Transformation of the Tale: Washington Irving’s “Rip Van Winkle” and Robert Coover’s Rip Awake 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.
Throughout history, irony has been used in a multitude of ways. It is not just a way to inject humor into a story, but a way to slip a message in without saying it flat out. By doing that, it allows the reader to take in the information, and possibly come to the conclusion that the author wanted them to. This way, though, it does not seem like something forced upon them. Authors who used this tactic were Frederick Douglass in The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass and Mark Twain in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
In Rip Van Winkle, Irving uses the countryside and supernatural elements as an escape for Rip Van Winkle from the constant nagging of his wife and demand of labor, where he is finally happy and at peace. Does this reveal an insight into Irving’s character? II. As Rip wanders from his wife up the mountains with his dog, he eventually approaches a strange group of men playing nine-pins in a hollow.
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.
Rip Van Winkle, a short story by Washington Irving, is a timeless classic and an excellent example of an American mythology. The story is whimsical tale of an exceptionally lazy man who happens upon some mysterious men one day that give him a drink that causes him to fall asleep for 20 years. This story has characteristics that sufficiently meet the American mythology model. It is a story that is set in the past in the beautiful and descriptive setting of the Kaatskill Mountains. It has intriguing and markedly strange characters that significantly stand out; these characters include Rip Van Winkle, Dame Van Winkle, and the mysterious mountain men.
The short story “Rip Van Winkle” written by Washington Irving is known for the way it portrays various incidents throughout the American Revolution. Rip vanishes from his arrogant spouse to walk to the Catskill mountains where he ends up in slumber for twenty years. The theme of nature and Rips character tie in with one another and demonstrates the ever changing world. Rip Van Winkle was introduced by the narrator as genial, diligent, and ne’er do well.
Over the course of this week we read two works of writing. One is the short story “Rip Van Winkle” by Washington Irving in 1819. The other is Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography. These two stories are pinnacle pieces of literature. One being a well known fictional work through the United States, the other is the writing of and by one of America’s Founding Fathers.
You can also tell from Rip’s own words how he feels about the king. After coming back to the village after his extensive nap, and he is pressed about who he voted for, Rip responds he is “…a loyal subject of the King, God bless him!” After Rip declares his loyalty to the King, the people are upset. They shout that he is a spy for Britain, and that he is a scoundrel.
He used historical events, personalities, and time as a background for this. Personalities is a big thing in this story. Irving describe Rip as a lazy man with self-respect for himself. He prides himself on being lazy and does not understand why everyone else has a problem with it.
Upon his awakening and accepting that his world had been changed forever, Rip goes right back to the man he was before, compiling “with his usual alacrity” (pg. 631). Irving’s central idea is that even a drastic change in one’s situation may not have any affect on one’s life. Main character Rip is many things: lazy, kind, a heavy drinker, and also unchanging. He is unchanging throughout his entire adult life, making him both flat and static as a
It assumed that a ghost visits every twenty-years and that Rip Van Winkle has been accompanying this ghost for the time in which he was missing. Rip Van Winkle ultimately decides to stay with his now grown daughter, and continue his life just like it was before. This time however, he escaped his wife that only nagged at him for his
Rip represents America in the allegory. He's lazy and doesn't listen to his wife. He does what he wants. He's not educated and spends his free time gossiping with his friends and getting drunk. He spends much
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 approach of Irving to the creation of national literary icons which will be accepted and read by every new generation could not be estimated. The activity of Irving in this direction almost always makes him different from the other authors. In “Rip Van Winkle” among the features which could be able to attract the attention of the reader we can point out the tone of the story. Indicating
About 50 years ago, the freshly decolonized, 'underdeveloped ' nations began a quick process to make themselves worthy of West. 'Development ' when it comes to modernization meant economic growth and industrialization. But this modernization theory ' is increasingly being challenged today. Many countries around the world freshly decolonized and newly named underdeveloped or developing, embarked on different projects of national development. Some began to setup indigenous industries for export, others opted for industrial production to substitute for imports and this process was underpinned by what we call modernization theory.
