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Washington Irving

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Rip Van Winkle Summary:
“Rip Van Winkle” is an American masterpiece of the short story. It is based on local history but is rooted in European myth and legend. Irving reportedly wrote it one night in England, in June, 1818, after having spent the whole day talking with relatives about the happy times spent in Sleepy Hollow. The author drew on his memories and experiences of the Hudson River Valley and blended them with Old World contributions.
“Rip Van Winkle” is such a well-known tale that almost every child in the United States has read it or heard it narrated at one time or another. Rip is a simple-minded soul who lives in a village by the Catskill Mountains. Beloved by the village, Rip is an easygoing, henpecked husband whose one cross to bear is a shrewish wife who nags him day and night.
One day he wanders into the mountains to go hunting, meets and drinks with English explorer Henry Hudson’s legendary crew, and falls into a deep sleep. He awakens twenty years later and returns to his village to discover that everything has changed. The disturbing news of the dislocation is offset by the discovery that his wife is dead. In time, Rip’s daughter, son, and several villagers identify him, and he is accepted by the others.
One of Irving’s major points is the tumultuous change occurring over the twenty years that the story encompasses. Rip’s little Dutch village had remained the same for generations and symbolized rural peace and prosperity. On his return, everything has drastically changed. The village has grown much larger, new houses stand in place of old ones, and a Yankee hotel occupies the spot where the old Dutch inn once stood. The people are different, too. Gone are the phlegmatic burghers, replaced by active, concerned citizens. Rip returns as an alien to a place that once considered him important; he discovers that life has passed on without his presence.
Irving makes clear that change is inevitable and that one pays a huge price by trying to evade it. He also makes it clear in “Rip Van Winkle” that certain fundamental values may be lost when people prefer change to stability and are willing to sacrifice everything for material prosperity. Rip’s return shows him to be completely disoriented by the march of time.
Irving takes pity on his comical creation, however, and does not punish him. Instead, Rip is allowed back into the new society and tolerated for his eccentricities, almost as if he were a curiosity. Rip has slept through vital political, social, and economic changes, including the Revolutionary War, and he returns ignorant but harmless. Irving’s suggestion, then, is that Rip is a perfect image of America—immature, careless, and above all, innocent—and that may be why he has become a universal figure.
The recurring theme of financial failure evident in two pieces preceding “Rip Van Winkle” is also found here, as is the concept of sterility. Rip awakens twenty years later and discovers that his gun and his faithful dog are gone. He notes the changes in the village and sees another Rip Van Winkle character there, has a sudden loss of identity when he returns, and realizes that there has occurred the birth of a new nation, with the replacement of King George by George Washington. Irving emphasizes the comic rather than the tragic, because Rip turns all the above into a positive affirmation of himself. He acquires a new identity and has a wondrous tale to tell of irresponsibility which counterpoints the stress of puritan ethics.
The tale of “Rip Van Winkle” has found expression in other artistic media. Five stage plays have been made of the story, beginning in 1829. There have been three operas, several children’s shows, and a television film by Francis Ford Coppola in 1985. Perhaps the most famous adaptation was made by noted nineteenth century American actor Joseph Jefferson III, who played the role of Rip for forty-five years in a very popular and much-beloved interpretation. Jefferson’s vehicle proved to be one of America’s most successful plays of the period. In the theater, it far surpassed in popularity Irving’s other masterpiece, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.”

The Specter Bridegroom Summary:
A long time ago in upper Germany there stood the Castle of the Baron Von Landshort. His ancestors’ tendency to fight had used up most of the family money, but the Baron tried to keep up as much of a face of their former prosperity as he could. While most of the German nobles had abandoned their castles for more wieldy and convenient homes, the Baron insisted on staying in his.
The Baron had only one child, a daughter, who was accomplished at all the completely useless arts taught to her by her spinster aunts. These aunts were flirts in their day, so they were very protective of their niece, who became quite reserved. She would barely look at men. Although she was the only child, the Baron’s household was always full, for he had many poor relatives who were greatly attached to him, and they loved to visit.
The Baron betroths his daughter to Count Von Altenburg, the son of an old nobleman of Bavaria, whom she has never met. The Count is recalled home from the army for the wedding ceremony, and the castle is in a tumult of preparation to give him a suitable welcome. The time comes when he is supposed to arrive, and everything has been set, but there is no sign of him.
Count Van Altenburg, meanwhile, was on his way to the castle when he ran into a former companion in the army, Herman Von Starkenfaust, who was just returning from the army to his father’s castle. The Von Starkenfaust castle was not far from Baron Von Landshort’s. The two families had been in a hereditary feud, however, so they did not know or recognize each other. Count Van Altenburg decided to travel the rest of the way with Von Starkenfaust.
On their way, the two young men were attacked by a gang of robbers, and they were about to be overpowered when the Count’s retinue arrived and scared off the robbers. They were too late, however, to prevent a fatal wound to the Count. About to die, the Count made Von Starkenfaust promise to go to the castle and tell his betrothed what happened. Von Starkenfaust agreed but felt a little awkward about going into a hostile castle to deliver bad news.
At the castle, the Baron is about to give up on the arrival of the bridegroom and start the feast without him. Finally, a horn announces the arrival of a stranger. The Baron watches a young man ride up on solitary horseback, and he is a little dismayed that the man has no retinue. He presumes it is because the Count was too impatient to meet his bride to wait for the others.
Von Starkenfaust tries to deliver the message about the dead groom-to-be, but he is taken as the groom himself and is quickly interrupted by the Baron. At another opportunity to speak, Von Starkenfaust is about to try again, but the female relatives lead the Baron’s daughter in, and he becomes so entranced when he sees her that he cannot speak. For the rest of the night he plays the role of the groom and pays attention to nothing but her. She seems delighted by him, and the family is convinced that they are in love.
As the merry banquet continues, the guest becomes more melancholy and insists on leaving. As the Baron walks him out, the man tells the Baron the truth—he cannot stay because he has an engagement the next morning at his own funeral, since he was killed that day. Von Starkenfaust then rides off, and the Baron goes back into the castle and relates the strange news.
The next day messengers arrive with the news of the Count’s murder, and everyone is convinced that they dined with a ghost. That night, however, the sad daughter hears music coming from the garden below her room, and she looks out to see her so-called dead fiancé standing there. In a flash he is gone. A week later, however, she is nowhere to be found—she seems to have been carried away by the ghost.
She soon returns with the ghost, and the whole story is related. Although the Baron usually takes feuds seriously, he is so relieved that his daughter is alive and not actually married to a ghost that he accepts their marriage happily.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow Summary:
“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” represents Irving’s second comic masterpiece, a ghostly tale about things that go bump in the night. The specter in question here is the mysterious Headless Horseman, said to be a Hessian trooper who lost his head in a nearby battle. Each night he roams the countryside in search of it. The unlikely hero in this tale is Ichabod Crane, an itinerant schoolmaster, whose name suits him perfectly: “He was tall, but exceedingly lank, with narrow shoulders, long arms and legs, hands that dangled a mile out of his sleeves, feet that might have served for shovels, and his whole frame most loosely hung together.”
Irving opens his tale with a marvelous and evocative description of the lush, charming Hudson Valley region of Sleepy Hollow near Tarry Town, the delightful and dreamy atmosphere pervading the place, and the tale of the Hessian trooper’s ghost that supposedly roams near the churchyard. He then introduces the reader to Ichabod, a poor Connecticut Yankee who is very interested in marrying the wealthy, lovely, and flirtatious Katrina Van Tassel, daughter of the richest man in the area.
Ichabod’s plan is to ingratiate himself into her life, winning her hand in marriage. He arranges to teach her psalmody and is therefore permitted to visit Katrina on a regular basis at her family’s prosperous farm. His interest in Katrina, however, is less than honorable. Ichabod wants to acquire her hereditary wealth and sell it off. His chief rival is a brawny local named Brom Bones, who loves Katrina for herself. The two men despise each other; Irving adroitly contrasts Yankee opportunism with Dutch diligence. Ichabod attends a party given by Katrina’s father one night and later, on his way home, meets the terrifying Headless Horseman (Brom Bones in disguise), who drives the superstitious victim out of Sleepy Hollow forever.
Unlike “Rip Van Winkle,” which appears among the first pieces in The Sketch Book, Irving placed “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” last and followed it in a brief piece summarizing his final thoughts on the book. It, too, is set in the Hudson Valley, but Irving’s point in this tale is markedly different. In “Rip Van Winkle” the old order gives way to the new, but the reverse is true here.
The hypocritical Yankee Ichabod is defeated by the stalwart Dutch Brom, who represents the old order. The contrast between both men could not be greater. Ichabod is a skinny, shrewd, calculating, sterile (and comic) individual, devoid of human affections, who relies on wit in his attempt to defeat his erstwhile rival. He is also a very gullible individual who believes in the supernatural, thus providing his opponent with the weapon that will destroy him. Brom, on the other hand, is a swaggering, athletic type inclined to mischievous pranks, but he does have deep romantic feelings for the beauteous Katrina. Brom is desperate to win her love, but he realizes that he cannot physically challenge his rival to a fight; hence, he devises a stratagem to prey on the schoolmaster’s fear and drive him away from Sleepy Hollow.
Although “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” is as familiar a tale as “Rip Van Winkle” to generations of schoolchildren, it has not had much success on the stage because of the difficulty of staging the thrilling chase scene at the end between Ichabod and the Headless Horseman. It has, however, been turned into at least three motion pictures. In 1922 the great cowboy humorist Will Rogers starred in a silent-screen version retitled The Headless Horseman. For the second, in 1949, Walt Disney created a full-length animated feature with Bing Crosby as narrator. In 1999 Tim Burton’s version, Sleepy Hollow, made Ichabod Crane into a constable sent to investigate a number of murders attributed to the Headless Horseman. The tale was also made into a television film in 1980.
“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” is an endearing and charming tale full of good humor, yet it has serious social implications. It questions whether change and progress are better than stability and order. The old virtues of the settlers are more important than those of the destroyers. Irving sides with Katrina, who has rejected Ichabod’s advances, and Brom Bones, who defeats his rival by playing on the hero’s irrational fears. Irving implies that the practical man always will defeat the dreamer. With the creation of “Rip Van Winkle” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” even if Irving had written nothing else, he would be elevated to literary greatness, because he fashioned two great American myths that perfectly symbolized American ideals and aspirations.

The Devil and Tom Walker Summary:
This tale, which was told to the narrator, Geoffrey Crayon, during a peaceful afternoon of fishing, begins with a local legend concerning treasure buried by the notorious pirate Captain Kidd in a swamp not far from Boston. Near this swamp, in 1727, lives a miserly fellow named Tom Walker and his wife, a woman as miserly as he. These two, so greedy that they even try to cheat each other, are constantly fighting, and Tom’s face shows the physical marks of their arguments.
One day, cutting through the swamp, Tom comes across the remains of an old Indian fortification and discovers a skull with a tomahawk still buried in it. As Tom kicks at the skull, he hears a voice and looks up to see a black man, “neither negro nor Indian” seated on a stump. The man, wearing a red sash around his body, has a soot-stained face, which makes it appear as if he works in some fiery place. Tom soon recognizes the stranger as the devil, Old Scratch. The devil confirms the story of Kidd’s buried treasure and offers it to Tom but only on a certain condition, a condition that the story does not state but that is surely the possession of Tom’s soul. Old Scratch proves his identity by leaving the imprint of his finger burned into Tom’s forehead.
When Tom tells his wife of the encounter, she greedily urges him to accept the bargain, but to spite her he refuses. Unable to change Tom’s mind, she decides to make her own pact with the devil, keeping the profits for herself. After an initial inconclusive meeting with Old Scratch, Tom’s wife sets out again for the Indian fort, this time taking with her all the household valuables she can carry. When she does not return for several days, Tom, uneasy for his valuables, goes to find her. After a long afternoon’s search, he sees hanging in a tree a bundle tied in his wife’s apron. Thinking that he has found the valuables, he opens the apron and discovers only a heart and a liver. Evidently, his wife died attempting to deal with Old Scratch as she had formerly dealt with Tom, for around the tree are tufts of black hair obviously pulled from the devil’s head. Although unhappy about the disappearance of his valuables, Tom is consoled by the loss of his wife.
Feeling grateful and with a growing desire to gain Captain Kidd’s fortune, Tom seeks to renew his acquaintance with the devil. Old Scratch does not appear for some time, however, and, when he does, he seems reluctant to discuss the treasure. Finally, though, he agrees to relinquish the treasure if it will be used in his service. He first suggests that Tom become a slave trader. Tom balks at sinking that low but agrees to go into business as a moneylender or usurer.
Tom moves to Boston and becomes successful, exacting hard terms and showing no mercy to those in his debt. Growing older, Tom regrets his bargain and searches to find a way out of the pact. He becomes zealous in church attendance, prays loudly and publicly, keeps an open Bible in his home, and always carries a small one with him. He does not, however, give up his harsh business practices.
One hot afternoon, dressed in a white linen cap and silk morning gown, Tom is about to foreclose a mortgage. When the poor victim begs for a delay, reminding Tom of the money he previously made from him, Tom replies, “The devil take me . . . if I have made a farthing!” Immediately, there are three knocks at the door, and standing in the street is Old Scratch and a black horse.
Having left the small Bible in his coat and having covered the large one with the mortgage, Tom is helpless to prevent the devil from placing him on the horse, which gallops off down the streets of Boston. The next day, his house burns to the ground, and Tom never returns. It is said, however, that the swamp and Indian fort are haunted by a spirit on horseback wearing a white cap and morning gown. The story is so well-known, says the narrator, that it is the source of the New England saying, “The Devil and Tom Walker.” “Rip Van Winkle” is an American masterpiece of the short story. It is based on local history but is rooted in European myth and legend. Irving reportedly wrote it one night in England, in June, 1818, after having spent the whole day talking with relatives about the happy times spent in Sleepy Hollow. The author drew on his memories and experiences of the Hudson River Valley and blended them with Old World contributions.
“Rip Van Winkle” is such a well-known tale that almost every child in the United States has read it or heard it narrated at one time or another. Rip is a simple-minded soul who lives in a village by the Catskill Mountains. Beloved by the village, Rip is an easygoing, henpecked husband whose one cross to bear is a shrewish wife who nags him day and night.
One day he wanders into the mountains to go hunting, meets and drinks with English explorer Henry Hudson’s legendary crew, and falls into a deep sleep. He awakens twenty years later and returns to his village to discover that everything has changed. The disturbing news of the dislocation is offset by the discovery that his wife is dead. In time, Rip’s daughter, son, and several villagers identify him, and he is accepted by the others.
One of Irving’s major points is the tumultuous change occurring over the twenty years that the story encompasses. Rip’s little Dutch village had remained the same for generations and symbolized rural peace and prosperity. On his return, everything has drastically changed. The village has grown much larger, new houses stand in place of old ones, and a Yankee hotel occupies the spot where the old Dutch inn once stood. The people are different, too. Gone are the phlegmatic burghers, replaced by active, concerned citizens. Rip returns as an alien to a place that once considered him important; he discovers that life has passed on without his presence.
Irving makes clear that change is inevitable and that one pays a huge price by trying to evade it. He also makes it clear in “Rip Van Winkle” that certain fundamental values may be lost when people prefer change to stability and are willing to sacrifice everything for material prosperity. Rip’s return shows him to be completely disoriented by the march of time.
Irving takes pity on his comical creation, however, and does not punish him. Instead, Rip is allowed back into the new society and tolerated for his eccentricities, almost as if he were a curiosity. Rip has slept through vital political, social, and economic changes, including the Revolutionary War, and he returns ignorant but harmless. Irving’s suggestion, then, is that Rip is a perfect image of America—immature, careless, and above all, innocent—and that may be why he has become a universal figure.
The recurring theme of financial failure evident in two pieces preceding “Rip Van Winkle” is also found here, as is the concept of sterility. Rip awakens twenty years later and discovers that his gun and his faithful dog are gone. He notes the changes in the village and sees another Rip Van Winkle character there, has a sudden loss of identity when he returns, and realizes that there has occurred the birth of a new nation, with the replacement of King George by George Washington. Irving emphasizes the comic rather than the tragic, because Rip turns all the above into a positive affirmation of himself. He acquires a new identity and has a wondrous tale to tell of irresponsibility which counterpoints the stress of puritan ethics.
The tale of “Rip Van Winkle” has found expression in other artistic media. Five stage plays have been made of the story, beginning in 1829. There have been three operas, several children’s shows, and a television film by Francis Ford Coppola in 1985. Perhaps the most famous adaptation was made by noted nineteenth century American actor Joseph Jefferson III, who played the role of Rip for forty-five years in a very popular and much-beloved interpretation. Jefferson’s vehicle proved to be one of America’s most successful plays of the period. In the theater, it far surpassed in popularity Irving’s other masterpiece, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.”
“Rip Van Winkle” is an American masterpiece of the short story. It is based on local history but is rooted in European myth and legend. Irving reportedly wrote it one night in England, in June, 1818, after having spent the whole day talking with relatives about the happy times spent in Sleepy Hollow. The author drew on his memories and experiences of the Hudson River Valley and blended them with Old World contributions.
“Rip Van Winkle” is such a well-known tale that almost every child in the United States has read it or heard it narrated at one time or another. Rip is a simple-minded soul who lives in a village by the Catskill Mountains. Beloved by the village, Rip is an easygoing, henpecked husband whose one cross to bear is a shrewish wife who nags him day and night.
One day he wanders into the mountains to go hunting, meets and drinks with English explorer Henry Hudson’s legendary crew, and falls into a deep sleep. He awakens twenty years later and returns to his village to discover that everything has changed. The disturbing news of the dislocation is offset by the discovery that his wife is dead. In time, Rip’s daughter, son, and several villagers identify him, and he is accepted by the others.
One of Irving’s major points is the tumultuous change occurring over the twenty years that the story encompasses. Rip’s little Dutch village had remained the same for generations and symbolized rural peace and prosperity. On his return, everything has drastically changed. The village has grown much larger, new houses stand in place of old ones, and a Yankee hotel occupies the spot where the old Dutch inn once stood. The people are different, too. Gone are the phlegmatic burghers, replaced by active, concerned citizens. Rip returns as an alien to a place that once considered him important; he discovers that life has passed on without his presence.
Irving makes clear that change is inevitable and that one pays a huge price by trying to evade it. He also makes it clear in “Rip Van Winkle” that certain fundamental values may be lost when people prefer change to stability and are willing to sacrifice everything for material prosperity. Rip’s return shows him to be completely disoriented by the march of time.
Irving takes pity on his comical creation, however, and does not punish him. Instead, Rip is allowed back into the new society and tolerated for his eccentricities, almost as if he were a curiosity. Rip has slept through vital political, social, and economic changes, including the Revolutionary War, and he returns ignorant but harmless. Irving’s suggestion, then, is that Rip is a perfect image of America—immature, careless, and above all, innocent—and that may be why he has become a universal figure.
The recurring theme of financial failure evident in two pieces preceding “Rip Van Winkle” is also found here, as is the concept of sterility. Rip awakens twenty years later and discovers that his gun and his faithful dog are gone. He notes the changes in the village and sees another Rip Van Winkle character there, has a sudden loss of identity when he returns, and realizes that there has occurred the birth of a new nation, with the replacement of King George by George Washington. Irving emphasizes the comic rather than the tragic, because Rip turns all the above into a positive affirmation of himself. He acquires a new identity and has a wondrous tale to tell of irresponsibility which counterpoints the stress of puritan ethics.
The tale of “Rip Van Winkle” has found expression in other artistic media. Five stage plays have been made of the story, beginning in 1829. There have been three operas, several children’s shows, and a television film by Francis Ford Coppola in 1985. Perhaps the most famous adaptation was made by noted nineteenth century American actor Joseph Jefferson III, who played the role of Rip for forty-five years in a very popular and much-beloved interpretation. Jefferson’s vehicle proved to be one of America’s most successful plays of the period. In the theater, it far surpassed in popularity Irving’s other masterpiece, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.”
“Rip Van Winkle” is an American masterpiece of the short story. It is based on local history but is rooted in European myth and legend. Irving reportedly wrote it one night in England, in June, 1818, after having spent the whole day talking with relatives about the happy times spent in Sleepy Hollow. The author drew on his memories and experiences of the Hudson River Valley and blended them with Old World contributions.
“Rip Van Winkle” is such a well-known tale that almost every child in the United States has read it or heard it narrated at one time or another. Rip is a simple-minded soul who lives in a village by the Catskill Mountains. Beloved by the village, Rip is an easygoing, henpecked husband whose one cross to bear is a shrewish wife who nags him day and night.
One day he wanders into the mountains to go hunting, meets and drinks with English explorer Henry Hudson’s legendary crew, and falls into a deep sleep. He awakens twenty years later and returns to his village to discover that everything has changed. The disturbing news of the dislocation is offset by the discovery that his wife is dead. In time, Rip’s daughter, son, and several villagers identify him, and he is accepted by the others.
One of Irving’s major points is the tumultuous change occurring over the twenty years that the story encompasses. Rip’s little Dutch village had remained the same for generations and symbolized rural peace and prosperity. On his return, everything has drastically changed. The village has grown much larger, new houses stand in place of old ones, and a Yankee hotel occupies the spot where the old Dutch inn once stood. The people are different, too. Gone are the phlegmatic burghers, replaced by active, concerned citizens. Rip returns as an alien to a place that once considered him important; he discovers that life has passed on without his presence.
Irving makes clear that change is inevitable and that one pays a huge price by trying to evade it. He also makes it clear in “Rip Van Winkle” that certain fundamental values may be lost when people prefer change to stability and are willing to sacrifice everything for material prosperity. Rip’s return shows him to be completely disoriented by the march of time.
Irving takes pity on his comical creation, however, and does not punish him. Instead, Rip is allowed back into the new society and tolerated for his eccentricities, almost as if he were a curiosity. Rip has slept through vital political, social, and economic changes, including the Revolutionary War, and he returns ignorant but harmless. Irving’s suggestion, then, is that Rip is a perfect image of America—immature, careless, and above all, innocent—and that may be why he has become a universal figure.
The recurring theme of financial failure evident in two pieces preceding “Rip Van Winkle” is also found here, as is the concept of sterility. Rip awakens twenty years later and discovers that his gun and his faithful dog are gone. He notes the changes in the village and sees another Rip Van Winkle character there, has a sudden loss of identity when he returns, and realizes that there has occurred the birth of a new nation, with the replacement of King George by George Washington. Irving emphasizes the comic rather than the tragic, because Rip turns all the above into a positive affirmation of himself. He acquires a new identity and has a wondrous tale to tell of irresponsibility which counterpoints the stress of puritan ethics.
The tale of “Rip Van Winkle” has found expression in other artistic media. Five stage plays have been made of the story, beginning in 1829. There have been three operas, several children’s shows, and a television film by Francis Ford Coppola in 1985. Perhaps the most famous adaptation was made by noted nineteenth century American actor Joseph Jefferson III, who played the role of Rip for forty-five years in a very popular and much-beloved interpretation. Jefferson’s vehicle proved to be one of America’s most successful plays of the period. In the theater, it far surpassed in popularity Irving’s other masterpiece, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.”

Citation: sparknotes.com

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...Rip Van Winkle summary: Rip Van Winkle is a story about Rip falling asleep for 20 years in the Catskill Mountains and wakes up to discover the world around him has changed. He finds that the American Revolutionary war has taken place and instead of being a subject of His Majesty George the Third, he is now a free citizen of the United States. Characters Rip Van Winkle Rip Van Winkle is a “simple good-natured fellow” living in a small village in upper New York during the time that New York is a colony of Great Britain. To the neighbors he is known as a kind and helpful man, always eager to play with children or help with a chore. To his wife, however, he is known as a lazy and useless man, who neglects his own children and leaves his own fields untended and his fences broken. Dame Van Winkle Dame Van Winkle is Rip’s wife. “Dame” is not her first name, but her title, the word used by the Dutch inhabitants in place of “Mrs.” In the eyes of Rip and his sympathetic neighbors; Dame Van Winkle is stern and unreasonable. The narrator calls Rip “an obedient hen-pecked husband,” and places his wife in the category of “shrews,” (a woman of violent temper and speech) calling her a “termagant,” or overbearing, wife. Apparently, she finds fault with Rip because he does no profitable work, does not help around the house, and shows no interest in the well being of his children or his wife. How readers are to see Dame Van Winkle’s character is a central question in the story: Is she a...

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Rip Van Winkle: Washington Irving's View Of Marriage

...The tale being discussed shares a handful of morals and lessons, while also expressing the author's views of marriage. The short story, Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving tells the story of young man, Rip, who is nagged by his wife and one day ventures into the woods to shoot squirrels. Rip left his failing farm one day to escape Mrs. Van Winkle’s arguing. He falls asleep high in the mountain after drinking from a keg that he had assisted carry to a mysterious group of travelers. He then wakes up 20 years later to a completely different world. His gun has rusted and his dog, Wolf has disappeared. In his village he discovers that there are more houses, unfamiliar children, and his house that is normally kept tidy is in a state of despair....

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Washington Irving's 'Rip Van Winkle'

...Washington Irving was born in 1783 after George Washington, which he later met and was blessed  him.  Encouraged by his brothers to pursue writing at early age. Due to a yellow fever breakout in 1798  he was sent to live with friends of the family in a nearby town. There he became familiar with another  town named sleepy hollow a town known of ghost stores. As a young boy he also visited Johnstown New  York as he travelled there he passed through the Catskill Mountains.  Irving stated the “Catskill  Mountains had the most witching effect on my boyish imagination “although he opposed the war of  1812 he later enlisted when the British attacked Washington.    His book “Rip Van Winkle” written in 1819 during a time, America was changing...

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Washington Irving's Rip Van Winkle

...Washington Irving is often named "the Father of American Literature." He is best known for his work of “Rip Van Winkle”, a historical fiction story, written around the time of the American Revolution. The character of Rip Van Winkle that Irving creates certainly has a unique personality and character that stands out from everyone in the story. In the story of Rip Van Winkle, Rip could be described as a thoughtful, easy-going person but also irresponsible. Irving creates the character of Rip Van Winkle as a thoughtful man. He was adored by just about everyone who knew his name. Rip “would never refuse to assist a neighbor even in the roughest toil” (151). He never made an excuse to not help someone else, even if it meant to put off his own work. This characteristic creates positive effect of his personality and heart to others around him and the reader. The author continues to mention his thoughtfulness saying that even “the women of the...

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Politics In Washington Irving's Rip Van Winkle

...In Washington Irving’s Rip Van Winkle, one may think the story is for entertainment, but there is also the key point of Politics which is of more importance and can be reflected on with a better perspective. Rip Van Winkle was a gracious and charitable man whom many people from his village admire with sincere respect. He had a caring heart for both people his age, and for children, but did not have a good home life. He was constantly nagged by his wife and was lazy. Unlike working, Rip spent his days away from home fishing and hunting. According to Wyman, Rip ventures out to the mountain to hunt, encounters the ghosts of Henry Hudson’s Half Moon crew, joins in their revealing, and falls unconscious. After his twenty-year sleep, Rip experiences...

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Favoritism in the Legend of Sleepy Hollow

...In Washington Irving's short story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" he has two main characters, Ichabod Crane and Bram Bones.  These two heroic characters both desire the same woman, Katrina Van Tassel, the daughter of a substantial Dutch farmer.  Apart from the fact that they both yearn for the same woman these two men are completely different creatures.  In "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow", Washington Irving does not hide the fact that he clearly favors Ichabod Crane over Brom Bones. Ichabod Crane is a somewhat geeky tall lanky man. He is a highly educated schoolmaster who travels from home to home teaching young children. "Ichabod Crane had a soft and foolish heart towards the sex". He clearly doubts himself with the ladies and appears to be a rather insecure character throughout the narrative. On the other hand, Ichabod Crane's adversary Bram Bones is quite the opposite. Bram Bones is a rather large robust burly and somewhat arrogant man. He is well known for his "feats of strength and hardihood. He is a confident man who expects his advances on a lady to be reciprocated. Bram Bones traveled with his gang of friends whereas Ichabod Crane seemed to be a loner who traveled by himself. Interestingly, both men were well known for their knowledge and skill in their own trades. Nevertheless, even their choice of vocation couldn't be more contrary. Bram Bones was known for his great knowledge and skill in horsemanship. His profession was a hands on job requiring great physical...

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Sleepy Hollow Isolation

...In Washington Irving's’ Sleepy Hollow, the narrator makes a virtue of being oblivious to one’s surroundings. For example, the narrator is told of the “great torrent of migration and improvement, which… sweeps by them unobserved” (Irving 4). Change and innovation is spreading across the nation and yet, Sleepy Hollow is completely unaware of the progress and change that happens outside of their city. Furthermore, he shows that since Sleepy Hollow does not change, it is good. Sleepy Hollow is isolated from the rest of the world so that the actions and achievements of other cities are never heard of. This allows the residents of Sleepy Hollow to remain relatively the same. Similarly, the narrator expresses that he would not be surprised to “still...

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Rip Van Winkle: Emergence Of American Mythology

...Winkle” In his “Rip Van Winkle”, Washington Irving portrayed remote settings, exaggerated characters, magical events, and mysterious consequences. The impact of such characteristics led to the decisive fate of the main character, Rip Van Winkle, and the story’s astonishing conclusion. Additionally, these characteristics furthered the novel’s plot, allowing readers to comprehend specific components of the American tale. If it were rendered differently, the American narrative would have starkly contrasted from its primitive purpose and would have not been displayed as one of the first and paramount American myths. First of all, the depiction of the early American small-town folks is extremely exaggerated. One such character is undeniably the main character’s wife, Dame Van Winkle. In consequence of her “yelping precipitation” (Irving 65), Rip Van Winkle was forced to seek liberation from his flustered, boisterous spouse. In this sense, readers find Dame Van Winkle’s extensive elaboration to be tremendously amusing and humorous. In other words, it thoroughly allows readers to recognize the author’s ornamented humor through the story’s characterization. However, if the character...

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Indirect Characterization Of Rip Van Winkle

...The beginning of American mythology was credited to Washington Irving. He created the four characteristics in his story “Rip Van Winkle”. The first characteristic is that the story is set in the past and in a remote location. Secondly, it has a variety of strange and exaggerated characters. Next, the story has a magical quality included that has an effect on Rip. In the conclusion of Rip Van Winkle Irving shows how the community accepts Rip Van Winkle with his flaws. This lets Rip enjoy the last few years with his family and community. The setting of “Rip Van Winkle” takes place up the Hudson River and near the Catskill Mountains before the Revolution. The American Revolution dated 1775-1783. The story was published in 1819. This meets the...

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Ichabod Crane In Washington Irving's The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow

...In "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Washington Irving, the author takes a rather humorous attitude toward the character of Ichabod Crane, a likable yet universal stereotype. Although the story has gained a reputation as a ghost story over the years, Irving shaped it as a comic tale of self-delusion. Much of the humor derives from the contrasts within Crane's own personality. Ichabod Crane was the main character in “ The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”. Ichabod Crane was described as a tall, skinny, gangly, awkward young man whose whole fame was most loosely hung together. He saw himself as a very accomplished, suave man. Women in the rural neighborhood easily sophisticated Crane. Other people seen Crane as an educated and scholarly man by their standards. He was a standard teacher who teaches in a roughly-made, log building that only had one large room in it. The author states “From here the low murmur of...

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