows he possessed these amazing traits of a Romantic American Hero through his actions. He proved that he is pure and innocent by caring only for the prosperity of others and not himself. He exhibited that he is full of honor and integrity by how he cares not for silly arguments that normal people engage in. He showed that he desires an understanding of a higher truth by
The author's literary techniques used in "The Rattler" portray a feeling of sadness and regret. A human has come across a snake, in the snake’s natural habitat. For the sake of human safety the snake must die. The reader becomes sympathetic for the man and his choice to save himself and others. The man also shows a sense of humility when he chooses to leave the rattlers on the snake. He could have chosen to keep these as proof of his heroic actions, however he chose to spare the snake’s own self-respect as if he had lived, ” I did not cut the rattles off for a trophy; I let him drop into the close green guardianship of the paper-bag bush.”
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow tells the story of Ichabod Crane and his attempt to win the heart of Katrina Van Tassel. Ichabod comes to Sleepy Hollow, New York, from his home state of Connecticut, to be the schoolmaster of the village. Sleepy Hollow is a small, quiet town which is said to be under some kind of enchantment. All of the residents move differently, daydream, and are prone to believe in the supernatural. The most famous supernatural phenomenon is the ghost of the Headless Horseman which is seen riding by the church. He tries to pursue Katrina at a party at the Van Tassel farm but ends up crestfallen. He walks home in an eerie and dark and he sees the Headless Horseman next to the church. He runs to the bridge but the Headless Horseman follows. The next day Ichabod
The book, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and the poem The Courtship of Miles Standish surprisingly, have many things in common. The characters that are mere opposites are similar in more ways than you think. In the following paragraphs, we will explore the similarities and differences of these two books and their characters.
Have you ever wondered the difference between To Kill a Mockingbird and A Christmas memory."Atticus, you must be wrong...." "How's that?"
I am reading To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and I am on page 376. This book is about a girl named Scout who lives with brother Jem, aunt Alexandra, and father Atticus. The kids have learned a lot from the experiences with people in the town like Boo Radley and Tom Robinson. When Tom died it affects the whole town for a little bit. When the kids were attacked by Bob Ewell, but Boo Radley came to save them. In this journal I will be evaluating.
While reviewing the list of masterpieces of the spoken time, on the top of the list we can see the name of “Rip Van Winkle”. This short story combines the abovementioned Gothic features and attracts the reader to see the realities through finding the hidden ideas. Step by step we’ll review the main and key points of the short story, Rip Van Winkle, to clear up some hidden ideas. Other yields of Irving’s pen similar to “Rip Van Winkle” are full of with Gothic elements. As the best examples such as “The Devil and Tom Walker”, “The Spectre Bridegroom” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” etc. are full of mysteries and enigmas.
Does Rip Van winkle’s decision to go up the mountian to be free from his wife later affected him in the future? Rip Van Winkle, written by Washington Irving, was published in 1819 and was written around the time of the American Revolution. The american Revolution which took place from 1765 to 1783, was a revolt of thirteen colonies who wanted independence from Great Britain. They gained their independence and defeated England and became the United States. The American Revolution caused many changes in society, the culture, and literature, the people had to try new things like going from having a king to now having a president and living with things they had never experienced in their life before. The Literature during the Revolution usually was trying to get the citizens to join the revolution and fight for Independence. Washington Irving shows this concept of change in his book which shows how the main character, Rip Van Winkle, gets to see how life was before and after the American Revolution. Rip was a very lazy kind of stay at home husband, he did not enjoy working and preferred to live his life talking and having a good time sharing stories. Rip’s wife, Dame constantly reminded Rip of his laziness and dishonor he was bringing to the
The historical novel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, written by Mark Twain in 1884, has many literary elements to generate a good plot and compose a good story. Twain introduces the characters, the major ones being Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer, as well as Jim. Finn was a white, poor child, who unlike Sawyer was not very dramatic in his way of life. Tom Sawyer read a lot and knew how to make any situation thrilling. Jim, a very mature black child, tags along with Finn (as well as the King and the Duke) to run away, and ultimately needs to get rescued in the end as he is forced into slavery by Ms. Watson. Twain provides a narrative hook by familiarizing the readers with how vivid Tom’s life is when he and Huck sneak through Widow