8/13/2019 Question 9-Rip Van Winkle Transition of the American Society

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Rip Van Winkle: Transition of the American Society

Rip Van Winkle, apart from being one of Irvings short stories with an interesting plot about a villager is also

Irvings representation of the transition of the American Society.

In the beginning of the story Irving escribes the American colonial life trough the protagonist, calle

Rip. We see Rip in an inn which he was regularly visiting to iscuss all kins of matters in connection with

other villagers. At these occasions they were reaing newspapers which arrive from !nglan. Since the

shipping of these papers took a while, they were always reaing articles which were alreay out of ate. It

was "uite unbeneficial to iscus matters which ha been alreay iscusse an solve. It was also

unfortunate that they were sub#ecte to the happenings in the $onarchy instea of contemplating about the

state of the colonies. %he villagers were the sub#ect matters of t &ing 'eorge III, of the (ritish $onarchy.

%his village is very small an everyboy knows each other. Rip goes up a mountain an Irving uses this

voyage to show the lanscape. Rip falls asleep an in his ream Irving takes us back in time, as early as when

the )uson Valley was inhabite by *utch settlers, the earliest settlers of the )uson Valley. %hese

escriptions serve the purpose of+.

When Rip wakes up an goes back to the village he notices a lot of change. %he previous escription

of the place in the *utch time #ust highlighte the current change which he notices. Rip sees a lot of

unfamiliar faces, an instea of the small village he fins himself in a more populous town. )e sees bigger

houses, people ressing ifferently. %he rural society turne into an urban one. *evelopment an progress

has taken place. America is not a colony anymore it has become an inepenent nation. %he ay he comes

back is the ay of the election. %he fresh events an news are taking place in America. %he happenings are

irectly influencing them. %hese people are the ones who will vote an choose the members of their

government. %he members are not chosen for them, people are agitate an they want to take part in politics.

Rip visits the well known inn, but instea of %he Inn the place is calle the -nion )otel. %he portrait of &ing

'eorge III, uner which they rea the newspaper, is replace by the portrait of 'eneral Washington. Rip is

confuse, an the changes that he sees happene so suenly, as it if happene over night.

Irving portraye how confuse people were. rom being a sub#ect matter to the &ing they suenly became a

free, inepenent nation. %hey ha no national history, customs, social arrangements they felt as if they ha

lost their past, their history.

In the story we can rea about the numerous problems an ifficulties which the American people face.

%here were two political parties establishe, the eeralist an the *emocrats. %he eeralists were the rich

aristocrats who wante to keep their privileges. %he *emocrats who ha the ma#ority of members were

orinary, poor people whose aim were to abolish class ifferences an wante everyboy to be treate

e"ually.