Transformation and Freedom in Rip Van Winkle
Washington Irving's, "Rip Van Winkle" presented a tale of a "dreamer." Rip Van Winkle was a family man
who worked odd jobs around town, but managed to slip away from doing his own work around his farm. He
was "one of those happy mortals...who take[s] the world easy." (pg. 404). He constantly struggled with the
"henpecking" of his wife. Van Winkle found refuge and comfort going squirrel shooting with his dog. "Rip
Van Winkle" depicts a story of a man longing to be free, and of the transformation that occurs to him and the
town.
Van Winkle "would have whistled life away" (pg. 404) had it not been for his wife . This served as a
foreshadow for what was to come. Van Winkle wanted peace and to be left alone. He was like a kid; he often
"made their playthings, taught them to fly kites and shoot marbles..." (pg. 403). He always did what could "be
got with least thought or trouble," (pg.404) just as a child often does. He just "shrugged his shoulders...but
said nothing," (pg. 404) to Dame Van Winkle's lectures. He was tired of hearing her, yet did nothing to
change his behaviors or at least to try to please her. Van Winkle did "dream" his life away. He was gone for
twenty years and returns to find his town and life different from how he had left it. I believe he just left one
day and before he knew it, twenty years had past.
Dame Van Winkle represented the Revolutionary War. "The changes of states and empires made but little
impression on him," (pg. 412) but he did displease the "petticoat government." He describes the government
as if it were a woman. "Petticoat" is a representation of Dame Van Winkle. Van Winkle pays no attention to his
wife nor does he fight back, just as he did not fight in the war. Or, was this his war he was battling? When
Van Winkle reflects on top of the mountain, "he heaved a heavy sigh when he thought of encountering the
terrors of Dame Van Winkle." (pg. 406) "Terrors" come to mind when one thinks of war. Van Winkle doesn't
regard Dame as his wife, rather he thinks of her as "Dame Van Winkle," with no affection.
In Soft Spots: A Marine’s Memoir of Combat and Post-traumatic stress disorder, Sargent Clint Van Winkle participated in one of the bloodiest wars in Iraq. Sargent Winkle signed up to protect his country, without truly understanding the reason for the war. He did not know what to expect, what was going to happen, exactly who it was going to happen to, but courageously he was out there waiting on an answer that in fact was never revealed. However, Winkle was a part of that war, which made him agree with the terms that led. He was trained to follow orders, forced to survive, and made a pact to protect the guy to right and to the left of him. Despite being diagnosed with PTSD and the uncertainties of whether the war was worthy or not, he favored
In conclusion, Ferguson’s article is explaining how Washington Irving’s story “Rip Van Winkle” has multiple meanings that many readers can draw conclusions from. His article also demonstrates the generational aspect to the story and how everyone that reads it can enjoy and find their imaginations in it. The mentions of the general population and their thought process of the time can also be interpreted in many ways from their addictions to dismay and ignorance of their
Once I had finished some computer work, which was the last part of my training, I reported to the night time shift manager to confirm with them that I was indeed done with training. They gave me a pat on the back and told me to get to work right away. Instead of going home at ten at night as I had planned, I didn’t return home until about five in the morning. I g...
Irving composed the story in light of the American individuals at time when society has changed drastically due to American Revolution. The analogies of Irving's Rip Van Winkle cover an array of Revolutionary encounters: America before English enforcement, early American provinces under English principle, and after the American Revolution. He suggests that there is an immense contrast which leads Rip astonished, to know he is in some other time. This could symbolize the American's perspective on their new home.
known tale of Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving. In the moment when Van Winkle sees his exact likeness
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.
Throughout the years, America has always debated whether education is needed- if it helps people succeed or not. The argument in the past was always over high school education, which is now mandatory. That decision has helped the US rise economically and industrially. Today, the US is in the middle of the same debate- this time, over college. Some, like David Leonhardt, a columnist for the business section of The New York Times, think a college education creates success in any job. Others, such as Christopher Beha, an author and assistant editor of Harper’s Magazine, believe that some college “education” (like that of for-profit schools) is a waste of time, and can even be harmful to students. Each stance on this argument has truth to it, and there is no simple answer to this rising issue in an ever changing nation full of unique people. Any final decision would affect the United States in all factions- especially economically and socially. However, despite the many arguments against college, there is overwhelming proof that college is good for all students, academically or not.
In “Rip Van Winkle” by Washington Irving he writes about a simple man, Rip Van Winkle, who does just enough to get by in life. He lives in a village by the catskill mountains, and is loved by everyone in the village. He is an easy going man, who spends most of his days at the village inn talking with his neighbors, fishing all day, and wandering the mountains with his dog to refuge from his wife the thorn on his side. On one of his trips to the mountains Rip Van Winkle stumbles upon a group of men who offer him a drink, and that drink changes everything for Van Winkle. He later wakes up, twenty years later, and returns to his village were he notices nothing is the same from when he left. He learns that King George III is no longer in charge,
The short story, “Rip Van Winkle”, is a tale of a man who went up into the mountains and after a long string of odd events went to sleep. He woke up twenty years later. He went from being use to what the world was like before the Revolutionary War of the United States to how things changed after the war. When he came back from the mountain he found that his wife and friends were gone. His children were grown up and living in this new world that he had stumbled into. He found that changes had been made to clothing and how people acted; buildings that used to be in the town were now gone or changed, and a government that he had no idea about. In this short story the author used the differences between pre-Revolutionary War and post-revolutionary war to show the changes of life and maintenance of some traditions. This is a reoccurring theme in this tale.
...ture of King George in “Rip Van Winkle.” Rip returns to his village twenty years after he left and realizes that someone has transformed the King into George Washington (541). Irving, realizing that much of life is merely a refashioning of the same ideas and structures into something that looks new, has taken an old German folk tale and turned it into a story of American life. We may live in a time with vastly different resources, technologies, and opportunities, but the urges that drive us are still the same.
“The Swimmer” by John Cheever is a short story about Neddy Merrill and his journey through alcoholism. Alcoholism plays a detrimental role in Neddy Merrill’s life because it has been ruined due to his dependence on this awful substance. The author symbolically presents the stages of alcoholism, its effects on the alcoholic, as well as how the alcoholic’s family and friends change towards Neddy.
With the end of the American Revolution, came an explosion of politicians hoping to influence the young democracy. At the time various political groups were attempting to fashion America politics into their vision of democracy. It was only natural that literature in the country at the time began showing the influence of this newly created democracy. Born in New York in 1783 and named for the American Revolution hero and first president, Washington Irving grew up a nation engulfed in the democratic passions. An atmosphere of this kind of politics could lend the idea that Irving would satire politics of this time. This satirical writing can be seen in the nature of the historical references and symbolic characters Irving uses in “Rip Van Winkle” where he mockingly compares colonial life under British rule to the young democracy that is the United States of his time.
One particular criterion character effectively supports the central idea in “Rip Van Winkle” by Washington Irving. The character's type develops with the personality development throughout the story. Three types of characters: round, flat, and stock, appear in most stories. The round character displays a fully developed personality and full emotions. Flat characters, also known as supporting characters, do not develop fully or express complex emotions. A stock character, also known as a stereotype, fits an established characterization from real life or literature. With these three types of characters leading the reader through the story, the reader learns the events taking place as well as the changes in the character’s lives. The author keeps the reader informed of the changes affecting the characters throughout the narrative through style. When a character undergoes a fundamental change in nature or personality during the story, the character has dynamic style. However, a character without change defines a static character. Although all characters have a style and type sometimes understanding the differences appears complicated. A chart often helps establish a better understanding of character type and style.
When King Claudius enters for the first time in the play he begins by acknowledging the death of Old King Hamlet. He describes his elder brothers sudden death as, “green” and, “that it is befitted/To bear our hearts in grief and our whole kingdom” (1.2.1-2). Claudius is attempting to sound melancholy as he paints his brother’s death as recent and fresh in his mind. He furthers a portrayal of innocence by declaring that he thinks it is proper to mourn the old king throughout the kingdom. However, Claudius continues to say that although he believes it is “wisest” to mourn him he must also do it with “remembrance of ourselves” (1.2.5-6). Though Claudius appears to exhibit profound sorrow for his “dear brother’s death”, he fails to depict real sorrow for him as he quickly states that he must not forget about himself and his own well being (1.2.30). Claudius solidifies this conception when he speaks of grief as “fitting”, though he fails to mention that he himself is or has experienced any form of grief for the death of his brother. Claudius also uses the plural pronoun “ourselves” and “our” rather than the personal pronoun “me”. This separates Claudius emotionally from his brother’s death because he t...
From these properties of bonds we will see that there are two fundamental types of bonds--covalent and ionic. Covalent bonding represents a situation of about equal sharing of the electrons between nuclei in the bond. Covalent bonds are formed between atoms of approximately equal electronegativity. Because each atom has near equal pull for the electrons in the bond, the electrons are not completely transferred from one atom to another. When the difference in electronegativity between the two atoms in a bond is large, the more electronegative atom can strip an electron off of the less electronegative one to form a negatively charged anion and a positively charged cation. The two ions are held together in an ionic bond because the oppositely charged ions attract each other as described by Coulomb's Law.