Brief Analysis of Rip Van Winkle

The story of Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving is about a man, a country who is longing to be free. Rip Van Winkle also depicts the life of a town before and after "liberty." Rip Van Winkle's character portrays the society of America as it was seen by England at the time, as lazy and unproductive, "rather starve on a penny than work for a pound." (128) England is represented by Rip's wife, Dame Van Winkle, orderly and productive, "Everything she said or did was sure to produce a torrent of household eloquence." (128) The villagers stand for the American society in general and how it changed after becoming a free country.

Rip Van Winkle had different relationship with each aspect of his life which includes individuals, society, and nature. Rip had very good connections with his fellow town-folks as they cherished the fact that he did favors for them and he was always there to help out. "He would never even refuse to assist a neighbor in the roughest toil" (126) Children also loved Rip because he would always gladly play with them, "The children of the village, too, would shout with joy whenever he approached." (126) Rip also had close, loving connection with nature as he was often out in the mountains, hunting for squirrels with his dog or spending his day patiently fishing. He would, "Fish all day without a murmur, even though he should not be encouraged by a single nibble." (126) Nature meant home and fun for Rip Van Winkle and his dog Wolf since they were taking refuge from his nagging wife Dame Van Winkle. Rip had a bad relationship with his wife as she always nagged him about how he needed to work on their farm and help out at home. "His wife kept continually dinning in his ears about his idleness, his carelessness, and the ruin he was bringing on his family. Morning, noon, and night, her tongue was incessantly going." (128) Rip's peaceful, content, careless nature greatly annoyed his wife, on the other hand fellow villagers found these personal characteristics very valuable and likable. It seemed that Rip was welcomed by society where he lived. Nature provided continuous source of peace, meaning and joy in Rip's life who in-spite of his wife's constant nagging managed to remain happy.

Rip Van Winkle had very opposing character traits. He was hardworking, giving, as well as lazy. Rip Van Winkle was hardworking and giving because he helped out everyone in his community. Whether it was building fences for his fellow neighbors, or keeping the children busy by playing with them. He was always out there working in his town and giving back to his community. However, Rip was also very lazy. When it came to his home life, he was unproductive and didn't work at all on his farm. Rip's farm was described as "His fences were continually falling to pieces...weeds were sure to grow quicker in his fields than anywhere else." (126) Rip would rather go out hunting or drinking with his fellow villagers at the tavern than work on his own farm. He always found some excuse not to work "The rain always made a point of setting in just as he had some outdoor work to do so that though his patrimonial estate had dwindled away under his management, acre by acre." (126) and he did not care about what is happening on his farm. This description of Rip's home clearly shows that while Rip was out bettering his community and giving back to everyone else he was letting his own home fall apart to pieces. While Rip's hardworking and giving characteristics are always good in a person, his laziness isn't. He should be more proficient and think about improving his own home instead of always giving to others.

Rip Van Winkle is an interesting and creative story which covers different time periods from history. The tale depicts America during English rule and America after the Revolutionary War. The author's play of using characters to represent different societies creates a descriptive and informative story that not only teaches us about the past but about the present, and how hard work and giving back to your community is always important, but giving to oneself is essential as well.