StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow - Assignment Example

Cite this document
Summary
“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by Washington Irving is one of the most celebrated and classical books in American history. It is a short story that was first published in 1819. The whole story revolved around the place called Sleepy Hollow, New York. …
Download free paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER94.5% of users find it useful
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow"

“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by Washington Irving A Reaction Paper “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by Washington Irving is one of the most celebratedand classical books in American history. It is a short story that was first published in 1819. The whole story revolved around the place called Sleepy Hollow, New York. It is a neighborhood that has a homey rural environment. What makes this literary piece interesting would be the fact that Washington Irving used a fusion of humor and vivid imagery in the story’s tone to narrate the conflict between Ichabod Crane and Brom Bones who camouflages as the headless horseman to win the heart of Katrina Van Tassel by demonstrating two conflicting attributes - brains and brute force (Irving, W., 1819). One of the most notable elements of the story I enjoyed would be how Washington Irving shaped peculiar characters in the story, each having its own strength and equal spotlight to form a well-written plot.

The Headless Horseman which is the mystery character who is constantly at a quest to find justice from the American Revolutionary War who caused him to lose his head infuses a mystical element in the story which then directs the readers to the denouement of the love that Katrina Van Tassel actually deserves. This is hugely portrayed in the story where the Headless Horseman plays witty tricks on Ichabod Crane who desires for the hand of Katrina, the daughter of a wealthy man and uses his intellect to eventually win her heart with the motive of sharing her extravagant wealth.

Somewhat being on the side of Abraham “Brom Bones” Van Brunt, the Headless Horseman is believed to have caused the disappearance of Ichabod the night he failed to win the hand of Katrina after the harvest party at the Van Tassels which led to Brom Bones to finally marry Katrina. After reading the story, I am very much convinced that this literary piece is remarkable because of its ability to leave readers like me to freely interpret the nature of the Headless Horseman, whether he is a total third party to the happy ending of Brom Bones and Katrina or if there is really truth to the strong implication that the ghost is really Brom Bones in disguise to save Katrina.

It has maintained its consistency in leaving so much room for mystery, leaving readers to ask for more. In analyzing the work of Washington Irving, I think that his purpose of creating this short story would be to highlight the parallelism on the difference in American and European traits. This is successfully seen in the opposing characters of Brom Bones and Ichabod where Ichabod is driven by class hierarchy that led him to develop his ill-fated motive to marry Katrina for her wealth, on the other hand, Brom Bones demonstrates American’s sense of utmost liberty in fighting for what they long for.

Aside from that, Sleepy Hollow is a place that is distinct in American history where numerous generations of Americans have settled in the area that allows them to develop strong and classic folklore the generation today still imbibes in. With these said, the point of story leads readers to understand the personification applied in its characters to strongly reemphasize American history and distinguish it from European ways that would help in crossing out stereotypes that is a hindrance to a full understanding of American history.

When it comes to the believability of the characters that Washington Irving introduced his readers, I would say that they pretty much mirrored the mundane lives of early American townspeople who were living in the rural areas. It also was consistent in reflecting their very traditional and superstitious behavior where they would choose to stick to their hometowns instead of considering moving to a bigger city to bring good fortune for their families. Even when the “Headless Horseman” came into picture, it still was realistic because it was only used as an mystical creature that could live and only made alive in the imagination of the other characters.

Applying the parallelisms of the story to real life, I would say that “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” seeks to highlight the conflicting principles and beliefs between the Enlightenment period which was known for putting reason above all human faculties and Romantic ideals which skew more towards idealism and perfectionism. With this, we are then reminded not to allow our imagination to take control of our lives because it limits us from seeing clearly and tends to make us rationalize things to fit our personal desires or plans.

Also, focusing on imaginations instead of the reality will allow people and circumstances to gain power over your intellect and will. Also, looking at the story and relating it to my own experience, I would say that there are a lot of times where, just like Ichabod, I let my imagination come to life more strongly than the bits and pieces of reality that limits me to achieve my goals in the fastest possible time. This is because I let the fear of rejection or danger hinder me to doing what I have always prepared myself to do and lets me easily turn my back on opportunities that would waste my ticket to fulfilling my dreams.

On the other hand, I could also relate some experience where I played a Brom Bones role in life where I use trick, wit, and plain jokes to get away from things or perhaps tread the easier road especially when I have a strong desire to get ahead of someone. Bibliography: Irving, W. (1819). The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. United States: Sketch Book.

Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words”, n.d.)
Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/literature/1469444-the-legend-of-sleepy-hollow
(The Legend of Sleepy Hollow Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words)
https://studentshare.org/literature/1469444-the-legend-of-sleepy-hollow.
“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/literature/1469444-the-legend-of-sleepy-hollow.
  • Cited: 1 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

Elements of gothic literature

hellip; The author examines a story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, set in the country side around the Dutch settlement in 1790.... The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is a story set in the country side around the Dutch settlement in 1790.... The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is a fabliaux tale that explains a romantic rivalry of two men whose desire is manipulated by the desire of a lovely woman.... urton's and Fox's critical points of elaborationTension between scientific Enlightenment and gothic is elaborated in the context of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow as the story focuses more on the supernatural world and ignores the world of science....
3 Pages (750 words) Essay

The Sleepy Hollow: The Influence of Personal Opinions

hellip; In The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, for instance, the characters, the setting, and the themes reflected the tensions of this historical period much more than it did a more carefully crafted, independent world of fiction.... In short, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow was, in many ways, an intentional conveyance of personal opinions and observations by Washington Irving.... It was written shortly after the American Revolutionary War, and it was set in a real town in upstate New York ("The Legend of Sleepy Hollow": np)....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow By Washington Irving

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” is the story of strange events happening in the mystical place named Sleepy Hollow.... … “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” is a short story composed by Washington Irving.... After the dance, the men in the party begin to exchange horror filled tales of sleepy hollow....
7 Pages (1750 words) Book Report/Review

Order and Chaos by Washington Irving

This paper "Order and Chaos by Washington Irving" presents Washington Irving's classic The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.... nbsp; Ichabod has become a part of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.... As the story departs from the historic and begins to delve into the mystery of the urban myths, like that of the story of “Douffe Martling (65),” then the organization and sense of sleepy little town calm begin to dissipate.... The neighborhood is rich in legend­ary treasures of the kind....
9 Pages (2250 words) Book Report/Review

Sleepy Hollow

This Sleepy Hollow Today Washington's Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow stands as a ic of American literature.... Poole's text ‘Monsters in America' provides a broad ranging critical investigation of Irving's ‘The Legend of Sleepy Hollow'.... In conclusion, this essay has examined Poole's critical article on Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow....
2 Pages (500 words) Research Paper

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow written by Washington Irving presents a tale of a man named Ichabod who unexpectedly sees an apparition of a headless horse rider on his way back from a feast.... This paper will attempt to highlight the differences between the two - The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Sleepy Hollow – and will try to compare the two based on elements including plot, characterization, and theme.... Stupified by the experience, Ichabod tries to run away however it is later found that all… sleepy hollow is the name of the town where Ichabod lived....
4 Pages (1000 words) Research Paper

Analysis of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

"Analysis of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" paper discusses the significance of the “Postscript” of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow to the short story as a whole.... The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is one of the two most popular stories by Irving Washington, an American author who lived between 1783 and 1859.... he Postscript to the legend of the Sleepy Hollow shows the narrator winding up his story to the audience who are all wealthy New Yorkers, including a “tall, dry-looking old gentleman, with beetling eyebrows” who was obviously a man of fortune and success and who demanded to know the moral of the story....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow: Comparison of Video and Reading Material

This paper "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow: Comparison of Video and Reading Material" discusses several differences between the novel of Washington Irving and the film by Pierre Gang, and the differences are about the way the plot is developed in the two mentioned works of art.... nbsp; Washington Irving's novel “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” is a literary work of art that makes interest for the readers because of its plot and the way the events and the characters are described....
6 Pages (1500 words) Research Proposal
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us