The Search for America in Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollo

The Search for America in Rip Van Winkle and The novel of asleep(predicate) Hollow In the early to mid-1800s, Washington Irving was an immensely popular writer heralded as one of the great American writers. Irvings importance lies especially in Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, the sketches in which he creates the vision of the alternate America(n). His critique of American society through his main characters-Rip and Ichabod-and the towns in which they live gives shape to an America not usually acknowledged by his contemporaries, and thus crucial to American literary studies today. J. Hector St. John De Crevecoeur, who created the most unambiguous statement of American circa Irvings time, certainly would not. Indeed, it is Crevecoeurs type of America that Irving opposes. When viewed against the backdrop of Crevecoeurs definition of America, Irvings sketches portray a very different America-the other America. Irving will be comp ard with Crevecoeur in five main s ections Building the European, in which Crevecoeur claims that traces of Europe can be found throughout American society The Melting Pot, in which Crevecoeur states that the European influences are assimilated into an American whole, and creating a new society The American Stranger, in which Crevecoeur claims that no one is a stranger in America American Industry, which looks at the relish of industry found in Americans and finally, People of the Soil, which deals with Americans ties with the land. In all of these sections, Crevecoeurs mainstream view of American will serve to show Irvings unique America. I. Building on the European When defining American, Crevecoeur is quick to point out ... ...ary on the Works of Washington Irving, 1860-1974. Ed. Andrew B. Myers. Tarrytown, NY Sleepy Hollow Restorations, 1976. 330-42. Pochmann, Henry A. Irvings German Tour and its Influence on His Tales. PMLA 45 (1930) 1150-87. Ringe, Donald A. New York and New England Irvings Criticism of American Society. American Literature 38 (1967) 455-67. Rpt. in A Century of Commentary on the Works of Washington Irving, 1860-1974. Ed. Andrew B. Myers. Tarrytown, NY Sleepy Hollow Restorations, 1976. 398-411. Rourke, Constance. American Humor A Study of the National Character. Garden City, NY Doubleday, 1931. Rubin-Dorsky, Jeffrey. The Value of Storytelling Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow in the Context of The Sketch Book. new(a) Philology 82 (1985) 393-406.