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American Myth In Washington Irving's Rip Van Winkle

536 Words3 Pages

“Rip Van Winkle,” the tale of a man who just wanted to get away from his overbearing wife, is a spectacular example of writing in the American mythology genre. This short story was written by Washington Irving and published in 1819. Some of the characteristics of great American mythology include an interesting setting, over exaggerated characters, and situations that have their own unique consequences. These can all be found in “Rip Van Winkle." Rip Van Winkle lived in a small village surrounded by an obscure mountain range. This village was founded by Dutch colonists and had a feeling of “great antiquity.” Not only does the village have it’s own unique characteristics, but so the did the fairy-like mountains. The atmosphere of the Kaatskill …show more content…

He was idle and lazy and “would rather starve on a penny then work for a pound.” His way of escaping his wife’s demands and harsh attitude towards his actions was to take his dog and gun to the mountain and go shooting. While doing so one night, he was summoned by a strange old man carrying a keg of alcohol and decided to stop and help him. This man lead Rip to a streambed where many other strange men gathered and indulged in games and alcohol. Rip’s foolish decision to stay there and sneaking drinks from the keg caused to him lose consequences and sleep for 20 years. “Rip Van Winkle” clearly includes the key characteristics of American mythology; those being interesting settings, over exaggerated characters, and situations that have their own unique consequences. Rip lived in a small Dutch village surrounded by fairy-like Mountains. The characters, including Rip himself, had their own very unique personalities and identifiable traits. His response to his and his wife’s actions caused the situation oh him sleeping for over 20 years. If “Rip Van Winkle” was this interesting and detailed of a story, how interesting might other stories from American mythology

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