May 18, 2007

Book 31: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle
Washington Irving

I needed something quick to make sure I got some reading in this week, so I picked up these two classic short stories to read during the opening of our garage sale bonanza. It was very weird finally reading these stories; for one thing, I just saw the Wishbone episode about "Rip Van Winkle" (yes, there's no misprint...Wishbone is still on TV!). That is, of course, to say nothing of the Sleepy Hollow legends that permeate our culture come Halloween. Strangely, I didn't know quite what to expect from "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," but I think it still let me down.

Washington Irving has compelling stories to tell, but "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" concentrates too much on long-winded descriptions and not enough on the kinds of building tension or plot development necessary for the genre. Ghost stories were, of course, not commonly written at the time, but for being a groundbreaker I expected so much more. I couldn't focus on the story and seemingly important elements turned out to be incredibly benign, adding nothing to the story but unnecessary page length. I think that the story could work orally, with certain adaptations to the backstory, but in the written format it doesn't excel.

"Rip Van Winkle," on the other hand, is everything a short story should strive to be. Part morality play, part folk tale, part ghost story, part comedy, part political commentary...this story has it all in a neat little package that is just right. The reader gets a good idea of Rip's personality and is involved enough to remain attached to the story. There are several acute nuances throughout the story that greatly enrich it as the reader moves along. The tale itself has a perfect combination of folk tale elements and completely unique flavors that unite to make it the timeless classic it deserves to be. As a pioneer of time travel, Washington Irving definitely got it right. Though more political commentary regarding the Revolutionary War could have been inserted, it may have bogged the story down in satire and detracted from the sheer joy of reading such a great work.

I'm not sure what to conclude about Washington Irving from these two stories, other than his seeming hit-or-miss tendencies. Sleepy Hollow doesn't manage to fully come alive, but the writer displays incredible talent in "Rip Van Winkle". Interested readers should read the tale of Ichabod Crane, if only for a taste of what the true story really is (and it is so short that the time could hardly be called wasted). Everyone looking for a wonderful short story that fully exposes all of the strengths and possibilities of the genre should, however, pick up a copy of "Rip Van Winkle" sometime and devote an hour or so to its brilliant writing.

Grade: B+

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