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Irving's Struggle In Rip Van Winkle

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Irving does a great job interpreting the time of radical, societal and political transformation that came up because of the American Revolution through this story. The story is based on two essential segments during that time period focused on before Rip fell asleep and after he woke up. The time period before Rip falls asleep, he struggles with managing his family and farm. He does everything he can to stay away from his nagging wife. His marriage was in trouble as Irving stated “Times grew worse and worse with Rip Van Winkle as years of matrimony rolled on; a tart temper never mellows with age, and a sharp tongue is the only edge tool that grows keener by constant use” (32). Rip was more concerned about his dog and socializing …show more content…

Dame was so used to being in charge that she would go around dictating to everyone. Even Wolf the dog was petrified of her. She was the representative of the British rule, which had a strong arm over America. Dame constantly pestered and hollered at her husband. She frequently talked about his laziness and uncaring ways. Dame consistently harassed him and controlled him (Irving 32). During all of the fussing, Rip would just take it and say nothing in return. He had tolerated the harassment for such a long time it just didn’t seem worth arguing back. He feared his wife and was afraid to talk back and voice out his opinions and feelings. He didn’t want to cause any more issues that would lead to mistreatment on her part. This can be connected to the period before the revolution. Just like Rip, the Americans lived in constant fear of torture and were afraid of challenging the British rule. The period before Rip falls asleep the Americans are in bondage and freedom wasn’t even close to being seen. Upon Rip waking up and returning home everything is different. The changes are colorful and full of life. The townspeople show how society has changed into an independent country. The death of Rip’s wife Dame shows that the period of bondage is over. Scholars are beginning to think and invent which symbolizes that life in America has evolved. The citizens have a true enthusiasm for

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The writings by Washington seemed as though only the head females were the ones that had the darker personalities. In Rip Van Winkle, Irving tells the readers that a great deal of the woman wanted to have Rip. The difference between these women and the woman he was already married to was that these other women were a great deal nicer, and would not abuse Rip the way she did. Moreover, after thinking for a while, I had a realization that maybe Washington had not had the greatest relationships with women. He might have always had the abusive wife who always found a way to yell at him, accordingly having seen all of these other women being extraordinarily kind to anybody around them.

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“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!

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Irving’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.

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Imagery 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.

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Rip Van Winkle pursues a very seldom lifestyle with no pursuit and no ambition. He displays almost no willingness to change from his traditional ways after realizing the American colonies were independent from British Tyranny. He even still accepts the rule of King George III when he enters the town greeting the towns people with saying he is a loyal subject of the king. The reader can see his total disembodiment from the situation when the narrator says “instead of being a subject of his Majesty George the Third, he was now a free citizen of the United States. Rip, in fact, was no politician;

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Hugh 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.

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The 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.

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1. Introduction This research paper deals with Washington Irving's most famous short story Rip Van Winkle, which tells the story of a man, who falls into a magical sleep during the English colonial time and wakes up twenty years later as a citizen of the United States of America. It will be looked into the characteristics that make Rip Van Winkle a Romantic piece of literature and how Washington Irving's intentions are reflected in his writing. 
Hereby Washington Irving’s life itself will be taken into consideration together with the Romantic period to demonstrate how these two domains are combined in Rip Van Winkle. 2.

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In 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.

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