Washington Irving's “Rip Van Winkle”
Reading Notes
Establishes local setting
Establishes magical setting – the mountains are magical
Establishes antiquity
Pre-Revolutionary War – a province of Great Britain
Importance of the name, Rip Van Winkle (?)
Speaker = I = Who is it?
Rip’s character description
Anti-female (?) – see also pp.
“Termagant Wife” – shrewish, scolding, quarrelsome
Romantic Stories – see also pp.
His “flaw” = laziness ! ?
Works hard only for fun / works hard for others but not for himself
His Son’s inheritance
Tell “sleepy stories”
Some serious discussions about past events
Man escapes from bad wife – or – is driven to leave?
Fine autumnal day
High in the mountains
Magic
“Fancy”
A fairy?
“Romantic”
Drinks himself to sleep (?)
Awakening
Questions his mind / trick? / magic?
Some things are the same – mountains / Hudson River / hills and dales
Notices changes –
An “election” is being held
Rip still pledges allegiance to the King!
“Finding himself alone in the world” – a hen-pecked husband’s fantasy?
Sees a double of himself
Doubts his identity
They think he’s crazy
Comfort that his wife died during a fit of passion!
Confirms a legend about fairies in the mountains
The Revolutionary War is explained to him
Comparison of – Subject to King – vs. – Subject to Wife
Return of the “narrator” = I = “DK”
End Note – to establish the truth – a literary convention
What is this story about? What is the purpose? What is (are) the theme(s)?