Washingto Washington Irving's Rip Van Winkle

Rip Van Winkles story was one of great importance and great meaning. It talks about many of things such as, lending a hand when and where needed, respect, and hard work. It teaches a lot more than just this. All of those things are important, but another thing that is taught is the importance of equality. When I finished reading Rip Van Winkle, I thought about how different everything could have been for Rip if things had played out differently. What I mean by this is that the story of Rip Van Winkle also teaches us about the lesson of adapting to new things. Rip Van Winkle had fallen asleep for 20 years, and after he woke up, everything was very different. If Rip hadn’t ventured off away from his village and into the woods, fallen asleep, then wake up 20 years later, everything would be different whether for better or worse. Washington Irving defines American Mythology in a way that uses events, characters, and setting.
He does this to express the things that Rip does and sees as he journeys up the mountain and through the woods. Washington uses this technique to help the reader understand what Rip was seeing, smelling, hearing, and feeling as he travels. Washington uses words such as grizzled and bushy to help create an image for the reader and to help them understand what was seen. For example, “On near approach, he was still more surprised at the singularity of the strangers’ appearance. He was a short square built old fellow, with thick bushy hair, and a grizzled beard.” (Irving