RIP Van Winkle
1) When Rip wakes, much has changed, but how are things the same? How well does the plot follow a pattern of exposition, rising action, peripeteia, anagnorisis, climax, falling action, and denouement? Are there any plot twists that surprise you?
How long does the tale take to tell? How does the literary mode of storytelling mimic that of an oral tradition? How does Irving play with truth and knowledge (epistemology) or history and myth in the structure or framing of the story?
2) Rip is often viewed as the archetypal poet-artist figure. How does he embody the spirit of play? Far from heroic, what makes him so interesting or endearing?
What role does gender play in the depictions of characters? Does Irving reinforce or exploit stereotypes?
Other than the titular protagonist, what characters (human or nonhuman) inspire curiosity or play key roles in the story? How well developed is their characterization? Any psychological depth or are they superficial types?
3) How does Irving bridge three-four phases of New York history with this story? To what degree are the Catskills a character in the story? How significant is the landscape?
How would you describe the play of language in this story? How difficult is this story to read? At what level of reading or age is it most appropriate? What use does Irving make of denotative and connotative meanings? Irony, symbolism, or polysemy?
4) Identify the main theme/s of the story. What topics are at stake and which ones are most significant to the story? Is there a moral lesson the reader should learn from this story?
When it was first published, would a British audience have appreciated the story differently from American readers
Rip Van Winkle
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Course
Instructor
Date
Rip Van Winkle
In Rip Van Winkle, some things remain the same, even after twenty years of Rip sleeping. He still lives in the same Dutch village in the Catskill Mountains, the Hudson River, and his name. The plot follows a pattern of exposition, rising action, peripeteia, anagnorisis, climax, falling action, and denouement, and contains plot twists that surprise the reader, such as the revelation that the men playing ninepins are ghosts of Henry Hudson and his crew (Irving, 1983, p776). The tale takes about an hour to tell and mimics the structure of an oral tradition with its frame narrative, conversational tone, humorous style, and mixture of facts and fables. Irving plays with truth and knowledge by presenting the story as a factual account and adding a postscript with some traveling notes from Knickerbocker’s memorandum book, inviting readers to question the boundaries between reality and imagination.
Rip Van Winkle embodies the spirit of play by being creative, imaginative, curious, and adventurous. He enjoys nature, music, stories, and games. He is endearing because he is relatable, sympathetic, and humorous. Irving reinforces or exploits gender stereotypes by portraying Rip’s wife as a shrew, a nag, and a tyrant and Rip as a henpecked husband while contrasting them with Rip’s daughter and her husband. Other characters that play vital role...