Rip Van Winkle Literary Analysis

Cara Rosie
English 5 American Lit
December 6, 2015
Word Count: 887
Insignificant Time American legend Rip Van Winkle lives in a time when cities have the name villages and King George III still reigns, the eighteenth century. From the story “Rip Van Winkle” by Washington Irving, the main character, Rip Winkle embodies an often quiet and lazy yet kindhearted man. Most of the town loves this man, largely because of his willingness to help others out, but his wife, Dame Van Winkle did not think mutually because of his lack of help to her. Dame Winkle perpetually nags Rip to help around the house and do something productive, instead he sits in his chair and smokes his pipe. One time she demands something of him and he leaves with his dog off to the Kaatskill Mountains to retreat from her nagging requests, not knowing that when he would return the world he lived in would look strangely different. Throughout the story Irving uses several literary elements and types of characterization to create Rip Winkle, Dame Winkle, and the townspeople and to reveal the themes of the story.
Having the largest and most poignant part of the story, evaluating the main character and examining how Irving portrays Rip seems crucial. Sluggishness, kind hearted to some, with no known astounding accomplishments could
partially characterize Rip Van Winkle. Irving utilizes diction to reveal the laziness of this man. “The great error in Rip’s composition was an insuperable aversion to all kinds of profitable labor.(Irving)” Irving gives insight that the character despises and has no natural gifts of profitable labor, unless it pleases or helps a neighbor and Rip receives praise. We see examples of his smoking habits and also of him going to the bar often to drink and lounge with the other men. Possibly Irving used Rip Winkle’s dog as a symbol. Wolf, the dog, who stayed by Rip’s side constantly could symbolize the similarities in personality with Rip, as a dog that does nothing particularly useful and often lays around content and quiet. Other examples give us an idea of his duplicate behavior, how he acts towards his wife and then opposite to his neighbors and fellow townspeople. “His fences were continually falling to pieces; his cow would either go astray, or get among the cabbages; weeds were sure to grow quicker in his fields than anywhere else… (Irving)” Dame Van Winkle also shows his weakness of despising physical labor around his own land, she will antagonize this character in the story which will lead to the overarching theme of the story. Contributing to the popular themes of “Rip Van Winkle” one of them saying that the world will go on without you when you are absent, as it does when he sleeps in the woods for twenty years after drinking a swig of the woodsmen drink. Dame Van Winkle plays a vital role as the antagonist of the story. She impels the story forward by nagging Rip, which as we have seen he has a lack of motivation, causes him to venture up the Kaatskill Mountains, thus meeting the woodland men, drinking that substance and sleeping for twenty year. Without the antagonist, Dame Van Winkle, the story would not unfold like it does. From Irving’s use of diction he reveals a harsh and strong woman, justifiably fed up with her husband laid back attitude. Unlike many authors, Irving uses Dame Van Winkle’s actions to reveal her character rather than strong imagery and descriptions. In the story Irving utilizes an omniscient narrator to achieve characterization of his Dame Van Winkle, the narrator stays outside of the story but knows what will happen and gives insight to characters actions and whereabouts rather than specific descriptions of what the character thinks of a person or situation and how they will respond. It allows for a broader interpretation of the story and characters. Each character in this work thus far contributes to the big ideas of the story, proof of a story of excellence.
Lastly the importance of the townspeople to the story: village people mark the stark contrast to the world as Rip returns from his twenty year sleep in the woods. Although the people do not have center stage of the story and act as a quiet murmur in the background they contribute to the theme more than some of the characters. They make up the world, they give and taste of what life looks like in the eighteenth century and then what it was when he wakes to find a world with freedom and a president. Revealing this sense of freedom and vast change in the world to Rip was the purpose of the people.
Irvine masterfully utilizes each character to press on his main character to reveal a theme.
One major theme the reader can take away that was a popular idea throughout early America. That nature does not change, that the world will keep on developing and changing but the woods and mountains do not. This shocked the character as he returned, the next day as what he thought, to a changed town and world. Another unique element seen in “Rip Van Winkle” would be that the themes are more impressed on the reader than the character. He never realizes the insignificance of himself but rather we see from the character that laziness causes, insignificance in the changing
world.

Works Citied

Irving, Washington, and Arthur Rackham. Rip Van Winkle. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott, 1967. Print.