"Rip Van Winkle" And Change?
What can we learn from the elements of satire and change exhibited in Rip Van Winkle? Can this old text under the umbrella of Romanticism exhort us to think? What Romanticism characteristics are exhibited within the text? Please reflect by 2:30p.m. on Fri., Nov. 22nd.
posted by Greg T at Monday, November 18, 2013
19 Comments:
Satire can be hidden and hard to notice but it used very often.
Rip Van Winkle mocks many people in his writing and it is very satirical. This old text under the umbrella of Romanticism can exhort us to think about a lot. It makes us think of things in many different ways. The romanticism characteristics exhibited in this text are that they prefer youthful innocence to educated sophistication, looks backward to the wisdom of the past and distrusts progress, and finds inspiration in myth, legend, and folk culture.
In, “Rip Van Winkle” we can see many elements of satire and change within the piece. Within the story many elements of mankind are being made fun of. When he falls asleep the way the world changes is a major part of how he uses satire. The old text under the umbrella of Romanticism can make us think about many subjects within the lines of the story. In the whole content of the story Rip Van Winkle uses the element of looking backward to the wisdom of the past and it distrusts progress in the world. When the man wakes up he contemplates to world that he has awoken in. Rip Van Winkle portrays this new era to be sad and unhappy for Rip. When he awoke his wife was dead and the war was completely over. One element of satire that could be seen within the story is that Rip wanted to avoid working so he chose to go up to the mountains and drink the water. In which he woke up 20 years later with the war over and not needing to work anymore. The text does extort to the satire of sometimes life does go your way. All in all we can learn many things from Rip Van Winkle.
American Romanticism talk a lot about the aspects of nature and learning in society. Rip Van Winkle appeals to that American Romanticism very well. American Romanticism is the journey away from the corruption of society, civilization, and the limits of all rational thought; the journey leads toward nature and all its integrity and the overall freedom of the imagination. Rip Van Winkle appeals to that very easily. In the story the character escapes a society and lifestyle by going into the woods where he falls asleep for twenty years. He then sees a very different society and how lifestyles have changed.
American Romanticism uses nature and good deeds as the aspects of society. Rip resembles these traits very well as he tends to go off into the forest to do deeds for others. American Romanticism also shows aspects of enlightenment, and fantasy. The story imitates those traits very well by having Rip escape to the mountains and falls asleep for twenty years. When he wakes up everything and everyone he knew has changed. He then finds a huge different from his society and this new society.
In "Rip Van Winkle" satire is spotted often and is obvious even though satire can be hard to spot. An example of satire in his writing is when he falls asleep and the world changes the way it does. When he woke up, his wife was dead and the war was completely over. When Rip Van Winkle went to the mountains to drink water, he was avoiding work by doing this. Since Rip Van Winkle fell asleep for 20 years, he sees his society and his lifestyles very different.
In the story of Rip Van Winkle we can learn that it important to not get too lost in everyday life and to still have purpose behind what we do. This short writing can make us a think about not only literally about history but I can also make us think about the butterfly effect. It can also make us think what we are missing in our lives. Rip Van Winkle shows escapism which is often a common characteristic of Romanticism.
In "Rip Van Winkle" the satirical notions that were put into the text by Washington Irving are very clever, and somewhat obvious. He pokes fun at the various beginnings that America has gone through by showing the drastic changes in just a 20 year span from the time Rip fell asleep and woke up to. Some characteristics of American Romanticism in the text would be the context to nature and how it has changed over time. Some other characteristics include the satirical references and the new behavior and relationships that the new town Rip woke up to has compared to the town he knew 20 years ago. This text absolutely exhorts us to think, whether the reader finds the text likable or not. Either way, you have to respect the creativity of Irving's writing and his sheer ability to show the change throughout america by using a single character.
In "Rip Van Winkle" Rip falls asleep just to wake up 20 years later, when he comes back he sees how things has changed in his village, to be a complete stranger. He then gains recollection of people who seemed familiar, he met his daughter and son, who he has shared the story with. In the village everyone knows his story.
There is a lot of satire in "Rip Van Winkle" which portrays a man who fell asleep and woke up twenty years later, after the American Revolution has already ended. One of my favorite examples of satire in this story is when he says that he is a citizen of the town and is a "loyal subject of the king, God bless him." This is ironic because it shows that we go with whatever everyone else is thinking. He thinks that everyone loves the king still, so he says he's a loyal subject to him. However, what he doesn't know is that they have won the war against the king, and nobody likes him anymore. Had he known that, Rip probably would have said something like, "I'm a patriotic citizen of the United States."
Romanticism is used a lot in this when talking about nature, and the mysteries of the woods and little gnomes. The satire used in “Rip Van Winkle”, is when he falls asleep and wakes up 20 years later. He obviously was confused and stood out from everyone else. When he explains his story to the townspeople, they don’t believe him right away because they think it’s impossible to fall asleep for 20 years. But then another man came and explained that it was true and there was some kind of magic in the forest which relates a lot to romanticism.
The Romantic writing "Rip Van Winkle" is a really weird story in my opinion. Saying that i do see how it could be funny by kinda making fun of how in 20 years America went from being colonies to beating one of the world powers to become our own country. I do like how he used nature as a kinda get away from it all its kinda cool to think about if that actually did happen to you or someone.
In Rip Van Winkle we can learn from the satire that goes on in the story. an example of satire is how they make fun of how people have died and also rips situation. It shows how we can make a serious point or get the reader to think about something, through humor or satire.
Rip van winkle includes a lot of satire. At the same time it also relates and falls under the American romanticism because of the nature aspect and views on society that are portrayed in the story.
In the Romantic writing "Rip Van Winkle" satire is used from time to time to show changes that have occurred in nature along with society during the span that Rip has been asleep. He pokes fun when describing the events that have taken place, the changes in society, politics, and individual changes that have occurred during Rip's span of absence. The most obvious characteristic of Romanticism in "Rip Van Winkle" is the relationship between Rip and nature. Nature is used as one of the main examples of drastic changes that have taken place and is seen in Rip's eyes as a place of bliss and is in a way his second home. Also when relating to change, the characteristic that stands out the most is relating back in history for greater meaning. The mentioning of the significant events that have elapsed adds a lot of emphasis on the plot of the story and help the reader best understand the amount of time that has passed. Satire is used to keep the reader entertained but also to convey important topics of the story.
In the literature piece “Rip Van Winkle” satire is used by the author to show the change that has happened in the 20 yrs since Rip fell asleep. There are several characteristics throughout the writing that demonstrates romanticism. First off the entire story is pretty much about individual freedom. From the beginning Rip spends his time fishing and helping his neighbors to escape his duties and his wifes constant nagging, and at the end with his wife dead he is free to do as he likes without being scolded. Second the nature in the story plays a huge role because it is there that he drinks the flagon with the strange individuals that leads him to the 20 year lapse. Nature in some way is the escape that he has been waiting for, and throughout the story it is constantly referenced to show beauty and hope. And last the supernatural is referenced towards the end of the story to explain what exactly happened to Rip in the forest. The old townsmen explains that the explorer Henry Hudson is who lured Rip into the hollow forest. Hudson and his men are said to play nine pin amongst the woods and from time to time the sound of this can be heard like thunder striking. The supernatural is key in many romantic stories and without it what occurs in “Rip Van Winkle” and the time lapse of 20 years wouldn’t of been possible. The story makes us think about the stories that we were told as kids and stories or movies we’ve seen growing up about time travel and what would happen if it was possible. As with most romanticism pieces it makes you look at the world differently.
In Rip Van Winkle, romanticism is in the air! The author uses the elements of nature around Rip to really get the story going, but we can see romanticism when Rip finally wakes up from his 20 year nap only to discover his beloved past is now changed! All of his friends back then are either dead from the war or in higher places like in congress which makes Rip emotional, but he takes the initiative and looks at this new opportunity as a new chapter in his life to meet the new people of his time period.
Rip Van Winkle has lots of elements or romantic poetry throughout the piece. When leaves his town with his dog he goes to have some alone time in the nearby mountains. This shows a person connecting with nature trying to find himself which is very common in American romanticism poetry. There are also lots of elements of satire in this piece. The story pokes fun at Rip’s relation with his wife and how he is a “pen-hecked husband.” The story also pokes fun at the political environment in early America. It makes you laugh a little about how drastic the political and governmental that took place while Rip was asleep barely affect his life or the life of the people in his town.
The set up for the story "Rip Van Winkle" is entirely impossible, with gnomes, and ninepins. However, situation that Rip finds himself after he wakes up, is entirely plausible. This combination of impossible plausibility allows for it to be a satire. In addition, the way the woods and town are described, along with the situation that rip finds himself in, gives the story multiple elements of American Romanticism.
The set up for the story "Rip Van Winkle" is entirely impossible, with gnomes, and ninepins. However, situation that Rip finds himself after he wakes up, is entirely plausible. This combination of impossible plausibility allows for it to be a satire. In addition, the way the woods and town are described, along with the situation that rip finds himself in, gives the story multiple elements of American Romanticism.
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