washington irving. washington irving (1783-1859) “father of american imaginative literature”...
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Washington IrvingWashington Irving
Washington IrvingWashington Irving (1783-1859)(1783-1859)
““Father of American IFather of American Imaginative literature”maginative literature”““Father of the AmericFather of the American short story”an short story”
ⅠⅠ LifeLife
Irving was born into a wealthy New York mercIrving was born into a wealthy New York merchant family. From a very early age, he began to rhant family. From a very early age, he began to read widely and write juvenile poems, essays anead widely and write juvenile poems, essays and plays.d plays.
Later, he studied law.Later, he studied law.
His first book His first book A History of New YA History of New Yorkork, written under the name of , written under the name of DiedriDiedrich Knickerbockerch Knickerbocker, was a great succ, was a great success and won him wide popularity.ess and won him wide popularity.
In 1815, he went to England to take In 1815, he went to England to take care of his family business there, ancare of his family business there, and when it failed, he had to write to sd when it failed, he had to write to support himself.upport himself.
With the publication of With the publication of The Sketch The Sketch BookBook, he won a measure of internati, he won a measure of international recognition.onal recognition.
《见闻札记》
Then when he was fifty, he returned Then when he was fifty, he returned to America and bought “to America and bought “SunnysideSunnyside”, ”, his famous home. There he spent the his famous home. There he spent the rest of his life, living a life of leisure arest of his life, living a life of leisure and comfort, except for a period of found comfort, except for a period of four years (1842--1846), when he was Mir years (1842--1846), when he was Minister to Spain.nister to Spain.
View of Sunnyside
Ⅱ Achievement
• A kindhearted farmer Rip Van Winkle who helped a stranger distribute wine on a mountain slope. He drank a little and soon fell asleep. When he woke and went back to the village, it was 20 years later.
• Everything had changed. The most important change wa
s the War of Independence had been won and the portrait of King George of Britain was replaced by American President George Washington.
• The story has become a part of cultural mythology: even for those who have never read the original story,
• "Rip Van Winkle" means either a person who sleeps for a long period of time, or one who is inexplicably (perhaps even blissfully) unaware of current events.
• The story of Rip Van Winkle begins about five or six years before the American Revolution when under the Dutch colonization and ends twenty years later.
• The action takes place in a village in eastern New York, near the Hudson River and the Catskill Mountains.
Setting
Rip Van Winkle takes place in British colonial New York, near the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains in pre-revolutionary
times.
• Rip Van Winkle - a henpecked husband who loathes 'profitable labor'.
• Dame Van Winkle - Rip Van Winkle's cantankerous wife.
• Rip - Rip Van Winkle's son.
• Judith Gardenier - Rip Van Winkle's daughter.
• Derrick Van Bummel - the local schoolmaster and later a member of Congress.
• Nicholas Vedder - landlord of the local inn where menfolk congregate.
• Mr. Doolittle - a hotel owner.
• Wolf - Rip's faithful dog
• The Ghosts of Henry Hudson and his crew - Ghosts that share purple magic liquor with van Winkle.
Characters
Great Changes
George WashingtonGeorge III
The United States of American
The British colonial America
Large, wooded building
The village inn
America—forever and rapidly changing
Rip’s hometown
Puritan discipline and the work ethic of Franklin
Dame Van Winkle
The new born America: a overgrown child
Rip Van Winkle
Rest in peace
The United States was still the land of plenty, a country of endless resources. This was a source of pride for Irving and his American readers, and a subject of fascination （迷恋） and wonder for his British readers.
◎Irving uses lush imagery precisely for its lushness, to demonstrate and celebrate the endless resources of a new, unproven （未开垦的） nation.
