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The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow Analysis Essay

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The Legend of Sleepy Hollow: Analysis “…The body of the trooper, having been buried in the churchyard, the ghost rides forth to the scene of battle in nightly quest of his head… (Page 18). Washington Irving draws readers into his short story, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” by exploring the life of Ichabod Crane, an odd schoolteacher who strived to impress women. While terrified of ghosts and superstitions, especially that of the Headless Horseman roaming the area, Ichabod disappears leaving townsfolk wondering if the Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow has struck again. Irving brings the legend to life by focusing on setting, providing ambiguities, and illustrating imagery. The story takes place in a small valley near the Hudson River. “…There is a little valley, or rather lap of land, among high hills, which is one of the quietest places in the whole world” (Page 16). Irving later emphasizes that the stillness of this valley seems eerie. People who visit this place are somehow captured by an inescapable spell. “The whole neighborhood abounds with local tales, haunted spots, and twilight superstitions; stars shoot and meteors …show more content…

Irving portrayed Ichabod Crane as “an odd mixture of small shrewdness and simple credulity” (Page 22). He was an unusual man who makes the perfect main character. His physical appearance is depicted as well. “His head was small, and flat at top, with huge ears, large green glassy eyes, and a long snipe nose…” (Page 19). Readers can clearly envision his appearance as the most outlandish person in all of Sleepy Hollow. His schoolhouse was peculiar as well. “His schoolhouse was a low building of one large room, rudely constructed of logs; the windows partly glazed, and partly patched with leaves of old copybooks” (Page 19). Visualizing the school is effortless. Irving uses language that paints a picture into the reader’s mind. Imagery is imperative in this legend

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Located in a “lonesome area,” the town did not have much to see. All of the local buildings were falling apart; with their chipping paint and “dirty windows” and “irrelevant signs.” The citizens of the dreary town were nice people, everyone knew everyone, and they spoke to each other in an accent "barbed with prairie twang.” The description of this town makes it sound very dull and boring, doesn’t it? Yes.

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Well,this paper is about the differences of the book,Sleepy Hollow and the movie of the same name. They are quite different, in fact, more different than similar. Not that it’s crazy surprising considering hollywood rarely does a good job of portraying people,books,comic books,etc. I mean, just look at The Lightning Thief or The Last Airbender or basically any movie based on a comic book or book. Enough of talking about other movies.

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I didn’t really like this story very much at all. I like the idea of the archetype characters, but you were right when you said fi you didn’t read into it you wouldn’t get it all I prefer the parts of Sleepy hollow I seen better than this story. I think he must have written well to be buried in Sleepy Hallow because that’s where the best of the best go when their time is done if their lucky enough. I couldn’t get into to it and the silent film didn’t really make it easier it made more since when we talked it over. I don’t think I really ever like this story it had parts I understood, but there was a lot that I just couldn’t follow.

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He could imagine his deception of this town “nestled in a paper landscape,” (Collins 534). This image of the speaker shows the first sign of his delusional ideas of the people in his town. Collins create a connection between the speaker’s teacher teaching life and retired life in lines five and six of the poem. These connections are “ chalk dust flurrying down in winter, nights dark as a blackboard,” which compares images that the readers can picture.

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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.

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Are there differences and similarities in “The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow” the short story from 1820 by Washington Irving and the movie “Sleepy Hollow” by the film star, Johnny Depp? Yes, there are differences and similarities. There is differences and similarities in the plot, characters, Ichabod’s profession, the philosophy of the Headless Horseman, Van Tassel’s party, Ichabod Crane and Brom Bone fighting over Katrina Van Tassel and, Brom Bones dressing up like The Headless Horseman.   The differences between “The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow” the short story and “Sleepy Hollow” the movie are: Ichabod’s profession, the plot and, the philosophy of the Headless Horseman. In the short story Ichabod Crane is a teacher from Connecticut.

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These characteristics make for an enchanted story that has charmed readers for two hundred years. The story first takes place in near the Hudson river in the Kaatskille mountains. (What is now southeastern New York State) Irving described the mountains as they “magically” changed throughout each season, “When the weather is fair and settled, they are clothes in blue and purple”.

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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.

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Tyler Mcilwain Reading response 2/15 "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" In this piece, Irving's sarcasm is quite present throughout the story. He uses Ichabod's character to signify greed. Even though he seems to be lacking aesthetically, he wants it all and is willing to do anything to get it. Katrina is also quite greedy when it comes to winning over her male counterparts.

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He found the dead man seated like the tree. Crane describes how the dead man’s body was dressed in a blue uniform that had since faded to a shade of green. His eyes had also changed to the dull hue like that seen on the side of a dead fish. His mouth was open with red having changed to an appalling yellow. His face was gray with ants running over it, with one trundling a bundle of some sort along the upper lip.

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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

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“A drowsy, dreamy influence seems to hang over the land, and to pervade the very atmosphere. Some say that the place was bewitched by a high German doctor, during the early days of the settlement; others, that an old Indian chief, the prophet or wizard of his tribe, held his powwows there before the country was discovered by Master Hendrick Hudson.” Washington Irving wrote The Legend of Sleepy Hollow in 1820. It is about a teacher, Ichabod Crane, who is chased away by the headless horseman.

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