Irving Washington s Rip Van Winkle - 930 Words

Irving Washington’s Rip Van Winkle is one of the most famous and acclaimed works as well as one of Irving’s biggest successes. Irving wrote it after the American Revolution and during that time is when America’s society was still developing and becoming it’s a government of its own. This short story shows how a new, thriving America had gained freedom, but then that freedom came with a price as it meant that the newly freed country would eventually have had to struggle to establish its own identity. In the story, Irving actually represented these feelings of uncertainly through the titular Rip Van Winkle. The story takes place in a setting in a colonial America and when it was still being ruled by Britain; Rip Van Winkle, while he was a good man he had his own boredom and problems that he did not deal with, including a nagging wife. This all changed when he fell asleep for 20 years and awoke to the same surroundings only everything about it had changed, from his home to the buildings, to the people and to the whole culture he once knew. Everything around him is new, nothing he knew before was there and he was almost like a fish out of water; his â€Å"village was altered† as the people were now different and with different mannerisms and the America he once knew had been freed from Britain (Irving, pg. 36). Even the entire disposition of the village was different since it no longer had â€Å"the accustomed phlegm and drowsy tranquility† and was much busier and lively (Irving, pg.Show MoreRelatedAnalysis Of The Book Rip Van Winkle And Young Goodman Brown 1197 Words   |  5 Pages In Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving and Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the wilderness is used as a place for the main characters of both stories to have profound supernatural, spiritual experiences. Washington Irving uses the wilderness and nature to add a great sense of romanticism to his writing by creating a peaceful, mystical world. In Rip Van Winkle, Iriving implies that nature’s possessive beauty offers a great escape from the conventions of everyday life and can allow oneRead MoreA Brief Look at Washington Irving1441 Words   |  6 PagesWashington Irving Washington Irving was considered to be the first professional man of letters and was influential in the development of short stories. He was the first author to sell his stories abroad other than America. Washington Irving was born and raised in New York City on April 3, 1783, and he was the youngest of eleven children. Washington Irving was the first American to make a living as an author during his career in the early 1800’s. His short stories left a lasting and of most influentialRead MoreRip Van Winkle, By Washington Irving980 Words   |  4 PagesRip Van Winkle The short story, Rip Van Winkle has journeyed through many years of popularity in American literature. This narrative is eloquently written by Washington Irving, a prolific nineteenth century American writer. The Author sets the story in a village near the Hudson River, along the banks of the Catskill Mountains where Great Britain once held reigns. Irving presents the reader with a story that effectively delivers an abundance of connotations representing the era of its origin. ThroughRead MoreEssay on Rip Van Winkle1664 Words   |  7 Pages Rip Van Winkle In the late 1700s and early 1800s, literature began to show it was changing thanks to the newly formed democracy in America. As is the case with any young government, many different interest groups arose to attempt to mold the government according to their vision of democracy. Washington Irving, a native New Yorker born in 1783, grew up in a world engulfed in these democratic ideals. He grew up to be, as many would grow up in this atmosphere, a political satirist. This satiricalRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book Rip Van Winkle 1868 Words   |  8 Pagespart of the last two centuries, generations of people around the world have read or heard of the tale of the man who slept for two decades known as â€Å"Rip Van Winkle†. This short story was originally published in a book called â€Å"The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.† by American author Washington Irving under the pseudonym â€Å"Geoffrey Crayon. Irving used effective writing to show the reader every detail neede d to understand where and what is going on especially during the transitioning periods ofRead More Rip Van Winkle and the American Dream Essay645 Words   |  3 PagesIn Rip Van Winkle, Irving shows his doubts in the American Identity and the American dream. After the Revolutionary war, America was trying to develop its own course. They were free to govern their own course of development; however, some of them had an air of uncertainties on their own identity in this new country. Irving was born among this generation in the newly created United States of America, and also felt uncertainty about the American identity. Irving might be the writer that is the leastRead MoreRip Van Winkle and American Dream Essay662 Words   |  3 PagesIn Rip Van Winkle, Irving shows his doubts the American Identity and the American dream. After the Revolutionary war, American was trying to develop its own course. They were free to govern their own course of development; however, some of them had an a ir of uncertainties on their own identity in this new country. Irving was born among this generation in the newly created United States of America, and also felt uncertainty about the American identity. Irving might be the writer that is the leastRead MoreAnalysis Of Rip Van Winkle1055 Words   |  5 PagesWashington Irving, â€Å"Rip Van Winkle† (29) Within Washington Irvings story â€Å"Rip Van Winkle†, Irving depicts an early British colonist by the name of Rip. Rip although the descendant of the chivalrous Van Winkles, does not like to perform arduous tasks. Irving illustrates this within the text stating, â€Å" Rip Van Winkle, however, was one of those happy mortals, of foolish, well- being oiled dispositions, who take the world easy, eat white bread or brown, which ever can be got with the least thoughtRead MoreAnalysis Of Rip Van Winkle And The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow By Washington Irving1380 Words   |  6 Pages [Statistic]Just like a sponge children absorb every piece of information they see. For example the child s family may be Christian or Atheist, Republican or Democratic. It molds them into the people they become. Children soak in information from school, the public, their family, and religious experiences.[Reflection]Dependent upon what this child learns and how they use it, they may fall under two rather wide spanning categories, Rationalist or RomanticRead MoreRip Van Winkle And The Dangers Of American Innocence Essay2190 Words   |  9 Pagesâ€Å"Rip Van Winkle† and the Dangers of American Innocence Washington Irving’s â€Å"Rip Van Winkle† is a staple of early American literature that has lived through the ages as a fable that as Americans we tell our children to entertain and illicit a message or moral that they will be able to take away from this slice of American literature. Irving’s story does in fact have a lot to say about America as a young and naive nation that has bred a national identity, but in the process has forgotten about the