Essays on Washington Irving

History of Sleepy Hollow Sleepy Hollow, Hudson River village defies the passage of time and has managed to preserve both its history and natural beauty. The village is known for its fabulous legends and great history and has a wide range of outdoor adventures and activities for the locals and tourists.The Village of Sleepy Hollow belonged to the larger province of the Native American tribe, Weckquaesgeck Indians, who are described as a Mohican Tribe or a Delaware Tribe1. The Sleepy Hollow countryside is made famous by the author Washington Irving. The village is located in the lower Hudson River ...

1. The author of quote number one is Thomas Paine; the book is an American crisis. It is significant in establishing solutions when America had a great crisis. 2. The author of quote number two is Philip Freneau and the book is “On Mr. Paine’s Rights of Man.”The significance of this quote was during the American Revolution where Paine where he wanted changes but was very conservative. 3. The author of quote number three is Washington Irving and the book is Rip Van Winkle. Its significance is when an old man is curious in manners ...

In the early 1800s, Neoclassical writing was par for the course; works were typically very restrained, conservative, and focused on structure more than anything else. However, as the 19th century rolled along, more and more authors (including Washington Irving and

James Fenimore Cooper) found themselves writing stories of passion, full of experimentation and discovery. In these works, notions of established language and literary structure were challenged, as the Romantics ceased believing in the established systems of literature and created wholly new works that were free from restraint. While the works of Smith demonstrate the observational, dry and formal writing ...

Christmas is considered to be both a religious holiday as well as a worldwide cultural event. Christians around the world celebrate Christmas in December to remember the birth of Jesus, their spiritual leader. However, this holiday began long before Jesus was born, and has changed throughout the years depending on the geography and climate of the country it is being celebrated in. The cultural phenomenon of Christmas first began centuries before the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, as cultures would celebrate the Winter Solstice. The importance of celebrating the Winter Solstice came out of the fact that many people worked ...

Introduction:

The tale of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight starts at a New Years Eve Feast at King Arthur’s court. The lavish feast is interrupted when the Green Knight arrives and issues challenge to King Arthur and any member of his Court to strike him with his own axe, on the condition that the challenger find him in exactly one year to receive a blow in return. When no one, including Arthur takes him up on this so he mocks them. In response to his taunts, King Arthur steps up and starts to take the axe. Sir Gawain jumps in. ...

The story of Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving is about a man who shares the same name as the title of the short story. It is set during two different times, before and after the American Revolution. The tale is in the beautiful land of the Catskill Mountains in New York where a Dutch colony had settled. Rip Van Winkle had contrasting traits, which makes him very real and grounded. It is said that he is “a kind neighbor and an obedient, henpecked husband” (6). He had a wife who constantly nagged him for his idleness and carelessness. However, he was always ...

Washington Irving is an author and editor of numerous fictional works and short stories. His fictional works, biographies, historical writings and short stories made him achieve international fame. Before his death in 1859 Irving was the United States ambassador to Spain and he used his position to promote international copyright law. Irving is a scholar for he studied law; however he was not an exceptional student, and he barely passed the bar. His writing career began by writing periodicals, whimsical journals and letters. Irving has many writings in his literary career. His works include The Legend of The Sleepy Hollow, ...

Washing Irvings’ Story

“The Devil and Tom Walker”

The Gothic was a popular theme in seventeenth and eighteenth century literature. Several American writers, including Washington Irving exercise this topic; in their writings. His story, “The Devil and Tom Walker,” has two main characters Tom and his wife. The following elements; setting, plot and point of view, are fitting elements used to bring credence to Mrs. Walker’s character.

The very title of the story, “The Devil and Tom Walker,” foreshadows the story; it is also ambiguous, since it could mean that Mrs. Walker is a devil. “Tom's wife was a tall termagant, fierce of temper, ...

The story of Rip Van Winkle was written by Washington Irving in the late 1760s or early 1770s, and published around 1819. He was one of America’s most influential humorist and Rip Van Winkle is his masterpiece in fiction, suggested by a German folk-tale. This story has been told leisurely by Irving with a quaint pathos and lambent humor, and he has been successful at the play of thought, language and emotions. It’s a delightful reading that grips the reader who would not get up without completing it. Irving’s protagonist in the story is Rip Van Winkle, a rustic ...