Rip Van Winkle

I have to say that I really enjoyed reading Irving’s Rip Van Winkle. Many of the details in the story share similar characteristics to that of old folktales and the fairytales of the brothers Grimm. The colonial village seems to be pretty isolated with rocky terrain and a thick forest, that adds to the “magical-like” atmosphere of the story. Even Van Winkle seems to exude the personality of a typical fairytale character. While he is friendly helpful to the women in the village, doing many of their chores, his own wife cannot for the life of her get her husband to do anything of use at their own homestead. Besides helping people, the only Van Winkle seems to want to do is slack off with his faithful dog by his side-You just now something is going to happen to him. Of Course, it’s when Van Winkle meets the strange men in the forest that story reaches the height of its fairytale-like quality. While I enjoyed the first half of the story best, it isn’t until Van Winkle wakes up that I believe the story holds any real significance. Many things have changed once Van Winkle wakes up, revealing much about the evolving nation and Van Winkle’s place in the world. When he approaches the old inn, Van Winkles notices the change of the sign-it hints at the he slept through the Revolutionary War, in which time King George was replaced by another George (Washington). The fact that this doesn’t seem to faze Van Winkle seems to be important, as his life wasn’t really affected by either ruler. In the end, the reader learns that his wife has passed away and his son has become a younger version of himself; Van Winkle seems troubled at first, not knowing who he is anymore as a person. I find it interesting though that once Van Winkle accepts his fate and the time he lost, he’s just as happy as before if not more; his daily carefree behavior hasn’t changed, but now it’s acceptable for him to be lazy because he’s an old man. He even seems relieved that he doesn’t have to deal with his nagging wife anymore. The misfortune of his long sleep turned out to be a blessing, bringing back that magic-like, fairytale quality in the last bit of the story.