ipl-logo

Themes In Irving's The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow

1642 Words7 Pages

Literature has evolved through different time periods throughout the years. From 1620-1720, the era was known as Puritanism. The Puritans came from Europe to the New World to be able to practice their religion without punishment. In England, the Church of England has become corrupt and the Puritans want to return the church to a simpler form. They value cleanliness and no show of wealth. In this strict religious society it is hard to be accepted unless you have a connection with God. Then the Age of Reason brought ideas of freedom which made people want to get away from the strict Puritan society. By the time of the American Revolution, very few people still believed and followed the Puritan religion and practices. These new ideas caused by …show more content…

The farms are thriving and all of the nature is valued by the townspeople. Ichabod Crane is a very greedy and selfish person. When he is invited to a dinner at one of the wealthiest farm owner’s home, instead of appreciating the thriving and abundant farm and the careful use of nature, he instantly thinks of the cash that comes with it and the food that it produces. The speaker says, “As the enraptured Ichabod fancied all this, and as he rolled his great green eyes over fat meadow lands, the rich fields of wheat, of rye, of buckwheat, and Indian corn, and the orchards burdened with ruddy fruit,... his heart yearned after the damsel who was to inherit these domains, and his imagination expanded with the idea of how they might readily turned into cash…” (pg 6). Ichabod has the opportunity to come to a beautiful prosperous farm and instead of appreciating the use of nature and how magnificent it is, he instantly sees it as a way to make money and always have food available to him. He does not appreciate the simplicity of Sleepy Hollow, instead he thinks of ways to take advantage of what the small town has to offer which is its nature. Irving uses Ichabod to show a side of people that only see nature as an opportunity to better themselves. Ichabod’s intentions are not good, they only benefit himself and destroy things in the process. Throughout the story Ichabod tries everything to change his destiny and where he will end up in life, but in Bryant’s poem, he explains that it is ok to be alone and to believe in your

Show More
Related
1314 Words | 6 Pages

America was becoming more secular. Man now had a social contract with their government because they could form their own government. This change in beliefs was significant because it led to the development of self-government, the creation of three branches and the system of checks and balances. The colonists no longer saw themselves as Englishmen but rather Americans because they were now in charge of their own laws and customs. They were no longer focused on what the English wanted but rather what they wanted for themselves.

Read More
1150 Words | 5 Pages

According to (Jess Bloomberg) the puritans were a group of people who grew away from the Church of England and worked towards religious moral and societal reform. John Calvin writings gave a rise to Protestantism and

Read More
833 Words | 4 Pages

Literature has been around for many ages. There are many different types of literature fro. many different times. The way people write has changed throughout the years. American literature is commonly talk about because it is well liked, although sometimes it can be hard to understand if you are currently a student.

Read More
898 Words | 4 Pages

The Puritans was a huge deal in the 1600s. It consisted of colonists who were seeking religious tolerance. Puritans were so strict that it was so far fetched from tolerant. One would be punished to not attend church, it was against the law. Men and women were separated through the day long services.

Read More
1072 Words | 5 Pages

In the 1500s, the Protestant Reformation swept through England and caused people like John Calvin to make up their own religions. Henry VIII made the Anglicanism the official religion of England, and any dissenters, even dissenters who belonged to the Church of England, were persecuted. Puritans were some of these dissenters, and they migrated to the New World seeking religious freedom, a place to live the way they believed was pleasing to God. As the Puritans' lives were shaped by their religion, so too did their religious values and ideas influence the political, social, and economic development of the New England colonies. That their belief that people should obey religious authority and their value of unity shaped the northern colonies'

Read More
1982 Words | 8 Pages

Since these things started to occur Puritan ministers, such as Jonathan Edwards, had to make a change. The Puritans were a group of people who, in the 16th and 17th centuries, tried to help

Read More
255 Words | 2 Pages

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.

Read More
600 Words | 3 Pages

Puritans living in early America Life in the early 1600’s is a big contrast to the way we live in American in present day times. Back then America was just starting out as there were no official towns yet because not many Europeans lived here. All of that changed in the year 1607 when the first English settlement was built. Years later more came to America for different reasons; some came to have better opportunities and make a decent living but another big reason was to escape religious persecution.

Read More
879 Words | 4 Pages

They were very adamant and the church influence on the community was over religion. The Puritans soon became the judge, jury and executor of punishment for citizens. People did not have the freedom to practice their religious beliefs as they chose and this led to a dictatorship environment where people were afraid if they did not abide by church regulations. There was punishment that could be enacted upon the community for not totally honoring the church.

Read More
816 Words | 4 Pages

Dejected by the loss to the American Revolutionary War, George III lost the land acquired overseas and his mental stability. Later on, it was said that he suffered from porphyria, experiencing hallucinations, eventually leading up to his doomed derangement in 1788. The king’s psychotic perception not only mirrors Victor’s maniacal mind, but also paints the setting for Frankenstein, acting as a catalyst to an era of unorthodox vision, pandemonium, and creativity. In the early-to-mid 1700s, literature revolved upon concepts that were “driven by ideas, events, and reason”(“Enlightenment and Romanticism: a Comparison”).

Read More
1128 Words | 5 Pages

The question of what exactly is literature comes up every time something is written or read. This question forms many of the English classes that students take all around the world, and this question dominates the literary community. So what exactly is literature and why is it so important? Literature is non-factual, with sensuous language, about particular people or events that have significance. Literature is often figurative and appeals to the emotions.

Read More
191 Words | 1 Pages

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.

Read More
1431 Words | 6 Pages

The romanticism was the response to the Industrial Age. That movement began in America from 1820 ’s to 1870’s. Washington Irving was part of that movement which began in America after Revolutionary War. They tried to separate them from the rest of the world and create a country as a nation. They used their chance of individuality and creativity, and they addressed economic social and many other concerns by their writings.

Read More
556 Words | 3 Pages

Religion is a cultural universal that affects society in so many different ways. The various teachings can give explanations of things seemingly unexplainable, it can act as a way of social control, but either way religion is an integral part of American society now and it was maybe even more so in early America. In early 17th century, the Puritans came to America in a great migration to escape religious persecution and in the hopes of creating “a city upon a hill.” They established their society in New England and Puritanism dominated the area. In Puritan colonies, there was very little distinction between law and religious decrees, and this is just one of the examples of how Puritanism was the foundation of New England culture.

Read More
462 Words | 2 Pages

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow demonstrates the tenets of Romanticism by using folk culture using a ghost-like character, individuality by making Ichabod significantly different than the others, and escapism by having Ichabod sing to avoid his paranoid fear of ghostly beings. “From hence the low murmur of his pupils' voices, conning over their lessons, might be heard in a drowsy summer's day, like the hum of a beehive; interrupted now and then by the authoritative voice of the master, in the tone of menace or command; or, peradventure, by the appalling sound of the birch, as he urged some tardy loiterer along the flowery path of

Read More

More about Themes In Irving's The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow

Related Topics

Open Document