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Rayna Zhong
Mr. Opachan
English III
20 May 2016
Washington Irving and His Short Stories
Washington Irving's impact on American short story is dramatic, and the marks he made
in American History are indelible. His incredible life experiences enriched his writing and helped
his career; every character in his stories audaciously exposed the social phenomenon of the time
and also revealed to people his emotions and opinions of life.
Washington Irvings life impacted his writing career and also established the purpose of
his writing. Irving was born on April 30, 1783, in New York City. In his early life, he contributed
nine essays to his brother, Peters, newspaper, the Morning Chronicle. After that, he started to
help his family business for his brother in England in 1815, however, the business eventually
failed. Therefore, he started writing for a living. In 1840, he served as the U.S. ambassador to
Spain and pushed for stronger copyright laws. After publishing the story of Rip Van Winkle and
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, he achieved international fame. He studied law at private schools
in his early life and then he worked in several law offices. Then, he traveled to Europe for his
health. It is evident, his life was not ordinary at all. Because of all the experiences that happened
in his life, Irving made his writing focus more on society and the impact of society on him
("Washington Irving").
The two short stories that made Irving well-known were Rip Van Winkle and The Legend
of Sleepy Hollow (The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica). Both of these stories in The Sketch
Book he wrote perfectly symbolize American ideals and aspirations. The story of Rip Van Winkle,

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a European myth and legend is based on local history. It talks about a simple-minded man whose
name is Rip Van Winkle. One day he is wandering around in the mountains and ready to hunt
some food for the family. He meets the English explorer Henry Hudsons crew and starts to drink
with them. After a while, he falls asleep. He gets back to the village after he awakes and finds out
that everything in the village has changed. Nobody in the village recognizes him because of the
long beard on his face. He discovers his wife is already dead but he finds his missing daughter.
Several villagers finally identify him, hence, he is eventually accepted by the others (Irving).
The major point of the story is the dramatic transformation that happened over twenty years in
his village. Irvings Dutch village had always been symbolic of a prosperous and peaceful place,
however, after he returned back to the village, he realized that everything was not the way it used
to be. There were new houses built in the village and the village had expanded a lot. The
villagers also became more active and concerned and not a lot of people recognized him
anymore. Irving became an alien in this place that he used to be important. He also pointed out in
the story that people preferred to achieve material prosperity by sacrificing their own peaceful
life at that time, and the way of life in that society became disoriented and helpless. Rip in the
story slept through the entire important social, political, and economic changes, including the
Revolutionary War (McGann). Hence, he returned ignorant but also unharmed. Irving believes
that Rip Van Winkle perfectly sketched a careless and immature America at that time.
Irving opened his second masterpiece, the short story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow in the
Hudson Valley region of Sleepy Hollow near Tarry Town. Ichabod is poor Yankee in the town
and he is interested in marrying to the wealthy people in order to make him wealthy. The
daughter of the richest man in that village is named Katrina Van Tassel who Ichabod logically
wants to marry with. And the purpose of marrying her is to get her property instead of her getting

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it. However, a strong and healthy local named Brom Bones also want to marry Katrina Van
Tassel. The main difference of Brom Bones is that he actually loves her instead of just her
money. Comparing to the opportunity of marrying to Katrina with Ichabod, Brom realizes that he
is in an inferior position. Thus, he plots to disguise as a Headless Horseman to scare Ichabod
away out of Sleepy Hollow (Irving and Logan). Irving suggests that Ichabod in the story
represent the old order in the sociality at that time. The story compares the change and progress
with stability and order in the society. It is a tale fills with humorous sentences, but it reflects
serious social implication. Irving believes that being practical is better than dreaming all the day.
During that period of time, he points out that is what people do the most, hence, he wants to use
his story became a media to link the reality view in the society and in order to allow people
awake.
Rip Van Winkle appears the first short story of The Stretch Book and The Legend of
Sleepy Hollow is the last story in the book. Irving established his opinion of the sociality at that
time and also reveal more people about some sociality problem in a tactful way.
People estimate his short story has an elegant style(Aderman). His romantic attachment
to Europe provides a lot of material for his writing, and some of the pieces me write related
directory to his English life and customs. Because of the graduation degree of a law school, he
improved the copyright law to protect the right of the writer. And he also encouraged the other
writer to concentrate more on the subject around them in their life. Ralph Aderman described
Irving that Irving was subjected to extensive critical scrutiny and enthusiastic appreciation
during his lifetime, and interest still runs high as the new scholarly edition of his writing nears
completion (Aderman 1). However, as Shakespeare put it, there is a thousand Hamlets in a
thousand peoples eyes, the comprehension of Hamlet vary from reader to reader. So does the

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interpretation of Irvings story. Some people argue that there are anti-feminist issues in his
writing, and the female character, Dame Van Winkle, in the story Rip Van Winkle can provide a
perfect example ("Irving, Washington"). Irving represents Dame Van Winkle as responsibility
and Rip Van Winkle, the male character, as independence. In the story, he writes that Certain it
is, that he was a great favorite among all the good wives of the village, who, as usual, with the
amiable sex, took his part in all family squabbles; and never failed, whenever they talked those
matters over in their evening gossiping, to lay all the blame on Dame Van Winkle(Irving).
People illustrates that he has the intention of rehabilitating mens power in the community
("Irving, Washington"). Even so, Irvings story is still been passed by in generation.
Washington Irving and his story impact the world and other writers; he is one of the
greatest writer in the United States and also responsible for improving the America writing style
in short story genre.

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Works Cited
Aderman, Ralph M. Critical Essays on Washington Irving. Boston, MA: G.K. Hall, 1990. Print.
The Editors of Encyclopdia Britannica. "Washington Irving." Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2016.
Irving, Washington, and Lowa Logan. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. New York: Perfection
Form, 1980. Print.
Irving, Washington, and N. C. Wyeth. Rip Van Winkle. New York: of Wonder, 1987. Print.
"Irving, Washington." Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia,. Chicago: World Book, 2016.
Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia. Web. 12 Apr. 2016.
McGann, Jerome. Washington Irving, "A History of New York," and American History. Chapel
Hill: U of North Carolina, n.d. Print.
"Washington Irving." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2016.

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Works Consulted
Aderman, Ralph M. Critical Essays on Washington Irving. Boston, MA: G.K. Hall, 1990. Print.
American Heritage The Magazine of History. New-York: Heritage, 1949. Print.
Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2016.
The Editors of Encyclopdia Britannica. "Washington Irving." Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2016.
Irving, Washington, and Arthur Rackham. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. New York: of Wonder,
1980. Print.
Irving, Washington, and N. C. Wyeth. Rip Van Winkle. New York: of Wonder, 1987. Print.
Irving, Washington, and Ryuji Tanabe. Rip Van Winkle and Other Sketches. Tokyo: Hokuseido,
1920. Print.
Irving, Washington. The Devil and Tom Walker Together with Deacon Grubb and Old Nick.
Woodstock, VT: R. & A. Colton, 1830. Print.
Irving, Washington. Little Britain, Together with the Spectre Bridegroom & A Legend of Sleepy
Hollow. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, n.d. Print.
"Irving, Washington." Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia,. Chicago: World Book, 2016.
Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia. Web. 12 Apr. 2016.
McGann, Jerome. Washington Irving, "A History of New York," and American History. Chapel
Hill: U of North Carolina, n.d. Print.
Miller, Perry. Major Writers of America. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1962. Print.
Volo, James M., and Dorothy Denneen Volo. The Antebellum Period. Westport, CT: Greenwood,
2004. Print.

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"Washington Irving Biography." - Life, Family, Childhood, Children, Name, Story, Death,
History, Book, Old, Information, Born. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2016.
"Washington Irving." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2016.
"What "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" Tells Us About Contagion, Fear and Epidemics."
Smithsonian. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2016.