Rip Van Winkle: You Better Not Fall Asleep!

AN: This is a brief (extremely brief) essay I wrote about the short story "Rip Van Winkle," early this school year in 11th Grade English.

The short story “Rip Van Winkle,” by Washington Irving, is an American myth featuring three of four hallmarks for myths. They are; being set in an exciting and remote time or place, having magical and mysterious events, and featuring exaggerated characters.

In the beginning of the story, the setting for the book is expounded. The setting takes place both before the Revolutionary war, as Van Winkle mistakes George Washington as King George when he finally awakens, and claims to be a loyal subject to the king, and takes place some short time after the war, during a tumultuous election time, as evidenced by people continuously talking about the election. The place where the story is set is also remote, and even magical. The little town where the majority of the story takes place is surrounded by mountains, whose changing hues serve as a “perfect barometer.” These mountains serve as a major plot point, where anything is possible.

The main plot event of Irving’s story is Van Winkle’s astounding, twenty-year long sleep. While comas are possible, the events described in the story are nothing short of magical. Van Winkle goes up to “one of the highest” parts of the mountain, and hears his name called, but “could see nothing.” He eventually locates the voice calling his name as a “strange figure,” which is carrying a keg. While helping this strange man, he comes upon a “company of odd-looking personages playing at nine-pins.” They are dressed in “quaint, outlandish fashion,” and are actually ghosts. He falls asleep after this. When he wakes up, twenty years has passed. He returns to the village, but is unrecognized, and he finds that many of his former acquaintances are now gone. His son is an exact replica of himself, and his daughter is now married to “one of the urchins who used to cling to his back.” Of course, there are still many of the over-the-top characters that were prevalent in the first portion of the story, which is another hallmark of mythological tales.

These exaggerated characters are used both to populate the story, and to inject it with humor. Examples are characters such as Dame Van Wrinkle, who scalds her husband, “morning, noon, and night.” Another such character is Derrick Van Bummel, a school teacher whose wits are rather unproportionate to his stature. Rip Van Winkle himself is an exaggerated character. He has an aversion to work, yet is wiling to perform hard labor for virtually anybody who asks. He is very good natured, yet lazy.

Rip Van Winkle, while an amusing story, is important because it is one of the earliest examples of true American mythology. Mythology is a significant part of a nation’s cultural identity, and this story is especially significant because its author is one of the first natural-born Americans, even being named after George Washington. With myths like this, Americans were able to finally identify themselves as a true country. Myths can provide cultures with a sense of shared identity.