ipl-logo

Satire In Washington Irving's The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow

783 Words4 Pages

Created in the midst of neoclassicism, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by Washington Irving is an American classic, and a common tale to tell around the campfire. In a time of reconnection with the roots of Greek and Roman schools, this gothic tale was created and holds up to other more free form stories that of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. How, you may ask, is this possible? How can a time of critical thinking and harsh minds swell under the creepy campfire story that is “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”. The answer can be found in similar Knickerbocker stories. The narrator has used the fictional story of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” to show how ignorant the belief and retelling of urban legends is.

Satire is found in many of Neoclassicism …show more content…

After a night with his lady love, Ichabod returns home after the party only to be stopped at the bridge by the Headless Horseman. The whole interaction takes about a paragraph in which Ichabod makes a failed attempt on escaping the horrible Horseman. The narrator tells us exactly how it all went, how Ichabod did not run away and stood proud. How he questioned the Horseman and how he only tried to escape when there was no other choice. How he, in on last ditch attempt to survive, was struck in the back of the head with the Horseman's head. But the story continues after this, explaining to the reader that no one knows what had actually happened. Which begs the question, why include this ending at all, this dramatic conclusions to Ichabod's life? What other reason would there be than to expand on the hilarity of the urban legend.

In conclusion, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” is nothing more than a satire on the urban legend. The author Washington Irving created this whole legend in order to express to all of America the stupidity and ridiculousness of the urban legend. Why should we be afraid of Bloody Mary if no one can decide who she actually is, what she looks like, and how she died? Irving expresses the exact reasons for the urban legend and why they don't make

Show More
Related

Comparing Cask Of Amontillado And The Tell-Tale Heart

168 Words | 1 Pages

Poe’s stories “Cask of Amontillado” and “The Tell-Tale Heart” display the dark romantic theme of a man’s soul by the development of the setting, plot, and characterization. As both stories begin, the initial device used to advance the theme is setting, which remains grim and sinister throughout the duration of both stories. Accompanying these physical details is the plot, each of which includes the murder of an innocent man. Most notably, the characterization of each piece’s narrator allows the audience to fully understand their internal struggle and its final resolution. While “Cask of Amontillado” contains an overall intriguing and unexpected plot as well as setting, the narrator’s characterization proves this story to conclude in a less

Read More

How Does Washington Irving Use Satire In The Devil And Tom Walker

600 Words | 3 Pages

“The Devil and Tom Walker” written by Washington Irving, is a story that takes place in New England in the 1720’s. A major part of the story is satire as it is displayed all throughout the work. Satire is writing that ridicules or criticizes. Religion, marriage, and the white establishment are three different elements of society that are criticized throughout the story with satire. Religion and religious types are criticized through satire by Irving in the story.

Read More

Summary: An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge

814 Words | 4 Pages

"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" begins with the capture of the protagonist Peyton Farquhar, a plantation and slave owner. Bierce paints a vivid picture of the surroundings around Farquhar as he awaits to be hanged. It then flashes back to the days leading up to the hanging. Where Farquhar was deceived by a federal spy claiming to be a confederate soldier. In the end, we see Farquhar escape from reality as he is serving his sentence to finally his demise.

Read More

An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge Essay

948 Words | 4 Pages

As you can tell from the title, something big happened at the Owl Creek Bridge, but you have to wait until the end of the story to find out the truth, or else you could be lost in someone’s daydream. The story had me intrigued by the different directions it could take you, but it all made sense in the end, and I discovered you sometimes have to dig a little deeper to find the whole truth about someone. Peyton Farquhar, a plantation owner in his mid-thirties, is being prepared for execution by hanging from an Alabama railroad bridge during the American Civil War. Farquhar, a supporter of the Confederacy, learns from a soldier that Union troops have seized the Owl Creek railroad bridge and repaired it. The soldier suggests that Farquhar might be able to burn the bridge down if he can slip past its guards.

Read More

Compare And Contrast Sleepy Hollow

523 Words | 3 Pages

Could you imagine being chased by a headless man riding on a horse? “Sleepy Hollow” is about Ichabod Crane, a schoolmaster in the small town of Sleepy Hollow. Ichabod likes a girl named Katrina Van Tassel, but the only thing in his way is Brom Bones. The two versions of “Sleepy Hollow” incorporate many similarities and differences.

Read More

Bierce Literary Elements

713 Words | 3 Pages

In addition, Bierce “implies” that Peyton successfully escaped by using diction and syntax, emphasizing phrases such as “swimming vigorously with the current” and “thought [thinking] with the rapidity of lightning”. Noticeably, when Bierce writes the excerpts with details & emphasizes Peyton’s attempted escape, he doesn’t reveal the fate of Peyton. He makes the syntax longer in order to make the reader ponder as they read to excerpt which builds up suspense in the process. Bierce wrote the quote with more detail in comparison of the last few sentences of the story that are written to be simple and brief. Bierce simply states, “Peyton Farquhar was dead; with a broken neck, swung gently from side to side beneath the timbers of the Owl Creek.”

Read More

Occurance At Owl Creek Bridge Essay

700 Words | 3 Pages

In “An Occurance At Owl Creek Bridge,” Ambrose Bierce carefully hides the theme in ways that use detail, flashbacks, and conflict, forcing the reader to deeply analyze the text in order to find the qualities that make a story complete. There are many elements in this story that relate to humans and the way they act in real life, which the author put lots of thought into. He begins the story with specific detailing that starts

Read More

Superstitions In Ichabod Crane's The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow

1004 Words | 5 Pages

When writing, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” I fashioned the character, Ichabod Crane, to tell my version of the famous legend of the “headless horseman.” Making Ichabod a school teacher in pursuit of the affection of a beautiful woman, gave a realistic perspective to one of my favorite legends of Sleepy Hollow, New York. I also wanted to reiterate that folklore has its place and that we mustn’t be overcome with superstition as does Ichabod. Their purpose is solely for amusement and occasionally impart wisdom. I wanted to write about how incorrectly distinguishing fact from fiction.

Read More

Similarities Between The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow And Rip Van Winkle

493 Words | 2 Pages

Washington Irving’s, The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. is a collection of thirty-four of his essays and short stories. Attributed to the fictional Dutch historian character, Diedrich Knickerbocker, are two of Irving’s most popular stories, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle. Rip Van Winkle is the story of a Dutch villager, living at the foot of the Catskill mountains before and after the American Revolutionary War. Van Winkle is genuinely loved by the people of his village, especially by the children whom he tells ghost stories to, plays with, and gives toys. However, this simple, easy-going man has one great error in his character: he is incredibly lazy, despising work in all forms.

Read More

Compare And Contrast Tell Tale Heart And The Raven

930 Words | 4 Pages

Edgar Allan Poe’s frightening gothic style poetry and short novels about fear, love, death and horror are prominent to Gothic Literature and explore madness through a nerve-recking angle. The incredible, malformed author, poet, editor and novelist is recognized for his famous classical pieces such as “The Raven”, “Berenice” and “The Tell-Tale Heart”, pieces of work that mystically yet magnificently awakens readers with a gloomy spirit. Awakening the subject of madness through written work was viewed as insane during Poe’s times. Yet Poe published some of the worlds most magnificently frightening pieces of literature throughout history. In the following essay I will examine and cautiously analyze

Read More

Reading Response: The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow

191 Words | 1 Pages

Irving's use of the supernatural theme is investigative and makes for a great story but lacks certainty. Make note of Brom and the fact that he laughs every time the abduction is mentioned. Also the narrator never really addresses the sadness of the townspeople. It seems like they were unaffected and will continue their usual routine. The people of sleepy hollow are never

Read More

Romanticism In Washington Irving's The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow

1431 Words | 6 Pages

While Washington Irving was writing “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” (1820), it was the time when Great Britain reached independence and all over the world were going many changes. In this story, he described the small village with its rural life where everything remained the same far from the immigration and improvement of the

Read More

Literary Elements In Edgar Allan Poe

1208 Words | 5 Pages

In many stories and poems; such as the Tell Tale Heart, The Cask of Amontillado, The Raven, Annabel Lee, The House of Usher, and so many more timeless works, Edgar Allan Poe has been captivating his audiences with spine tingling thrillers through the words and style of his own twisted ways. The only way to describe where Poe’s writing belongs in history, would be classified as gothic genre. From the start of the 1800’s to present day and the future of literature, through irony, repetition, imagery, and symbolism Poe has been bewitching readers with his gore and insane writings. Poe’s life inspired so many of his poems, from focusing on taboo topics, such as death, revenge, love and loss. Poe’s life was painful and heartbreaking that

Read More

Ichabod Monologue

1185 Words | 5 Pages

It was a cold and windy day outside in Sleepy Hollow. It was so quiet that you can even hear the leaves hit the ground, as they fell off of the tree. Suddenly, I finally reached my destination “The tree Of the Dead.” Yes, i know you're probably wondering, why i would be in the middle of the woods, in front of this creepy tree. Well I’ve come to make a deal with the Headless Horseman to kill Ichabod once and for all.

Read More

Literary Analysis Of Rip Van Winkle

952 Words | 4 Pages

While reviewing the list of masterpieces of the spoken time, on the top of the list we can see the name of “Rip Van Winkle”. This short story combines the abovementioned Gothic features and attracts the reader to see the realities through finding the hidden ideas. Step by step we’ll review the main and key points of the short story, Rip Van Winkle, to clear up some hidden ideas. Other yields of Irving’s pen similar to “Rip Van Winkle” are full of with Gothic elements. As the best examples such as “The Devil and Tom Walker”, “The Spectre Bridegroom” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” etc. are full of mysteries and enigmas.

Read More

More about Satire In Washington Irving's The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow

Related Topics

Open Document