Rip Van Winkle is one of the most famous short stories in American literature. The author, Washington Irving, published the story in his collection The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. (1819-1820). Irving based the story on a German folk tale, “Peter Klaus.” He set it in the Catskill Mountains of New York. Irving’s colorful descriptions of the Hudson River Valley scenery help create the story’s dreamy mood.
Rip, a cheerful but lazy man, is married to a nagging wife in American colonial times. One day he takes his dog and gun into the mountains to hunt. He meets an odd little man in old-fashioned Dutch clothing. The man gets Rip to help him carry a keg of liquor up the mountain. Other little men are there playing a game of ninepins (a bowling game). Rip samples the liquor and falls asleep.
Rip awakens 20 years later and returns to his village. There he finds that his wife has died and his children have grown. The American Colonies have become an independent nation. The villagers smile at Rip’s account, though few believe him. Rip goes to live with his daughter, and he repeatedly tells his story in the village until it becomes a piece of local tradition. The reader must decide how much of Rip’s story should be believed.
The tale is an outstanding piece of comic literature. It also deals with such themes as change, aging, independence, and the importance of the imagination. It is considered a foundational text of American literature. A foundational text is one that helped form a nation’s literature.
