Washington Irving was born in 1783 in New York City. After relocating to England to help his family business, Irving started publishing his works from his collection entitled the sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon Gent. This included The Legend of the Sleepy Hollow, which helped Irving gain international fame. German folks tales probably inspired the supernatural elements in the short story, while its characters were based on people he met.
The Legend of The Sleepy Hollow is set in New York in Tarry town in 1790. The narrator of Irving’s short story is a man named Diedrich Knickerbocker who claims he is retelling the tale. From a third person’s objective point of view we learn the legend of Ichabod Crane. He is a schoolmaster who wants to marry Katrina Van Tassel who is a young beautiful woman. However so does the town hero Brom Van Brunt. After a disappointing night from the Van Tassel’s party, Crane makes his way home late at night. Already anxious from having passed several spots that are supposedly haunted, Crane meets a giant but silent cloaked horseman. He becomes afraid when he sees what he thinks is the Horseman’s head on his saddle. While Crane tries to escape, the horseman throws the head at the schoolmaster that night. Crane is never seen or heard from again. Though his clothes, his horse and a smashed pumpkin remained.
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Ichabod Crane is a schoolmaster from Connecticut who is tall, skinny and shabby looking. He is fascinated by scary tales and is superstitious and gullible. His strong belief in those tales actually makes him afraid of them. Ichabod is an unlikable character because of his greed. He wants to marry Katrina more for her father’s wealth, than out of actual love for her. Ichabod’s main rival, Brom Van Brunt is also attracted towards Katrina. He is the opposite of Ichabod. He is strong, tough and manly. He is a very good horse rider and likes to prank Ichabod