Essay On The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow

In “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by Washington Irving, the town of Sleepy Hollow is described as a quiet and tranquil town where its residents do not look for change and are not affected by all of the advancements being made in the World around them. Imagine a town that does not keep up with others around them and becomes a town standing still in time. Irving uses characters and setting to portray a serene and unpretentious American society subject to greed and misfortune in the hands of Ichabod Crane and the protection of the society by those who are content with it. Through characters in “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” Irving displays the greed and misfortune that the American society had begun to acclimatize themselves to most notably through the character of Ichabod Crane. Crane sought to take over the wealth of Sleepy Hollow and cash it in for his own personal gain. According to Thompson, “The gently insinuating manipulator hopes to appropriate the immense treasures of this Dutch stronghold and then utilize them to make his fortune, be it one way or another.”
According to Irving, “I mention this peaceful spot…populations, manners, and customs, remain fixed while the great torrent of emigration and improvement…sweeps them by unobserved.” Sleepy Hollow was a town where people were thought to be under a spell. According to Anthony, Irving’s concern about the caprices of the period’s economy is first evident in the depiction we receive of Sleepy Hollow itself, a small valley seemingly insulated against the rapid advances of the economic market.” People that resided in towns like Sleepy Hollow were not interested in the hustle and bustle of the world that was growing around them. They were content with the money and success that they has already acquired and anything more than that was not