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Washington Irving's Rip Van Winkle

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The year 1819 was of little historical significance to most of the world. No major wars were being fought. No leaders were assassinated; it seemed to be a year of unimportance. Highlights of the year would include Alabama’s admittance into the union and Colombia’s breaking free from the rule of Spain. However, the most important event of 1819 did not involve war, independence, or anything of the sort. That event was the publishing of Washington Irving’s short story “Rip Van Winkle.” The importance of this tale is deeply unrecognized by many people. Those who do realize this story’s significance consider “Rip Van Winkle” as the first critical writing about life in the newly independent United States. Throughout time, analysts have realized the …show more content…

The Articles of Confederation, the new nation’s first form of government, were a nightmare for those who advocated a strong national government. On the other hand, those who opposed strong national government, mainly state legislators, thought that the Articles of Confederation were exactly what the new nation needed. This created a rift that is still noticeable within the United States today in the form of partisan politics. Irving hints at this separation in our government when “Another short but busy little man pulled [Rip] by the arm, and raising on tiptoe, inquired in his ear, ‘whether he was Federal or Democrat’” (479). Although Irving does not go into detail about the viewpoints of Federalists and Democrats, this is still one issue that arose in post-revolution life. Irving purposely points out the division of the American government as a subtle critique of the nation’s new governmental system. In fact, the division between Federalists and Democrats was the reason for the writing of the Constitution of the United States, which Irving alludes to in his story. When Rip returned to the village, “There was a whisper, also, about securing the gun, and keeping the old fellow from doing mischief. At the very suggestion of which… [had been] retired with some precipitation” (Irving 480). In this, Irving directly symbolizes the newly written constitution and its second amendment. His allusion to the constitution may be subtle, but it is important in understanding the change in regimes and how the reign of Great Britain and the freedom of the United States

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Rough Draft Politicians for two hundred years have invoked the Founding Fathers to defend their beliefs. It is understandable that as a society we place figures like Washington, Franklin, and Jefferson on a pedestal, as leaders of American independence they merit that recognition. Implying though, that the Founding Fathers ideas were in unanimity with each other would be a simple and mistaken assumption. These men, while intellectual giants in their own right, found little common ground on public, economic, and social policy. Heated debates, slander, and disagreement are as defining of the construction of the country as democratic elections.

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This faction believes the government should remain as is, with the states in a dominant position. They insist on keeping the federal government decentralized and are suspicious against power consolidation with anti-federalist Richard Henry Lee saying, “In the new Constitution, the President and Senate have all the executive, and two thirds of the legislative power. In some weighty instances, (as making all kinds of treaties, which are to be the laws of the land,) they have the whole legislative and executive powers. They, jointly, appoint all officers, civil and military; and they (the Senate) try all impeachments, either of their own members or of the officers appointed by themselves.” The anti-federalists insist that a bill of right is a necessary addition to the constitution and likely will not approve of the document until one is added.

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836 Words | 4 Pages

“Rip Van Winkle” “A tart temper never mellows with age, and a sharp tongue is the only edged tool that grows keener with constant use” (Washington Irving). Irving incorporates characteristics of exaggerated characters, astonishing events, and also conveys a positive message. Rip Van Winkle, a story about a man that lived in the Catskill Mountains located in New York. Rip Van Winkle contains interesting characters and without those characters there would not be a story. Rip Van Winkle is a well liked man in his village.

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1219 Words | 5 Pages

Washington Irving’s “Rip Van Winkle” is a short story about a man who is content with avoiding work and responsibility. The main character, Rip Van Winkle, is a carefree and lazy man. Rip often escapes from his wife's nagging by wandering in the Catskill mountains. One day he falls asleep in the Catskill mountains and wakes up twenty years into the future, where he has to adjust to a new society and the loss of his wife. In the short story Rip Van Winkle, Irving makes use of character, setting, and conflict to showcase how Rip's foolish decision to neglect his own responsibilities and his realization of the passage of time has a lasting impact on himself and society.

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750 Words | 3 Pages

[…] In an effort to solve the problem of copyright abuse, he consulted another lawyer/author, Sir Walter Scott, who helped him publish his works in England with his own publisher” (Marker). Irving did not change the writing or reading habits, but He did change what we are able to read and

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1610 Words | 7 Pages

Thomas Paine, in the Occasional Letter to the Female Sex, and Washington Irving in "Rip Van Wrinkle" both of them demonstrate in a different way their view about the relationship between the concepts on the one hand of private and family and on the other of public and the political society. In addition to these, also the texts explore the connection between the gender and the body politic. On the one hand, Thomas Paine, through his text provides the role that women concerning men about the politics but also he stresses the need that women have for recognition about their contribution to the rebellion. On the other hand, Irving through the character 's life and the historical events of the 18th century in America suggests the notions of the

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637 Words | 3 Pages

Rip Van Winkle, who is the main character, went into the woods and when he came back everything has changed. Washington Irving is the author of this book “Rip Van Winkle”, he takes the place as the character, Diedrich Knickerbocker. Rip Van Winkle is part of a Sketchbook. The setting in this story “Rip Van Winkle” is in the Kattskill Mountains. During, the time of the Revolution.

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654 Words | 3 Pages

“Rip Van Winkle” is a tale by Washington Irving that describes a passive man who travels in the woods. This was written during the Romantic Period, when things were heading into the American Revolution. Rip, the protagonist, is an easy going, lazy, and the type of man who never takes care of his own family or farm. Irving pictures Rip as an awful husband that is unhappy with his life. The story is based of Rip is avoiding domesticity and never doing what is necessary for him and his family to prosper.

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196 Words | 1 Pages

There they tell him the new society they live in. Both stories were being part of a new society where the government did not rule a lot over the people,Also there was opportunity for doing your own things. You had your own identity to what you wanted to be. Rip van winkle did not really understand what was going on because, he was not ready for the changes america brought. Rip Van Winkle was

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965 Words | 4 Pages

Hugh S. Dawson also added some thoughts to the ideas of Young, Fetterley and Fiedler about Rip Van Winkle that Rip Van Winkle being Gothic story once more shows the advantage of marriage to avoid from wasting life in impenetrable forest [6, 14/08/2015]. Another bestseller work of Washington Irving is “The Spectre Bridegroom” that also included in “The Sketch Book by Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.”. If Irving in “Rip Van Winkle” headed to mix the physical and metaphorical dream reflecting the sigh of freedom in colony, in this work he brought the new American breath to the old Europe. Unlike other works, Irving described the happened events in Germany. All these hinted at that Irving wanted to ruin the old fences around Europe that formulated for many years.

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821 Words | 4 Pages

In Washington Irving’s short story “Rip Van Winkle,” the main character Rip Van Winkle is spending his days merrily ignorant of any real work and issues. He tends to the needs of the children and wives of his village instead of his own family as he seemed to have “...an insuperable aversion to all kinds of profitable labor” (pg. 620). This carefree attitude caused problems with his marriage, and his wife, Dame Van Winkle, would often chastise him or kick him out of the house. It is with these thoughts that Rip begins to make his way home early one night, only to be stopped by a “short, square built fellow” (pg. 630) calling his name. The decision to help the man led Rip to an abandoned amphitheater where he soon literally began to drink himself into a coma.

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427 Words | 2 Pages

Rip Van Winkle was a wonderful but hopeless man. His dog would always follow him in any of his hunts, and Rip would always be concentrated onto whatever he was doing, as long as it didn’t involve his family or farm. Rip was not treated fairly verbally by his wife because of this. Rip’s dog, Wolf, felt his pain when he entered his house while his wife was there. Wolf could only barely make it out alive.

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952 Words | 4 Pages

In novels focusing on parody of European attributes of romanticism Washington Irving created the unexampled masterpieces. “Rip Van Winkle” being one of the unexampled works of Washington Irving combines gentle and perfect humor. This story is Irving’s imaginative reworking of an old German tale in which his valuable parody professionally covered. In the story Washington Irving gave the national shade to the description of events and outlandish beings for America.

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436 Words | 2 Pages

The story of Rip Van Winkle, by Irving, sets the position in the Kaatskill Mountains. It’s an American mythicism about a slow farmer who left on a hike and met a Dutchmen and settled up sleeping for twenty years. American religion is folk tales with some magical theme to it. After reading Rip Van Winkle, the reader may take aside that being lazy easy but it doesn’t get you wherever in life. The anecdote of Rip Van Winkle is set to place in a village in the Kaatskill Mountains.

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1428 Words | 6 Pages

In his “Rip Van Winkle,” Washington Irving presents marital conflict through Rip’s attitude, a woman’s role, and the effect of relationships. To begin, Rip Van Winkle obviously has a very strong opinion of his wife, her role, and his farm’s condition. Washington Irving makes it clear to the reader that “Rip was ready to attend to any body’s business but his own” (30). Irving also explains Rip’s inability to maintain his

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