'Rip van Winkle'

Paper Summary:

This paper reviews and discusses the short story 'Rip van Winkle', written by Washington Irving. According to the paper, the story of 'Rip van Winkle' features comic tension and interplay between the chronological, and political, present and past.

From the Paper:

" Irving comically implies, considering the circumstances of Dame van Winkle's death, that it is unhealthy to live filled with pique; anger, and anxiety (often the stuff of human drive and "progress"): she "broke a blood-vessel in a fit of passion at a New England pedlar sic]" (Irving, "Rip van Winkle", 1819). In contrast, Rip takes life as it comes; lives long, and gains respect and affection from the next generation, having now reached "that happy age when a man can do nothing with impunity" (Irving). Therefore, Rip now "took his place once more on the bench, at the inn door, and was reverenced as one of the patriarchs of the village, and a chronicle of the old times "before the war." ("Rip Van Winkle"). "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Irving, W. (2001). "Rip van Winkle." [Full online text]. Retrieved February 12, 2006, from: http://www.catskillarchive.com/rockwell/12b.htm.

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