Washington Irving's The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow
Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow which was published in company with his other best-known short story Rip Van Winkle in the Sketch Book in 1820, is considered one of the earliest examples of American fiction. Having been interpreted from many different points of view, this outstanding work is especially famous for its use of folklores and allusions. As most critics focus on the accompanying characters of Ichabod Crane and Brom Bones, it is commonly agreed that Irving alludes to the two original American archetypes and to the conflicts between them. According to critic Allen Guttmann (1964), Ichabod Crane, the epitome of capitalists as well as of intellectuals, competes with Brom Bones, a Dutch bumpkin but rough enough, for Katrina
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Author’s description of him seems to be an indication that he might be the rational version of the former schoolmaster of Sleepy Hollow. This man is actually an allusion to the then Americans’ inclination of celebrating adulthood. Different from that credulous young man, this “tall, dry-looking old gentleman” (p.368); however, “never laugh but upon good grounds—when they have reason and the law on their side” (p.368). This gentleman, seemingly mature and sensible, is actually as vulnerable as the past Ichabod for instead of being manipulated by the power of the “marvelous’, as Donald Anderson (2003) contends, he is now controlled by the power of mundane. Besides, his unawareness of his vulnerability enables him to play tricks on himself unconsciously, just as what our poor school master did to himself.
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In conclusion, it is more likely to say that Washington Irving’s purpose in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is to mildly protest the tendency of the then Americans’ assuming adulthood and to express his unsettled value of the post-colonial world.
The political environment, the author’s personal experience and the ingenious use of allusions mentioned above account for this conclusion.
Author’s description of him seems to be an indication that he might be the rational version of the former schoolmaster of Sleepy Hollow. This man is actually an allusion to the then Americans’ inclination of celebrating adulthood. Different from that credulous young man, this “tall, dry-looking old gentleman” (p.368); however, “never laugh but upon good grounds—when they have reason and the law on their side” (p.368). This gentleman, seemingly mature and sensible, is actually as vulnerable as the past Ichabod for instead of being manipulated by the power of the “marvelous’, as Donald Anderson (2003) contends, he is now controlled by the power of mundane. Besides, his unawareness of his vulnerability enables him to play tricks on himself unconsciously, just as what our poor school master did to himself.
III
In conclusion, it is more likely to say that Washington Irving’s purpose in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is to mildly protest the tendency of the then Americans’ assuming adulthood and to express his unsettled value of the post-colonial world.
The political environment, the author’s personal experience and the ingenious use of allusions mentioned above account for this conclusion.