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Rip Van Winkle

            
             Washington Irving was one of the first American writers to win fame outside of his own country. Many believe that Rip Van Winkle was one of the first short stories to be in a local American setting, the Kaatskill Mountains. Irving wrote with great humor and imagination, which in part is why Rip Van Winkle is still read today. It is a timeless story of far away places and magical people. Rip Van Winkle is a leisurely tale as was Washington Irving.
             Rip Van Winkle was written in the Romantic Period, which explains many of the themes throughout this short story. During this time it was believed imagination was greater than logic and a better solution to finding truth and beauty. Rip falls asleep and imagines that he meets a dwarf who leads him to what he thinks is an amphitheatre. Where he sees many strangely dressed people playing a game of ninepins they offer him something to drink and he falls asleep again. It is not possible for someone to sleep for twenty years, which is where the "imagination is greater than logic" part comes into play. It takes a great imagination to think a story like this up and you have to use your imagination to picture the story and the places inside your head. Romantic writers also believed that nature was a haven and cities led to corruption. Washington Irving sets the story up in a small village where Rip lives with his constant nagging wife. Rip leaves to escape from the verbal abuse of his wife and goes into the mountains, which was a haven for him and his dog, Wolf.
             Rip Van Winkle also has a moral. The moral is to have your priorities in order. Rip helped his neighbors whenever possible, yet was reluctant towards his own family. His house and yard was a mess and his family was falling apart because of it. The story also teaches unconditional love. Rip was gone for twenty years and when he came back nobody knew who he was or why he was there. Yet his only daughter recognized him and took him in when the rest of his family and friends where gone.


Essays Related to Rip Van Winkle

1. Rip Van Winkle

Even though, in both cases where the reader encounters Rip Van Winkle, Rip only counts as one main character. ... The protagonist in "Rip Van Winkle" the reader first meets in paragraph three, lines seven and eight, " a simple good-natured fellow of the name of Rip Van Winkle." ... The antagonist in "Rip Van Winkle" the reader first encounters in paragraph five, lines one and two. ... In "Rip Van Winkle", only one such archetype exists. ... This truth becomes evident in "Rip Van Winkle" by Rip himself. ...

  • Word Count: 1162
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

2. Irving "Rip Van Winkle"

Washington Irving "Rip Van Winkle" The short-story "Rip Van Winkle" by Washington Irving can be looked at from many aspects. "Rip Van Winkle" is the protagonist of this short story. In the short story "Rip Van Winkle" by Washington Irving, it seems as though "Rip Van Winkle" has slept through the American Revolution. ... In this short story the antagonist is none only then "Rip Van Winkle's" wife "Dame Van Winkle". ... Rip Van Winkle is a rounded short story. ...

  • Word Count: 437
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

3. Rip Van Winkle

Rip Van Winkle and The Cask of Amontillado are two stories written during the period of romanticism. ... Rip Van Winkle's dilemma was dealing with his problems at home. ... Instead, Rip Van Winkle went out into the wilderness and did what he wanted to do. ... Rip Van Winkle's writing method is about nature. Rip Van Winkle loved the wilderness and spent most of his time there. ...

  • Word Count: 332
  • Approx Pages: 1
  • Grade Level: High School

4. Rip Van Winkle

Literary analyses of "Rip Van Winkle" Rip Van Winkle is a man from a small village located at the foot Kaatskill Mountains. ... His son, Rip Van Winkle, was just like his father. ... Rip Van Winkle is a man of many traits. ... In the short story "Rip Van Winkle", Washington Irving uses simple, henpecked, lazy and friendly to describe the main character Rip Van Winkle. ... The last trait to describe Rip Van Winkle is friendly. ...

  • Word Count: 932
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

5. Rip Van Winkle

To begin, Washington uses imagery to help produce his masterpiece, "Rip Van Winkle."" ... it is Rip Van Winkle "it is himself!'... Irving has created the plot of "Rip Van Winkle- by using irony. ... Irving depicts the religious and moral lessons of "Rip Van Winkle."" ... Finally, the employment of symbols helps make "Rip Van Winkle- a masterpiece. ...

  • Word Count: 1583
  • Approx Pages: 6
  • Grade Level: High School

6. Washingtons Irvings Rip Van Winkle

The folklore of Rip Van Winkle has stood the test of time. ... The title of this episode is "The Rip Van Winkle Caper." ... I believe Rip Van Winkle did not attend church. In my mind, Rip Van Winkle was not a very religious man. ... "Rip Van Winkle" has become a children's story. ...

  • Word Count: 1213
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

7. Rip Van Winkle

Parents often read Washington Irving's, "Rip Van Winkle," to their children at bedtime. ... The focus of this paper will be "Rip Van Winkle" as a Revolutionary War text. ... This is the same of Rip Van Winkle and Dame Van Winkle. ... Rip was no longer known as poor "henpecked Rip Van Winkle," he was no longer known at all. ... It appears that others should learn from Rip Van Winkles mistakes. ...

  • Word Count: 900
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

8. Rip Van Winkle

Rip Van Winkle as a Folktale The story of Rip Van Winkle is classified as a German folktale. ... Rip Van Winkle is described as a good-natured, lazy man. ... Rip encounters some man named Rip Van Winkle. ... In "Rip Van Winkle" the story exemplifies the elements that make up a folktale. ... The story of "Rip van Winkle" contains all the essential principles of a folktale....

  • Word Count: 1111
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

9. Rip Van Winkle

Washington Irving's story, Rip Van Winkle, proves "Every change of season, every change of weather, indeed, every hour of the day, produces some change"(449). ... The story of Rip Van Winkle conflicts with this truth by allowing Winkle to achieve his dream life without having to change to suit his new time period. ... "Rip was ready to attend to any body's business but his own"(450), and this inescapable flaw lead to his unhappiness. ... The reader now assumes when Irving states, "Rip's heart died away, at hearing of theses sad changes in his home and friends, and finding him...

  • Word Count: 465
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

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