Headless Horseman Analysis

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A common story told around Halloween is the tale of the Headless Horseman, which is the story of Washington Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”. Within the past century, both Disney and Hollywood have given their views on the classic tale. Disney holds most of the original concept of Irving 's tale than the Tim Burton’s movie. However the changes in the bridge scene, the concept of the characters and the horseman, takes valuable meaning away from Irving 's timeless classic, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”. In Irving’s original and Walt Disney take of the bridge scene were the same. The legend according to Brom Bones, was after someone crossed the bridge the Headless Horseman would not chase the person any longer. Ichabod took the advice …show more content…

Then again for this horseman “revenge” was necessary to be one step closer to getting his prize. The revenge story was prominent in this version for the sole fact the revenge was done not by the Horseman but the person controlling him. Although the ending gives the Horseman his chance at revenge by taking the mistress Van Tassel into the pits with him and his horse. In both the Disney and Irving’s original, there was no form of revenge, the poor guy just wants his decapitated head. How the Horseman lost his head will always be the same, a Hessian that was decapitated during a battle fought in the Revolutionary war. The variances in the Tim Burton movie were that the horseman had his head was cut off instead of being blown off by a cannon. The description of the Horseman was large, headless, and gave the grave deception of the demon rider. “On mounting a rising ground, which brought the figure of his fellow-traveller in relief against the sky, gigantic in height, and muffled in a cloak, Ichabod was horror-struck on perceiving that he was headless!—but his horror was still more increased on observing that the head, which should have rested on his shoulders, was carried before him on the pommel of his saddle!”(). Being a children’s company Disney had the horseman be a less scary version of the original, with him being lank and in the movie the pumpkin was present for the entirety of the chase. Burton made the Horseman do a one hundred eighty degree spin compared to Disney. From his sharpened teeth and pale skin to match the snow that was around him. Also, he was shorter and carried two weapons.The dangerous headless being was walking around nightly there is a good chance that anyone could have walked into the omen of death

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