Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow Essay

In “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”, Washington Irving prominently illustrates the power of imagination. Ichabod being rather foolish and comedic protagonist explains the strength of his thoughts, despite that this leads him to his downfall. In spite of the fact that Ichabod’s main pleasure is to either hear or read stories about demons, ghosts, and witches; however, since he has powerful imagination making him believe that almost everything is supernatural. His creative ability in its fantasizing capacity does, in any case, truly influence his life in that it fortifies his barrenness. ‘Ichabod 's creative ability is powerful to the point that he trusts himself basically as of now the proprietor of the Van Tassel cultivate ‘(Hoffman, 426). Since he gets such a

This short story has the characters’ behaviors reflecting the way the setting is described. “In this by-place of nature there abode, in a remote period of American history, that is to say, some thirty years since, a worthy weight of the name of Ichabod Crane, who sojourned, or, as he expressed it, “tarried,” in

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, written by Washington Irving, fits nicely into the Romanticism period due to its eloquent descriptions and detail to the nature around the village, the attention and focus on the main character and the addition of ghost stories and superstitions. These pieces come together to build a story of conflict and adventure. To further describe how all of the pieces fit together, we must first begin with the author. Washington Irving, born in 1783, was a well-traveled and well-educated young man. He dabbled in the areas of law, family business and even a diplomat for Spain but found the most success in his writing. Irving was considered the first author to write American Short Stories (Irving Biography). The two he is most well-known for is Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow was written in 1819, contains elements from light romanticism and humor (Dincer 219). The piece is about a young man by the name of Ichabod Crane whom tries to win the heart of a young lady by the name of Katrina Van Tassel. This story takes place in a small rural

Susan M. Bernardo, a critic of the film, describes the changes done as “the exploration of superstition, the supernatural, and the symbolic (linked with feminine) in opposition to reason, science and the written word (linked with masculine); but also toward the unraveling of patriarchal property and female revenge” (39). The gender roles appear to be switched in the plot, according to Bernardo, when comparing the roles in the film and in the story because it is the women who are strong and fearless in the film. The men appear tense because they worry of being decapitated by the Headless Horseman in the film. All the female characters are stronger and fearless of death. Katrina particularly holds power over Ichabod because he has begun to like her beauty and smiles at the thought of being with her. The reason for his desire to court Katrina is because of her eventual inheritance and marrying her is the only way to attain it. However, Irving’s story fails to develop several of the male characters as important factors in the plot. The story does not provide any

The hyperbole in Irving’s writing becomes clear as he begins to describe his main character’s attributes. Irving uses humor to bring attention to certain details to make them memorable. By using exaggeration and metaphor together, he makes a hyperbole, to help contribute to the experience. Irving demonstrates humor being developed by hyperbole when he writes, “The revenue arising from his school would have been scarcely sufficient to furnish him with daily bread, for he was a huge feeder and, though lank, had the dilating powers of an anaconda”(7). What Irving attempts to convey is, while Ichabod was a school teacher, he did not get paid enough for him to be comfortable, the main reason being that he had a large appetite.

The short story I have chosen to read by Washington Irving is 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.'; This story takes place in a little village on the Hudson River which by some is called Greensburgh, but which is more generally known as Tarry Town. The main character in the story, Ichabod Crane, who 'tarried'; in Sleepy Hollow came about for the purpose of instructing the children of the vicinity. The main point of the story began with the arrival of a Negro with an invitation to Ichabod to attend a party at the Van Tassel's mansion. After receiving the good news, Ichabod fixed up his best and only suit and borrowed a horse from Hans Van Ripper, in order to impress Mynheer Van Tassel's daughter, Katrina. He did so

The original story by Washington Irving starts out in a small town of Sleepy Hollow. Irving paints an image of bountiful crops, beautiful scenery, and

In Washington Irving’s short story “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” the conflict between Enlightenment and Romantic ideals is narrativized. Irving’s story is an exploration of the conflict between these two schools of thought. Irving uses his setting, his characters, and his “moral” (or lack thereof) to critique the Enlightenment. At first reading, “Sleepy Hollow” may seem no more than a dreamy folk tale. But when read in the context of the emerging resistance to Enlightenment thinking, it reveals itself to be a striking denunciation of the ideals of the Enlightenment.

“In the dark shadow of the grove… [Ichabod] beheld something huge, misshapen, black and towering...up in the gloom...some gigantic monster” and “summoning up, [from his trembling body] a show of courage...he demanded in stammering accents- ‘Who are you?’”. In the short story, the “Legend of Sleepy Hollow”, Washington Irving, tells the adventures of a schoolteacher, Ichabod Crane, in the haunted town of Sleepy Hollow. There, he pursues the local beauty, Katrina van Tassel, competing with the town’s rowdy prankster, Brom Bones. As the plot intensifies, Ichabod’s superstition eventually leads to his downfall when he is chased by the legendary ghost of the Headless Horseman in a terrifying and vivid scene after a party at Katrina’s house. The next day, Ichabod has disappeared, his fate unknown. Throughout the story, Irving creates suspense with the use of imagery to build up a frightening scene in the reader’s mind and ambiguity to make them anxious as they feel a sense of mysteriousness as to what really happened.

He saw a “gigantic [figure ready to pounce upon Ichabod]” (34). Ichabod runs the other way with his horse and then is “horror-struck on perceiving [the fact that] the [figure] was headless” (34). Just as Ichabod thought we was finally safe at the Church, the Horseman comes out, and throws a pumpkin at him. Till this day, Ichabod went missing. His body was not

In preparation for the party at the Van Tassel mansion, Ichabod takes extra time to get ready, wears his best clothes, and even borrows a horse in order to attempt a noble and valiant façade. But, Ichabod’s foolish and strange appearance can never be disguised. Not only was the broken-down horse a pathetic sight to be seen, but Ichabod’s clumsily large stature overtook it in the most ridiculous of ways. “He rode with short stirrups, which brought his knees nearly up to the pommel of the saddle; his sharp elbows stuck out like grasshoppers’…and, as his horse jogged on, the motion of his arms was not unlike the flapping of a pair of wings” (Irving 5). There is nothing glorious or particularly attractive about Ichabod’s physical presence, which is the initial indication of his incompetence to fulfill the role of hero. His physical appearance exudes weakness and vulnerability, and it should not come as a surprise that his personality matches his anti-heroic appearance.

Katrina initiates to uphold her agency by gaining Ichabod’s affections through her flirtatious conduct which parallels with the women of town who are looked upon by Ichabod due to their storytelling skills. The narrator uses diction to initially elicit Katrina as a modern independent lady who

The conclusions of the book and movie greatly differ from one another. In the end there seem to be one major relevant point. The short story’s main closing idea is Katrina did not choose Ichabod. Whereas the film’s final note is the Headless Horseman is gone and no longer out to kill. Ichabod and Katrina’s fate together are not the same in the book and movie. They do not end up together in the book but they do in the movie. Ichabod’s future also contrasts. There are rumors on what happened to him in the story, but mainly he simply disappears after facing the Headless Horseman. Shown in the film, Ichabod survives his meeting with the evil specter and together he and Katrina move to New York. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow the book and Sleepy Hollow the movie’s closure are immensely differentiated.

Ichabod Crane’s greed hindered his relationship with the townspeople, making some, such as Brom Bones, pleased to expel Crane from town, and others indifferent to his leaving. Crane had a great gluttonous appetite, so he “lived successively a week at a time” in his pupils’ homes because they could not afford to house such a gourmand (Irving 17). Moreover, he earned the distaste of the town’s other men while trying to earn the affections of Katrina Van Tassel, whom he hoped to marry because of her wealth. He knew if the marriage occurred, many delicious meals would await him. “The pedagogue’s mouth watered as he looked upon this sumptuous promise of luxurious winter fare,” (Irving 20). Furthermore, Ichabod Crane’s greed extended even to a love of power, which he executed over his schoolhouse. For slovenly, naughty, or lazy children, he always had his whip ready. Proudly, he

To find out if a story is a positive or negative there are many things to consider but only a few are talked about here. Like How the characters seem real, also how the setting is included in the story to make it seem more real, finally how much of a good story Washington Irving wrote. Now about how the characters seem real, and the one that just popped out to me was the headless horseman. This is because one time he followed someone all the way to the bridge but he did not pass the bridge. Also when the author wrote the line “In the dark shadow of the grove (PG 825).” As Irving was writing he made the setting feel more real like when he said “it is about 2 miles down the road…”.Also when he said something about Terry Town and that is actually