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Short narrative essay about my life
THe Legend of sleepy hollow
Short narrative essay about my life
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In the two passages, “A Short Narrative of My Life” by Samson Occom and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” written by Washington Irving, the main characters are both intrigued by controversial situations in their community: however, their consequences and reputations are greatly differentiated. Samson Occom, in his narrative, tells of his beginning admiration of the gospel. At the age of sixteen, Ministers began spreading the word of Jesus around his tribe thus sparking his interest. In his narrative, Occom spoke of the interactions between the preachers and himself stating that after he was “awakened” and “converted” he went to all the meetings available. Similarly, Ichabod Crane in “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” became excessively attracted to
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown,” and Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado” utilize character responsibilities to create a sinister plot. For Hawthorne, protagonist Young Goodman Brown must leave his wife at home while he partakes in a night journey. For Poe, ancillary Fortunato covets a pretentious manner towards his wine tasting skills, and after being ‘challenged’ decides to prove his expertise by sampling Amontillado. Hawthorne and Poe showcase a theme of darkness but differ in their approach to the setting, characters, and fate of entrapment.
Early in the story Boo was just the subject of talk and myths but we learn more about him soon after.
According to Mark Twain, “A man is never more truthful than when he acknowledges himself a liar.” Throughout literary history, the reoccurring theme of a shady character performing immoral, habitual actions is no new topic. These vial characters entertain readers by their confident persona and their desire to win. The literary pieces that include this genre of character are especially prominent entering the 19th century, as humor and deception become key components of literature. Mark Twain, one of the most distinguished American authors in the 19th century, made his living by writing “light, humorous verse, but evolved this literature into a chronicler of the vanities, hypocrisies and murderous acts of mankind.” The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, written by Mark Twain, focuses on a narrator from the east suffering through a Westerner’s tale about a jumping frog as the author attempts to entertain the reader through its oddities in the short story, its humorous tall tale of satire, and its desire to inform the reader of East versus West stereotypes.
When reading Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown” or Herman Melville’s “Bartleby the Scrivener,” the audience might notice how they are stories of men who become detached from the society after a notable change in how they act towards the world. However, while Bartleby’s disconnection stems from work-related changes, Young Goodman Brown’s disconnection is caused by a “spiritual” experience. I want to focus on how many things these characters have in common, to show what may have caused their change of view in the societies around them.
Washington Irving’s short story, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” was adapted into a movie titled “Sleepy Hollow” directed by Tim Burton nearly two centuries after the original publication. When the story was adapted as a film, several extensive changes were made. A short story easily read in one sitting was turned into a nearly two-hour thriller, mystery, and horror movie by incorporating new details and modifying the original version of the story. The short story relates the failed courtship of Katrina Van Tassel by Ichabod Crane. His courtship is cut short by the classic romance antagonist-the bigger, stronger, and better looking Broom Bones. Ichabod wishes to marry Katrina because of her beauty but also because of the wealthy inheritance she will receive when her father, Baltus Van Tassel and stepmother, Lady Van Tassel die. However, the film tells the story of Ichabod Crane as an investigator who is sent to Sleepy Hollow to investigate the recent decapitations that are occurring. These modifications alter the original story entirely, thus failing to capture the Irving’s true interpretation of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” The film and the original story have similarities and differences in the plot, characters, and setting.
It is very popular in American Literature that most authors explore how characters shape the society in which we live. Society consists of people who help create the social order and social norms, and those who rebel against the social order. The insiders of society are the people who practice the values of the society and try to live up to cultural standards of that society. In American Literature the outcast of society is shunned by the rest of society for their inability to live up to the moral, social, economic, or cultural standards of society. I am going to explore three different literary works of American literature and explain how one of the characters in each literature is rejected by society, or portrayed as a social outcast because of the inability to live up to either the social, economic, or cultural standards of society.
Although at times it is easy to get carried away with the adventure of a story, noticing the elements a writer has put into his work is very important. In reading “Young Goodman Brown” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” you can see both similarities as well as differences of how both Nathaniel Hawthorne and Washington Irving chose to illuminate their romantic writing styles. The writers both use a mystical woodsy setting with supernatural twists to draw in readers. Underlying you will find the differing romantic themes each writer used, as well as how each writer chose to end their work.
American literature within the nineteenth-century had many themes, one of which was the portrayal of conflict of an individual in regards to the community. This sort of literary conflict often extended to confrontations with traditions, institutions, or the laws and customs of one’s culture. This specific theme can be found within two select literary works, The Warrior Woman by Maxine Hong Kingston and James Baldwin’s work Going To Meet The Man. Each of these works contains a character that enacts this conflict within the confines of the work and provides the reader with the importance of the conflict with community. By establishing the importance of the conflict in its social, racial, political or historical context, each writer makes a statement about his or her character’s place in America.
At a glance, you would think that Irving’s stories are just generally entertaining pieces of work, and aren’t necessarily pinpointing a certain group of people, right? Wrong. Irving’s texts incorporates some issues of gender equality and victimization within the stories. In The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Rip Van Winkle, and The Devil and Tom Walker, there were many examples of how Washington Irving discriminated against the female gender in these three texts.
Hypocrisy is simultaneously one of the most shameful and identifiable character flaws. Although it is fairly common to experience feelings of resentment toward a person who believes (or claims they believe) one thing and then acts incongruently with that belief, to accuse that person of being a hypocrite requires examination of one’s own inconsistencies before pointing a finger. Mark Twain, a brilliant and iconoclastic classic author, manipulates the paradoxical nature of hypocrisy in telling the story of Huckleberry Finn, an innocent-minded protagonist who encounters hypocritical characters frequently along his journey. When Twain’s reader notices through Huck’s eyes that an otherwise God-fearing, honorable person does something immoral without questioning his or her actions, it encourages the reader to reconsider his or her own transgressions. With a multitude of hypocritical characters in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain pokes at the reader’s conscience by catching their judgments and fostering a less-blind eye to one’s own iniquities.
Irving, Washington. The Norton Anthology American Literature. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc, 2013. Print.
Callahan, John. "Review of Love and Trouble." Short Story Criticism Vol. 5. (Essay date 1974).
characteristics are sometimes found in abundant quantities or limited amounts in each of his short stories. However, no matter what short story Washington Irving wrote, the Age of Romanticism and its defining characteristics are found in each of his selections. So, too, do each of the author’s short stories present a unique study about the author’s intentions for creating his work. In Washington Irving’s selection “The Three Kings of Bermuda”, the author portrays tone in a way that he changes it often throughout his writing to help the reader understand the emotion and atmosphere taking place during this short story. He brings his readers almost on a rollercoaster of tone by giving different points to look at what is going on. Washington Irving gives many insights and key points by doing this. This blend of both Romanticism and this particular one of the author’s many purposes for writing this work will enrich the reader’s understanding of this selection. It will also make the reader aware of the author’s other works and their meaning/ themes. Using both the characteristics of Romanticism and a significant idea about the story, Washington Irving creates an interesting and meaningful selection for his readers’ enjoyment and learning.
Belasco, Susan, and Linck Johnson, eds. The Bedford Anthology of American Literature. Vol. 1, 2nd Ed., Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2014. 1190-1203. Print.
Baym, Franklin, Gottesman, Holland, et al., eds. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. 4th ed. New York: Norton, 1994.