Irvings American Progeny Essay - 2796 Words

Irvings American Progeny Washington Irving had the unique opportunity of helping a new nation forge its own identity. America, fresh out of the revolution, looked for an author to take charge and create something that seemed to be missing from the newly born nation. He took this responsibility seriously and made a mythology that founded an American literary tradition. He took bits and pieces from the Old World and incorporated them into the New in such a manner that what he wrote appeared original, and yet tied into a tradition that was centuries old. He did this in a manner that astonished many Europeans who believed an American could never produce literature with such a strong English foundation. Although Irving relied heavily on†¦show more content†¦Irving used his characters as depictions of American ideals and emotions in order to show the drastic change that had recently occurred. Sleeping through the American Revolution forced Rip Van Winkle to cope with the amazing changes that had taken place while he was asleep. â€Å"Rip’s country has changed its name. On the hotel sign, George III has given way to George Washington. Rip is no longer even Rip Van Winkle; his own son now answers to that designation,† (Hedges, 140). â€Å"From Rip’s point of view, the village he left represented private turmoil and public tranquility. At the story’s end, Rip enjoys private tranquility in a village given over to public turmoil. It is almost as if the one is the price that Rip has to pay for the other,† (Roth, 158-159). Rip’s world had undergone unpredictable changes, but he quickly got back into the swing of his old easygoing life swapping stories outside of the hotel. Irving also demonstrated the volatility of the times by his definition of history. â€Å"Irving’s introduction of Ichabod Crane defines a particular problem of the early American writer. â€Å"In this by-place of nature,† he writes, â€Å"there abode, in a remote period of American history, that is to say, some thirty years since, a worthy wight of the name Ichabod Crane.† The archaic substantive wight serves to emphasize the incongruityShow MoreRelated Invisible Man Essay: Invisible Man and the Pre-Made Identity1559 Words   |  7 Pagesperson, hidden beneath societys expectations. The true self thus becomes Invisible. The Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison, provides characters that exemplify each of the three options. The novel is written in the perspective of a young African American man who migrated to New York City from the South. It is told in flashback. The narrator begins his story already knowing of his invisibility and details the events and people in his life that lead him to that realization. The narrator never namesRead MoreEssay on Evolution From A Molecular Perspective3053 Words   |  13 Pagesdue to the fact that both views have very good points. Hemoglobin: Comparisons between species nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Of all the proteins in living things, hemoglobin is quot;the second most interesting substance in the world,quot; as American biochemist L. J. Henderson once stated (Hemoglobin, 4). However bold this statement seems, it must be realized that hemoglobin is, at least in the scientific world, by far the most studied and most discussed substance in the human body, as well as