Why Ichabod Crane Lived In A Small Town
The story takes place around the time of the American Revolution near Tarrytown, New York. Irving describes the town as trouble free and a place you would get away for a retreat. Many of the people that lived there accepted the idea that the town was bewitched and believed in the stories about all different kinds of supernatural things that happens in the town. Needless to say the town was superstitious. The town seemed to be relaxed, which made them feel comfortable with telling stories about terrifying things going on in their town.
The story is about Ichabod Crane who is a poor school teacher and only works for a few dollars a day. Ichabod takes turns sleeping in his student's house spending a week at a time with each family. Ichabod Crane was well liked by everyone, especially, the farmers because he helped them and the women liked him because he helped out with the children. Ichabod Crane had a voracious appetite and this is one of the reasons he falls in love with Katrina. Her father is a very wealthy farmer. If he married her he could have all the food her desired. Ichabod Crane …show more content…
wasn’t handsome at all. He was awkwardly thin and his nose is like that of a bird’s beak. Brom Bones was terribly handsome and he was a hero to all the town people. Both Ichabod Crane and Brom Bones were in love with Katrina.
Both IcAt the dinner party everyone is talking about a headless horseman who stalks the countryside at night. One man, Brom Bones, a rival of Ichabod, tells how he and the horseman were in a race. Brom was winning but the horseman flew off in a burst of fire. On his way home from the party Ichabod encounters the headless horseman. He rides off in a hurry but feels something hit his head. The next day Ichabod's horse returns but their was no sign of Ichabod except his hat and a smashed pumpkin.
I think I would find it very difficult to live during the time of the American Revolution. The narrator of this tale, Diedrich Knickerbocker, uses sarcasm very well in telling the reader he has an excellent singing voice and looks like the bird, the crane. During the time ghost stories and legends must have been very popular. I think I would have been very scared hearing these stories.
Irving sets a dreamy and mysterious stage for this tale of the early Dutch in the Hudson River valley. His ability to create a mood of somnolence and suspension of time is uncanny and beguiling. Irving, in creating this mood, sets up a skillful contrast between the indolent and seductive past and the hurrying future, a contrast that he intends to explore and exploit in this, as in so many of, his stories. Ichabod Crane is the figure of the intellectual, the impractical man of the past, while ...more Irving sets a dreamy and mysterious stage for this tale of the early Dutch in the Hudson River valley. His ability to create a mood of somnolence and suspension of time is uncanny and beguiling. Irving, in creating this mood, sets up a skillful contrast between the indolent and seductive past and the hurrying future, a contrast that he intends to explore and exploit in this, as in so many of, his stories. Ichabod Crane is the figure of the intellectual, the impractical man of the past, while Brom Bones is the up and coming, roistering new American, Whitmanesque in character. Irving’s sympathies seem to lie with the former, even in his defeat. This delightful and familiar short story is a model for the America coming into being in the early 19th century, an America that Irving view with, at best, ambivalence, but a model that has become a part of our national mythology, reflecting our view of ourselves. (less)
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow takes place in Tarrytown, NY. It is about a Schoolteacher (Ichabod Crane), who falls in love with the beautiful Katrina Van Tassel, the daughter of a farmer. Katrina Van Tassel, has but another suitor--the muscular, strong, handsome Brom Bones, who brags about the number of fights he has fought, and runs around on strong horses with his gang, causing trouble and mischief.
When Crane was invited to a party at the Van Tassel's house, he rode there, on a spirited horse called Gunpowder, that he borrowed from his friend, Hans Van Ripper. When he got to the Van Tassel's house, everyone there sat down to dinner. After the lovely feast of Dutch food such as cakes, pies, preserved fruits, and all sorts of broiled, smoked and roasted meats, the music began. Everyone danced about. Ichabod Crane danced with Katrina Van Tassel. Brom Bones sat in a corner glaring at the dancing couple. Then everyone sat down to listen to stories. The tales were fascinating! They were haunting and exiting! They were stories about ghosts and goblins. The favorite tale was about the headless horseman, who haunted the graveyard at night.
After the party, Ichabod Crane heads home through the graveyard. On his way, the headless horseman chases him. He chases him to the bridge, where Ichabod believes that the horseman's head is thrown at him. The next morning, Gunpowder appeared at his master's (Hans Van Ripper) house without Ichabod Crane. The town issued a search for Ichabod, but instead of finding him, they found Gunpowder's saddle. When they looked near the bridge where Andre was captured, they found Ichabod Cranes hat, and a few yards away they found a smashed pumpkin.
Character Analysis
Ichabod Crane
Ichabod Crane was born and raised in Connecticut.
He was the schoolteacher of Sleepy Hollow, New York. He was a tall skinny man who had huge green eyes and a large hooked nose.
Ichabod's schoolhouse was a small one-room log building. It was brilliantly secured at night, so that a thief could get in but not out.
Ichabod was not a cruel man, but he certainly did not spoil his students. He never gave a chastisement without assuring the pupil that “he would remember it, and thank him for the longest day he had to live.”
He kept on good terms with his students, and after school he would play with the bigger boys. It was to his own benefit that he kept a good relationship with his students; since his salary was so small, he boarded with the farmers whose kids were his students. He would live at one place for exactly a week, moving around the
neighborhood.
Ichabod was an extremely liked man, for he sometimes helped the farmers with the lighter chores, and looked after the children for hours for their mothers. The female circle of the neighborhood loved him too. He was thought to have a great superior taste and to have accomplished a lot. He would gather grapes for them, or walk along the millpond with a whole group of ladies following him. Ichabod would bring the gossip from one house to another. He loved to sit by the fire with the old Dutch wives as they told him fearful stories of haunted places. Ichabod would then delight them as he told about witchcraft, shooting stars, and the fact that the world did turn around and most of the time they were upside down. Ichabod Crane was terribly superstitious, and he fully believed in witchcraft of all sorts.
Ichabod also instructed psalmody. Katrina Van Tassel was one of his psalmody students. She was beautiful, and Ichabod fell in love with her. Ichabod had a huge appetite. It seemed he never gained a pound, but grew an inch instead. He dreamed of living a more comfortable and abundant lifesylye in Katrina Van Tassel's household. Or, he might sell her father's fortune and move to Kentucky.
Katrina Van Tassel
Katrina is a beautiful girl, 18 years old. She is the only child of a rich Dutch farmer. She wears colors of yellow and gold to set off her charms, and a short petticoat to show off the prettiest ankles in the hollow. She is known for her beauty and her high expectations. Katrina loves to dance and sing. She is the love interest of Ichabod Crane and Brom Bones.
Brom Bones
Brom Bones is a handsome man with curly black hair and broad shoulders. He is the hero of the town, having an arrogant and fun loving appearance. He is strong and knows a great deal about horsemanship.
Brom was always seen at races and cockfights. He was very mischievous, and whenever any prank or fight took place, the neighbors would all say that Brom was the cause of it. He was always ready for a fight, and was the one to settle any argument. Brom had a crew of four or five men who could sometimes be heard racing along the farmhouses whooping with joy. In the winter, Brom always wears a raccoon cap.
Brom was in love with Katrina and had made several advances.
The story is about Ichabod Crane who is a poor school teacher and only works for a few dollars a day. Ichabod takes turns sleeping in his student's house spending a week at a time with each family. Ichabod Crane was well liked by everyone, especially, the farmers because he helped them and the women liked him because he helped out with the children. Ichabod Crane had a voracious appetite and this is one of the reasons he falls in love with Katrina. Her father is a very wealthy farmer. If he married her he could have all the food her desired. Ichabod Crane …show more content…
wasn’t handsome at all. He was awkwardly thin and his nose is like that of a bird’s beak. Brom Bones was terribly handsome and he was a hero to all the town people. Both Ichabod Crane and Brom Bones were in love with Katrina.
Both IcAt the dinner party everyone is talking about a headless horseman who stalks the countryside at night. One man, Brom Bones, a rival of Ichabod, tells how he and the horseman were in a race. Brom was winning but the horseman flew off in a burst of fire. On his way home from the party Ichabod encounters the headless horseman. He rides off in a hurry but feels something hit his head. The next day Ichabod's horse returns but their was no sign of Ichabod except his hat and a smashed pumpkin.
I think I would find it very difficult to live during the time of the American Revolution. The narrator of this tale, Diedrich Knickerbocker, uses sarcasm very well in telling the reader he has an excellent singing voice and looks like the bird, the crane. During the time ghost stories and legends must have been very popular. I think I would have been very scared hearing these stories.
Irving sets a dreamy and mysterious stage for this tale of the early Dutch in the Hudson River valley. His ability to create a mood of somnolence and suspension of time is uncanny and beguiling. Irving, in creating this mood, sets up a skillful contrast between the indolent and seductive past and the hurrying future, a contrast that he intends to explore and exploit in this, as in so many of, his stories. Ichabod Crane is the figure of the intellectual, the impractical man of the past, while ...more Irving sets a dreamy and mysterious stage for this tale of the early Dutch in the Hudson River valley. His ability to create a mood of somnolence and suspension of time is uncanny and beguiling. Irving, in creating this mood, sets up a skillful contrast between the indolent and seductive past and the hurrying future, a contrast that he intends to explore and exploit in this, as in so many of, his stories. Ichabod Crane is the figure of the intellectual, the impractical man of the past, while Brom Bones is the up and coming, roistering new American, Whitmanesque in character. Irving’s sympathies seem to lie with the former, even in his defeat. This delightful and familiar short story is a model for the America coming into being in the early 19th century, an America that Irving view with, at best, ambivalence, but a model that has become a part of our national mythology, reflecting our view of ourselves. (less)
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow takes place in Tarrytown, NY. It is about a Schoolteacher (Ichabod Crane), who falls in love with the beautiful Katrina Van Tassel, the daughter of a farmer. Katrina Van Tassel, has but another suitor--the muscular, strong, handsome Brom Bones, who brags about the number of fights he has fought, and runs around on strong horses with his gang, causing trouble and mischief.
When Crane was invited to a party at the Van Tassel's house, he rode there, on a spirited horse called Gunpowder, that he borrowed from his friend, Hans Van Ripper. When he got to the Van Tassel's house, everyone there sat down to dinner. After the lovely feast of Dutch food such as cakes, pies, preserved fruits, and all sorts of broiled, smoked and roasted meats, the music began. Everyone danced about. Ichabod Crane danced with Katrina Van Tassel. Brom Bones sat in a corner glaring at the dancing couple. Then everyone sat down to listen to stories. The tales were fascinating! They were haunting and exiting! They were stories about ghosts and goblins. The favorite tale was about the headless horseman, who haunted the graveyard at night.
After the party, Ichabod Crane heads home through the graveyard. On his way, the headless horseman chases him. He chases him to the bridge, where Ichabod believes that the horseman's head is thrown at him. The next morning, Gunpowder appeared at his master's (Hans Van Ripper) house without Ichabod Crane. The town issued a search for Ichabod, but instead of finding him, they found Gunpowder's saddle. When they looked near the bridge where Andre was captured, they found Ichabod Cranes hat, and a few yards away they found a smashed pumpkin.
Character Analysis
Ichabod Crane
Ichabod Crane was born and raised in Connecticut.
He was the schoolteacher of Sleepy Hollow, New York. He was a tall skinny man who had huge green eyes and a large hooked nose.
Ichabod's schoolhouse was a small one-room log building. It was brilliantly secured at night, so that a thief could get in but not out.
Ichabod was not a cruel man, but he certainly did not spoil his students. He never gave a chastisement without assuring the pupil that “he would remember it, and thank him for the longest day he had to live.”
He kept on good terms with his students, and after school he would play with the bigger boys. It was to his own benefit that he kept a good relationship with his students; since his salary was so small, he boarded with the farmers whose kids were his students. He would live at one place for exactly a week, moving around the
neighborhood.
Ichabod was an extremely liked man, for he sometimes helped the farmers with the lighter chores, and looked after the children for hours for their mothers. The female circle of the neighborhood loved him too. He was thought to have a great superior taste and to have accomplished a lot. He would gather grapes for them, or walk along the millpond with a whole group of ladies following him. Ichabod would bring the gossip from one house to another. He loved to sit by the fire with the old Dutch wives as they told him fearful stories of haunted places. Ichabod would then delight them as he told about witchcraft, shooting stars, and the fact that the world did turn around and most of the time they were upside down. Ichabod Crane was terribly superstitious, and he fully believed in witchcraft of all sorts.
Ichabod also instructed psalmody. Katrina Van Tassel was one of his psalmody students. She was beautiful, and Ichabod fell in love with her. Ichabod had a huge appetite. It seemed he never gained a pound, but grew an inch instead. He dreamed of living a more comfortable and abundant lifesylye in Katrina Van Tassel's household. Or, he might sell her father's fortune and move to Kentucky.
Katrina Van Tassel
Katrina is a beautiful girl, 18 years old. She is the only child of a rich Dutch farmer. She wears colors of yellow and gold to set off her charms, and a short petticoat to show off the prettiest ankles in the hollow. She is known for her beauty and her high expectations. Katrina loves to dance and sing. She is the love interest of Ichabod Crane and Brom Bones.
Brom Bones
Brom Bones is a handsome man with curly black hair and broad shoulders. He is the hero of the town, having an arrogant and fun loving appearance. He is strong and knows a great deal about horsemanship.
Brom was always seen at races and cockfights. He was very mischievous, and whenever any prank or fight took place, the neighbors would all say that Brom was the cause of it. He was always ready for a fight, and was the one to settle any argument. Brom had a crew of four or five men who could sometimes be heard racing along the farmhouses whooping with joy. In the winter, Brom always wears a raccoon cap.
Brom was in love with Katrina and had made several advances.