Washington Irving and Magical Liquor

Irving integrates these three characteristics very well. One, it is set in the past in a remote time. Two, the story has remarkable and exaggerated characters. Lastly, this tale includes mysterious events and their consequences. “Rip Van Winkle” is a myth. A myth is a traditional story, one concerning the early history of a culture. A national mythology is a body of stories that reflect and celebrate a nation’s idea.
The story “Rip Van Winkle” is set in a remote place during the reign of George the Third. It is set in a small village underlying the Catskill Mountains. At the foot of these mountains, there was light smoke swirling up from the village, and gleaming roofs along the trees. It had been founded by some of the Dutch colonists. They settled during the time of George the Third. This was during the yoke of old England, where some myths originated. The setting’s characteristics largely impacted the story. It puts one’s mind into a mysterious place and time.
The characters of “Rip Van Winkle” are very strange. Specifically, Rip Van Winkle. Of all the characters, he stands out the most. Rip is very peculiar being. He was lazy, kind, and helpful. He is described in a silly manner in the story. The fact that he is helping some kids play a game of marbles shows it’s age. At a certain point during the story, Rip meets some men on a mountain. They were a bit odd. Not to mention unreal, mythical people. They had magical liquor. The characters also had a huge impact on the story.
The story of “Rip Van Winkle” definitely featured magical and mysterious events. The main event has to do with Rip Van Winkle. It started with him being fed up with his wife’s nagging. Rip got so tired of it, he went for a long walk into the mountains. While he was in the mountains, he met the mysterious men and drank some of their magical liquor. That magical liquor put him to sleep for twenty years. In those 20 years, he missed his child growing up along with his grandchild, the passing of his wife dog and neighbors. As with the other topics, the events and their consequences in this tale have a major impact on the story.
All in all, Rip Van Winkle is a marvelous story. As a myth, it integrated three main characteristics into the tale. These three characteristics include; interesting characteristics, magical events and are set in exciting times in the past. Irving incorporated these things well. They impacted the story itself and the readers experience.