Washington Irving.
HELPS TO STUDY
“Rip Van Winkle” is the most beautiful of American legendary stories. Washington Irving, the author, taking the old idea of long sleep, as found in “The Sleeping Beauty” and other fairy tales, gave it an American setting and interwove in it the legend of Henry Hudson, the discoverer of the Hudson river, who was supposed to return to the scene of his achievement every twenty years, together with the shades of his crew.
I. Where is the scene of this story laid? In which paragraph do you learn when the incident related in the story took place? Why does Irving speak of the mountains as “fairy mountains”? In which paragraph do you meet the principal characters? Give the opinion you form of Rip and his wife. Read sentences that show Rip’s good qualities—those that show his faults. What unusual thing happened to Rip on his walk? How was the dog affected? Give a full account of what happened afterward. Tell what impressed you most in this scene. Read aloud the lines that best describe the scenery.
II. Describe Rip’s waking. What was his worst fear? How did he explain to himself the change in his gun and the disappearance of Wolf? How did he account for the stiffness of his joints? What was still his chief fear? Describe the changes which had taken place in the mountains. With what feeling did he turn homeward? Why? How did he discover the alteration in his own appearance? How did the children and dogs treat him? Why was this particularly hard for Rip to understand? What other changes did he find? What remained unaltered? How did Rip still account for the peculiar happenings? Describe Rip’s feelings as he turned to his own house, and its desolation.
III. What change had been made in the sign over the inn? Why? What important thing was taking place in the village? Why did the speech of the “lean fellow” seem “perfect jargon” to Rip? Why did he not understand the questions asked him? What happened when Rip made his innocent reply to the self-important gentleman? How did he at last learn of the lapse of time? What added to his bewilderment? How was the mystery explained? Note the question Rip reserved for the last and the effect the answer had upon him. How did Peter Vanderdonk explain the strange happening? What is the happy ending? Do you like Rip? Why?
SUPPLEMENTARY READING
- Urashima—Graded Classics III.
- Vice Versa—F. Anstey.
- Peter Pan—James Barrie.
- The Legend of Sleepy Hollow—Washington Irving.
- A Christmas Carol—Charles Dickens.
- Enoch Arden—Alfred Tennyson.
[9-*] For words marked v, see Dictionary.