Rip Van Winkle: Washington Irving's National Mythology

Have you ever wondered why American Mythology became so popular in the United States? Mythologies were important during this era because it highlighted the nation's values and ideals. It also celebrated its heroes. As the United States began to break away from Britain, they wanted to feel a sense of independence. In the story “Rip Van Winkle” by Washington Irving, a national mythology is created through the experience of the, the main character, Rip Van Winkle. Irving’s national mythology “Rip Van Winkle” greatly impacts its readers through his use of extraordinary settings, intriguing characters, and mythical events. The story of Rip Van Winkle takes place in an extraordinary setting before as well as after the Revolutionary War. The story

Dame Van Winkle is one of the most annoying characters in the story she is always nagging a Rip and telling him to do something. “Morning, noon, and night, her tongue was incessantly going, and every thing he said or did was sure to produce a torrent of household eloquence” (65). She is the wife of Rip Van Winkle and she always had something to says to him about what he was doing wrong or how lazy he was. In order to get away from her nagging, Rip escapes with his dog, Wolf, to the nearby mountains where he meets a mysterious man. “Rip Van Winkle! Rip Van Winkle!”—At the same time Wolf bristled up his back, and giving a low growl, skulked to his master’s side, looking fearfully down into the glen. Rip now felt a vague apprehension stealing over him; he looked anxiously in the same direction, and perceived a strange figure slowly toiling up the rocks, and bending under the weight of something he carried on his back”. Rip met the strange man when he was trying to go back home and being the helpful person he was, decided to help the man with what he was carrying. The reason that this is important is because Irvine is telling readers that about most of the things that happened in the revolutionary