Imagination; The Achilles Heel
Imagination; The Achilles Heel
In "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow", by Washington Irving, Ichabod Crane, the protagonist of the story, is a crazy person. I'm sorry, let me rephrase that; He comes off as a crazy person. Here’s how: Ichabod likes to listen to ghost stories in his free time, but, when walking home the night after hearing these stories, he imagines that these beasts are following him and lurking in the shadows. He also becomes very greedy, by trying to marry this lady called Katrina Van Tassel. He realizes that if he marries her, he’ll acquire all the land her family owns and a lifetime supply of lovely goods. Unfortunately, he’s so busy imaging this promising future that he actually forgets to make this fantasy a reality. Ichabod’s powerful imagination ends up being his biggest downfall. This story is showing, by Ichabod's example, if someone allows their imagination to dictate their life instead of letting common sense and reason to, people could start to commit sins and it could lead to catastrophic results.
Ichabod’s powerful imagination sets him up for failure. For this, there are two examples. His fear of the supernatural sets him up for failure and later exile. And his lust for success sets him up for heartbreak and humiliation. In his supernatural example, anytime that he would walk home after hearing a ghost story from some of the Dutch housewives, he would imagine that those creatures exist and are lurking behind him. For example, “How often did he shrink with curdling awe at the sound of his own steps on the frosty crust beneath his feet; and dread to look over his shoulder, lest he should behold some uncouth being tramping close behind him!” (Irving 5). Ichabod clearly overreacts to anything and believes that it is the doing of something supernatural. He imagines that every little sound or sight is a demon, witch, or goblin and he allows these stresses to get to him, when in reality he’s perfectly safe. This plays a big role later, when
In "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow", by Washington Irving, Ichabod Crane, the protagonist of the story, is a crazy person. I'm sorry, let me rephrase that; He comes off as a crazy person. Here’s how: Ichabod likes to listen to ghost stories in his free time, but, when walking home the night after hearing these stories, he imagines that these beasts are following him and lurking in the shadows. He also becomes very greedy, by trying to marry this lady called Katrina Van Tassel. He realizes that if he marries her, he’ll acquire all the land her family owns and a lifetime supply of lovely goods. Unfortunately, he’s so busy imaging this promising future that he actually forgets to make this fantasy a reality. Ichabod’s powerful imagination ends up being his biggest downfall. This story is showing, by Ichabod's example, if someone allows their imagination to dictate their life instead of letting common sense and reason to, people could start to commit sins and it could lead to catastrophic results.
Ichabod’s powerful imagination sets him up for failure. For this, there are two examples. His fear of the supernatural sets him up for failure and later exile. And his lust for success sets him up for heartbreak and humiliation. In his supernatural example, anytime that he would walk home after hearing a ghost story from some of the Dutch housewives, he would imagine that those creatures exist and are lurking behind him. For example, “How often did he shrink with curdling awe at the sound of his own steps on the frosty crust beneath his feet; and dread to look over his shoulder, lest he should behold some uncouth being tramping close behind him!” (Irving 5). Ichabod clearly overreacts to anything and believes that it is the doing of something supernatural. He imagines that every little sound or sight is a demon, witch, or goblin and he allows these stresses to get to him, when in reality he’s perfectly safe. This plays a big role later, when