Rip van winkle essay

“ Rip Van Winkle” Can you consider yourself a true American if you haven’t read the classic tale of “ Rip Van Winkle” by Washington Irving? It’s a lighthearted story that is a bit silly, but has message intertwined in its classic words. It is a necessity that every American should experience. Irving’s story is a well thought out mix of pure old fashion American folk quality’s such as; a unique setting, exaggerated characters, and peculiar events and consequences that occur. This story has many different folk aspects are quite an amusing combination.

The first folk characteristic that stands out in the fable is the remote almost magical setting. The tall tale is set is a small mountain village Nestled in the foothills of the Catskill Mountains. Reading about this type of setting is really appealing and emprises the effortless beauty of such places as well as the majestic poise of the American countryside. Also this scenery is a perfect for setting the tone of this wonderful fairy tale. Furthermore Irving uses his extraordinary imagery skilled to describe the Catskills as “ fairy mountains” and also stated that in the sun they “ glow and light up like a crown of glory. ” even though Irving does and amazing job at vividly describing the dramatic settings of folk tales; that is just one of the couple folk traits he used to add personality to “ Rip Van Winkle”. The second old fashioned feature he used to spice up his story was embellished and entertaining characters. By creating lighthearted exaggerated individuals, the Readers feel content laughing at their silly quirks.

Look at Rip, for example he was so lazy he took a nap for 20 years. By using exaggerations to absorb readers Irving tells how Rip sleep so long “ his beard had grown a foot long! ” And His “ house gone to decay—the roof fallen in, the windows shattered, and the doors off . ” In addition he successfully used tactics to leave his memorable characters etched in your mind; although that is not the only thing that makes this yarn unforgettable. Last but not least, the strange series of events and the consequences that occur, are the icing on the cake; to make this legend have that perfect rustic feel. Irving uses unusual proceedings throughout the vintage text to captivate the reader and to give it a witty since. Such as, his laziness, Rips main flaw gets him into a lot of trouble. When he accepts drinks from strangers and consequently ends up taking a 20 year slumber. He shows the reader the error in Rips ways when he meets the mysterious strangers and “ One taste provoked another, and he reiterated his visits to the flagon so often, that at length his senses were overpowered, his eyes swam in his head, his head gradually declined, and he fell into a deep sleep.

moreover Irving’s gift to make the readers feel the idiosyncrasy of the events is undeniable. In conclusion, I think you will agree that picking up this traditional folk story, would be an enlightening experience for any patriotic citizen. Irving’s colorful blend of old-timey characteristics is certainly unique; and by tying the distinctive location, larger-than-life characters, and weird events he has created a famous American tale that has been proudly passed through generations.