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Symbolism In Rip Van Winkle

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Symbolism In Rip Van Winkle
Madison Herron English
Rip Van Winkle Essay 10/15/17
The overall definition for national (or American) myths is somewhere close to “The body of myths belonging to a culture. Myths are traditional stories about gods and heroes.” Myths are placed in the past, most of the time to show the readers and society a moral and societal guideline to follow and live by, and it includes Symbolism into the story. In the myth “Rip Van Winkle”, Irving uses three strong characteristics to put these morals out into the world. Also, this story includes events that you wouldn’t see happening on a normal day in the real world. In this beloved story, the setting is in a small village or town which is by the Kaatskill Mountains. More specifically, near the base of them. This town was said to be founded by the Dutch colonists years before. Having a myth set in a past time is a huge key to creating an American mythology. If it were to be any different, it would have largely impacted the entire story itself. …show more content…
One example of this would be the inn that was standing before Rip drank the magical substance and went into a 20-year long sleep. Before he did this, the inn was quiet and humble, and a great place for travelers to stay for a nice night in town. After he wakes up, he realizes it is now a Yankee hotel. Instead of being quiet, it is now loud and busy all the time. This ties into the moral of the story about how time goes on. I believe this is the best symbolization of the change that Rip endured from the time he went to sleep and after he woke up. In every American mythology, there are basic characteristics that help the story have form and show the readers the point of the myth. Irving used many of these, but the main ones helped the readers understand it most. They would be symbolization, having the story set in the remote past, and teaching a lesson/moral to everyone who reads this
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