Rip Van Winkle and Romanticism
In the world of literature, there are many types of writing that an author can take to express his ideas. Their topics can be explained through life experiences, biographies, poetry, or other forms of literature. One of the forms that authors use is Romanticism. There are many qualities that define the different viewpoints of Romanticism. Rip Van Winkle, “Thanatopsis,” and “The Cross of Snow” are all examples of writing from the period of Romanticism.
Rip Van Winkle is a story written by Washington Irving. This was a story mainly about a lazy man who did not want to do any type of work, at home or at work. He was said to be useless on his farm, his land and property falling to pieces. Irving says, “The great error in Rip’s composition was an insuperable aversion to all kinds of profitable labor”(p. 156 1st paragraph), which was just one of Irving’s many uses of inflated language. Madame Van Winkle would always nag on Rip constantly, to do work around the house and possibly even help to raise their children.
Perhaps the nagging of his wife and his dread of labor is what Rip escaped from when he spent a good amount of his time at the village’s small inn in town. “Here they used to sit in the shade, through a long lazy summer’s day, talking listlessly over village gossip, or telling endless sleepy stories about nothing.” (p.157) Even in the security of his peers, his wife would track Rip down, and scold all the men for being among each other, instead of being at home with their families. These surprise visits are what led to Rip’s escape into the Kaatskill Mountains.
After wandering with his gun and his close companion Wolf, Rip tracks himself into the upper parts of the Mountains. Soon after, Rip comes across a stranger who was carrying what looked like a keg of liquor. So with the help of the Hollands, which is Dutch Gin, and a whole day of hiking, Rip fell into a deep, solemn slumber. But when he woke up, he did not know how long he had slept or where both of his companions had gone off too. He rises from his spot, and with his aged gun, he heads back to town, trying to find an excuse for his angry wife as for why he had been gone for so long.
Baseball was popular the most sport in 1919; players were seen as heroes and celebrities. At this time the players were payed very low wages and the owners of the team made huge profit. Because of this many players were into scams that involved them losing games on purpose. During that time of baseball, players didn’t make as much as they do today.Players would be offered large amount of money that would multiply to several times their salary.
Gambling will forever be a part of American’s pastime. As soon as the New York Knickerbockers organized in 1845 and started competing against other teams, spectators were betting on the outcome (Fleitz 190). In the mid 1800’s, speculations of gambling had reached the news. Three men of the New York Mutuals were banned from baseball for taking $100 each to throw a game to the Brooklyn Eckfords; nevertheless, the men were reinstated within a few years (Rielly 110). The next few decades only had been occasionally marred by gambling scandals. The Black Sox scandal of 1919 rocked the sports world and brought up even more scandals. Baseball’s gambling problems were not always bookies looking for that prized fight; it sometimes involved the role models of the game. Several owners had been linked to the 1919 scandal. Charles Stoneham of the Giants and Arnold Rothstein of the Dodgers were believed to play an important part of the scam (Lieb 189). Baseball slowly rid itself of gambling until the last big scandal hit in the name of Rose. Gambling has been a part of baseball ever since the start and will continue to tarnish the game whenever it is brought up.
scandal of all time, The 1919 World series. Corruption, money, greed, power, and even organized
In Irving’s story, Dame Van Winkle was depicted negatively by Rip. Her concerned were primarily in the wellbeing of the family and in the absence of Rip, she was forced to take on more responsibilities at home raising and providing for her family which in turn led her to become bitter towards Rip, who seemed to busy helping everyone else. Her constant nagging resulted in Rip voyaging off to the mountains
The generalised or stereotyped characters are from the American people before and after Revolutionary War. Dame Van Winkle and Rip are stock characters that have been found in literature the irksome wife and the henpecked husband as Rip Van Winkle’s character represents the American society as perceived by England whereas his wife, Dame Van Winkle portrays England. This element between the free will loving Rip and his overbearing wife executes a key idea of the American Dream
A long sleep can do most of us good, but for Rip Van Winkle, a deep slumber of 20 years left him waking up dazed and confused in a new country called America. “Rip Van Winkle” by Washington Irving was written as a satirical piece in order to parallel the happenings of the American Revolution and how not only Van Winkle had changed, but also the country around him as well. “Rip Van Winkle” not only tells the story of a character’s drastic change, but also tells of the shift that a young nation had to undergo through the symbolic representation of Van Winkle’s wife, implications of drinking, and political inclination.
One major theme present in both stories is liberty/freedom. In “Rip Van Winkle,” Irving depicts the main character as a person who only wish...
Young, Philip, Fallen From Time: Rip Van Winkle. Kenyon Review, Vol. XXII (1960): 547-73. 457-479.
In Rip Van Winkle, Irving shows his doubts in the American Identity and the American dream. After the Revolutionary war, America was trying to develop its own course. They were free to govern their own course of development; however, some of them had an air of uncertainties on their own identity in this new country. Irving was born among this generation in the newly created United States of America, and also felt uncertainty about the American identity. Irving might be the writer that is the least positive about being an American. The main reason for this uncertainty is the new born American has no history and tradition while the Europe has a great one accumulated for thousands of years. Therefore, in order to solve this problem, Irving borrows an old European tale to make it take place in America. This tale related to the Dutch colonists haunts the kaatskill mountains. In order to highlight the American identity, Irving praises the “majestic” mountains which Europe lacks. He describes the mountains that “their summits…will glow and light up like a crown of glory” Nevertheless, the use of these ancient explorers into Rip Van Winkle only to show that although American has formed its own identity, no one can cut its connection with Europe. No wonder when America was still under tyranny of the British rule, some people still cannot cut the blood relationship with Europe. Therefore, the American identity is blurred by their relationship with Europe since then.
How would you react if you fell asleep for 20 years then woke up and everything has changed. That is what happened in Rip is the iconic myth told in America, “Rip Van Winkle” by Washington Irving. In Rip Van Winkle, Irving creates an American myth that showcases early American mythology through his well planned out integration of a remote setting, a mysterious event, and a positive perspective.
In RIP Van Winkle, Dam Van Winkle is abusive, nagging, and sarcastic. In Rip Van Winkle, Washington Irving states that “but what courage can with stand the ever-during and all besetting terrors of a woman’s tongue.” He seems to imply that he did not like women who gave their opinions and spoke their mind. It seems that Rip is going into the woods to escape his wife.
---. “Rip Van Winkle.” The American Tradition in Literature. Vol 1. Eds. George Perkins, et al. 7th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1990: 533-544. 2 vols.
Next the story introduces Dame Van Winkle, Rip’s stern wife. She maintains contempt for her husband’s “insuperable aversion to all kinds of profitable labor” (Irving). This tyrannic...
Source – According to “Long walk to Freedom” The following year, he was sent home alongside other students for participating in boycott against university policies. After finding out his family had an arranged marriage for him, he fled to Johannesburg and worked as a watchman then later a law clerk.
Finally in 1990 De Klerk, president of South Africa unbanned the ANC (‘History of South Africa in the apartheid era”). In 1994 the first free multiracial elections were held and the people voted to end apartheid (“History of South Africa in the apartheid era”). Nelson Mandela was elected president (Wright, 66). The opposition to apartheid helped turn things around in South Africa.