Preview

Freedom In Rip Van Winkle

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
509 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Freedom In Rip Van Winkle
The theme of freedom is one of the most important themes in American literature and in American society. Still today they are almost obsessed with the concept of freedom, going as far as renaming “French Fries” with “Freedom Fries” when the French government did not agree to go to war in Irak with the American forces in 2003. Rip Van Winkle is a short story wrote by Washington Irving written in 1878 and published in 1819 in the The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon. Here we are going to discuss the different ways of representing freedom in Rip Van Winkle, a story written during the first years of the American society.

For Rip Van Winkle, the main protagonist, freedom means no responsibilities. He constantly runs away from his family, his wife

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Rip Van Winkle Summary

    • 439 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Rip does not recognize anyone around him. There is talk about congress and political parties around him, which he does not understand. Rip Van Winkle then asks a kind man about where his friends had gone; one is dead, one was killed in the military, and one is in congress. He finds out that his wife has also died and he does not know if he is sad because of her death or happy for her deliverance. He then asks if they knew about Rip Van Winkle (himself). People explain how he has been missing for twenty years. He meets his now grown-up daughter, and his son who is in very similar appearance to himself. Rip tells them that he is their dad. His story was told all around the village, some believing it and some not. Peter Vanderdonk took his story and wrote it out for him. They talk about how the Kaatskill Mountains have had very crazy events happen in them. One of the stories is when another man saw people playing ninepin. Rip lives with his daughter. He could not comprehend the strange events that he has…

    • 439 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Huck and Jim, from Adventures of Huckleberry Finn portray the theme of freedom throughout the story. Huck and Jim end up meeting each other afterwards both have ran from home, to be free. Huck has run away from home after faking his death to his drunken father. Huck didn’t want to stay longer with his father as it would go downhill for him, as he will get beat or even killed. Jim had become a runaway slave as he ran for his freedom. Jim ran due to him knowing he would have been sold and wouldn’t have seen his family, but instead runs to gain money and buy back his family.…

    • 196 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The characters in “Rip Van Winkle” are exaggerated and strange. For the most part, Irving uses Rip Van Winkle & Dame Van Winkle to show exaggeration in the characters. People in their town view Rip Van Winkle as someone who is friendly & loves to help everyone. His wife, Dame Van Winkle, only saw him as being lazy due to Rip not doing much work around his house. Dame Van Winkle spends most of her time in this story criticizing him and Rip just “….shrugged his shoulders, shook his head, cast up his eyes, but said nothing.” To get away from his wife’s nagging, Rip chooses to go up to the Catskill Mountains with his dog. Dame Van Winkle…

    • 273 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Rip Van Winkle” and “The Devil and Tom Walker” are both written by Washington Irving and feature a man living with his wife. Each story depicts their wives in a similar fashion; vicious, pestering annoyances that contribute little to nothing towards the well-being of the protagonist. Irving’s general scorn towards women is manifested in a few different ways, even looking beyond their blatantly negative descriptions.…

    • 629 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Despite the evidence that Washington Irving uses to show his love for America in his stories, he portrays some characters in the Devil and Tom Walker and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow as greedy. Irving shows concern for America by placing stories in uniquely American moments. In this essay I will prove through passages and quotes from Irving’s stories that he shows his love for America in his stories and portrays some characters as greedy in the two stories.…

    • 790 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the book anthem, I agree with the quote “To be free , a man must be free of all…

    • 519 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Louisiana Purchase Dbq

    • 1378 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The Louisiana Purchase was the fountain we all needed. This purchase connected us with a nature that in turn affected our muses and created a love that resulted in an abundance of new literary ideas. For many nature was a link to greater literature, with its beauty and diversity. After the exploration of the Louisiana Purchase from Lewis and Clark and possibly their own voyage outward, people got a better view of what the earth had in store. In fact a wonderful aspiring poet named William Cullen Bryant created a poem surrounding the wonders of the land. Descripting the ones who love nature will hear her voice and be able to see the greatness beyond that “Are but the solemn decorations all Of the great tomb of man” and its beauty (44-45). Nature was beautiful solitude place that could take you away from your worries, for Rip Van Winkle it did just that. Everyone wants freedom, no matter what form. They don't want the imaginary binds that hold them back, and so when Rip Van Winkle went into the woods, which was associated with fun and freedom, that is where his dreams came true. Although, this new abundance of land didn't just bring happiness and…

    • 1378 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    What exactly is freedom? Is it the ability to think for yourself, to speak without the fear of consequences, to be able to vote in federal elections or is it something much more? Ambrose Flask attempts to unravel the true meaning of freedom in his short story “The Strangers That Came to Town.” This story outlines the journey of the Duvitch family as they rise from the depths of oppression to obtain a sense of equality and acceptance from their society. In his short story, “The Strangers that Came to Town”, Ambrose Flack is showing that true freedom is about being accepted. First of all, the Duvitches’ dark, mysterious past helps bring a deeper meaning to their tale and highlights their longtime struggle for freedom. Additionally, their treatment from the townspeople truly exemplifies the meaning and Euphoria granted by freedom. Finally, the character development of other characters in the story shows that freedom is received when it is given. In “The Strangers That Came to Town,” it is proven that the true meaning of freedom is being accepted through the Duvitches’ dark past, the Duvitches’ treatment from the townspeople, and the character development shown from characters in the story.…

    • 1126 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the beginning of Eric Foner’s essay, he talks of how devoted Americans are to their freedom. Different titles, for example, on history textbooks suggest just this: Land of the Free and The Rise of American Freedom. People on the outside of America looking in find this astonishing. The pride that is shown by Americans is outrageous to people that do not know what freedom is or people who have some freedom don’t see what we Americans do. He then comes to the point that the use of the word ‘freedom’ has “literally hundreds of definitions.” He argues this not only because of the survey, but the fact that many different definitions are created and re-created through the eyes of different people.…

    • 533 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Cited: Jefferson, Thomas et al. “The Declaration of Independence.” The Norton Anthology American Literature. Ed. Nina Baym. United States of America: W.W. Norton…

    • 929 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Significant Lines

    • 327 Words
    • 2 Pages

    * “I am aware that you called yourselves free in the nineteenth century…the meaning of the word could not then…certainly would not have applied it to society…every member was in a position of galling dependence upon others.” Page 45.…

    • 327 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Washington Irving’s Rip Van Winkle story’s main character, Rip Van Winkle, is a man from New York who would considered to be a patient and quiet person. Rip’s wife would be viewed as someone who is annoying and angry.…

    • 685 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    to kill a mockingbird

    • 852 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In the text To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee and the 'I have a dream' speech by Martin Luther King Jnr, both composers have conveyed strong messages that are communicated through narrative and oral techniques. These messages of courage and prejudice and discrimination are what the composer thought is necessary to write in order to change social attitudes towards these issues. Both texts were written at a time when those who were oppressed were fighting for freedom and tolerance by those who discriminated.…

    • 852 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Harper Lee, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Solomon Northup fulfill their American dream by overcoming racial prejudices through their passionate words in American literature. These three authors use the right of freedom of speech in their favor in order to share their beliefs on the injustices of social inequality. By confronting society with the moral realities of slavery, these authors are able to unveil the hardships of those who are not given a fair opportunity at the “American Dream”, sparking a desire in readers to end slavery.…

    • 1660 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Adventures, kidnappings, slaves oh my! The theme portrayed in the thrilling book; The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is freedom. The author develops this theme by using the river as a symbol of freedom for Huck and Jim. Both Huck and Jim are searching for two separate freedoms, but are striving for the same goal; living their own lives as themselves. In The Adventures of Huckleberry and Finn the characters experience quite a bit of turmoil and differences but they are united by their similar goal; freedom. Freedom is a privilege, but for some it’s not even an option.…

    • 516 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays