Moral of Washington Irvings The Legend of Sleepy Hollow...

Moral of Washington Irvings The Legend of Sleepy Hollow In Washington Irving’s short story â€Å"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 â€Å"moral† (or lack thereof) to critique the Enlightenment. At first reading, â€Å"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. The Age of Enlightenment was characterized by the reign of reason. Enlightenment thinkers believed†¦show more content†¦Sleepy Hollow is described first of all as â€Å"one of the quietest places in the whole world.† (p. 379) The absence of noise, particularly of the noise of human activity, is clearly important. Irving goes on to note that the settlers of this place are descended from the original Dutch settlers, who have maintained traditions and ways of life that predate the Enlightenment. Also, as members of a local, rustic, Dutch community, the inhabitants are placed distinctly outside the dominant English culture. Irving then creates the aesthetic atmosphere that will dominate the story, which is the atmosphere of the Gothic. Sleepy Hollow is characterized as a place that exudes a magical, languid ambience, a place where imagination rules and reason fails: Certain it is, the place still continues under the sway of some witching power, that holds a spell over the minds of the good people, causing them to walk in a continual reverie. They are given to all kinds of marvellous beliefs; are subject to trances and visions; and frequently see strange sights, and hear music and voices in the air. The whole neighborhood abounds with local tales, haunted spots, and twilight superstitions; stars shoot and meteors glare oftener across the valley than in any other part of the country, and the nightmare, with herShow MoreRelatedWashington Irving s The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow Essay1604 Words   |  7 PagesWashington Irving was born in New York City on April 3, 1783 (â€Å"Washington Irvingâ € ). As a teenager, he traveled through Europe for seventeen years (â€Å"Washington Irving†). The experience gave him an appreciation for a culture deeply rooted in a rich history (â€Å"Washington Irving†). His distinguished list of works became well known in America and in England, and his success allowed him to be recognized as â€Å"the father of American Literature† (â€Å"Washington Irving†). Irving was the first American writer toRead MoreSleepy Hollow: The Film and The Story Essay1473 Words   |  6 PagesWashington Irving’s short story, â€Å"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,† was adapted into a movie titled â€Å"Sleepy Hollow† directed by Tim Burton nearly two centuries after the original publication. When the story was adapted as a film, several extensive changes were made. A short story easily read in one sitting was turned into a nearly two-hour thriller, mystery, and horror movie by incorporating new details and modify ing the original version of the story. The short story relates the failed courtship of KatrinaRead MoreThe Romantic American Male in Cooper’s Last of the Mohicans and Irving’s Legend of Sleepy Hollow3375 Words   |  14 PagesRomantic American Male in Cooper’s Last of the Mohicans and Irving’s Legend of Sleepy Hollow James Fenimore Cooper’s Last of the Mohicans and Washington Irving’s Legend of Sleepy Hollow are valuable examples of literary heavyweights of the Romantic era, but in addition, can also be used to chart sociological changes within the male gender during pre-Romantic and Romantic years. But because neither Cooper nor Irving’s works should be distanced from their cultural backdrops whenRead MoreA Brief Look at Washington Irving1441 Words   |  6 PagesWashington Irving Washington Irving was considered to be the first professional man of letters and was influential in the development of short stories. He was the first author to sell his stories abroad other than America. Washington Irving was born and raised in New York City on April 3, 1783, and he was the youngest of eleven children. Washington Irving was the first American to make a living as an author during his career in the early 1800’s. His short stories left a lasting and of most influentialRead MoreBlackness and Gothic depictions in American Literature1666 Words   |  7 Pageswriting. Washington Irving and Herman Melville involve the occupation of lawyers and Justices to bring in a patriotic element to influence residents of the young country as a way to share their concerns and inspire ambition. Their usage of metaphors and metonymy subtly convey a message of hope to white residents while, deflating the optimism of the soon to be freed slaves. This essay will prove that a critica l reading of Melville’s â€Å"Bartleby, the Scrivener,† and Irving’s â€Å"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow†Read MoreSupernatural Elements Of The Nineteenth Century1693 Words   |  7 Pagesotherwise known as the Supernatural. Through using supernatural elements, they created phantasmal characters, situations, places and objects to give the human mind an alternative perception of the world around them, differing from the traditional moral and social patterns and taboos. Additionally, by employing the supernatural, Romantic authors took for granted the reader’s â€Å"faith† or disposition to believe in the situations they proposed. Through their writings, they offered readers the possibilityRead MoreThe Legend Of Sleepy Hollow2025 Words   |  9 Pagesof the Headless Horseman, described in â€Å"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow† is well-known in American folklore. It is a scary story that many children tell around the campfire in an attempt t o scare one another, saying that if someone is not careful, the Headless Horseman will come for them. However, many Americans do not realize that this legend originated from a story that appears in Washington Irving’s book, The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. Washington Irving was born to a Scottish immigrant familyRead MoreThe Legend of Sleepy Hollow - Summary and Analysis11462 Words   |  46 PagesThe Legend of Sleepy Hollow Summary and Analysis Major Themes Veracity in Storytelling Veracity in storytelling is a defining theme of â€Å"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.† The story is distantly removed from the reader—Crayon has found the story in Diedrich Knickerbocker’s papers, who is dead, and who at the end of the story writes that he heard it from an old gentleman, who claimed to not have even believed half of it himself, ultimately getting much of the story from primary or even other secondaryRead MoreHistory of the Development of the Short Story.3660 Words   |  15 Pagesthe story. Short sections of verse might focus on individual narratives that could be told at one sitting. The overall arc of the tale would emerge only through the telling of multiple such sections. Fables, succinct tales with an explicit moral, were said by the Greek historian Herodotus to have been invented in the 6th century BCE by a Greek slave named Aesop, though other times and nationalities have also been given for him. These ancient fables are today known as Aesops Fables. Read MoreANALIZ TEXT INTERPRETATION AND ANALYSIS28843 Words   |  116 Pagesseries of separate and largely self-contained episodes, resembling so many beads on a string. The unifying element is the protagonist, as he wanders into and out of a series of adventures that, in their totality, initiate him to life and provide his moral education. A third type of chronologically arranged plot is encountered in psychological novels, such as James Joyce’s Ulysses, Virginia Wolf’s To the Lighthouse, in which the reader’s attention is centered on the protagonist’s unfolding state of