The American Short Story

Washington Irving produced some of the earliest pieces of American fiction still read today. Irving is remembered most for his innovative contributions to the short story genre of literature. “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and “Rip Van Winkle” remain two of Irving’s most renowned artistic accomplishments. In both stories, Irving uses unique literary techniques to convey historical settings and events of America in the 18th century. Using traditional folklore, Irving established many notable themes of early American fiction, such as fables, the supernatural, narrative setting and the acceptance of change.

Irving’s most notable contribution to American folklore is his use of a well-developed chain of narration. Both the “Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and “Rip Van Winkle” were published in a collection of Irving’s short stories in The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon. The volume has its own fictional author, Geoffrey Crayon, who finds these tales among the papers of a dead man named Diedrich Knickerbocker. This chain of narration lends an element of credibility to the stories by qualifying an actual source, whose words seem irrefutable. The multiplicity of authors establishes traditional folktales as useful in passing down and keeping American traditions alive, even in the face of revolutionary change.

Irving also enhances the importance of setting in early American literature. “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and “Rip Van Winkle” incorporate a clash between the city and the country as a primary narrative theme. Through detailed descriptions, Irving sets a distinct tone for his stories and engages his readers. The imagery makes the fictive elements of the magical folklore seem possible and authentic. For example, both tales are set in small villages at the foot of the Catskill Mountains. Irving personifies the wilderness with human and magical qualities. For example, in Rip Van Winkle the mountains are noted to “lord over the surrounding country, swelling to a notable height” and “glow and light up like a crown of glory” (954). This imagery sets a tone of mystery and unpredictability, making the mountains come alive to play tricks on those brave enough to venture through.

In addition to setting, Irving creatively weaves elements of the supernatural and the imagination into his narratives. The eerie and magical presence of ghosts advances the plot by creating disappearances in both stories. In “Rip Van Winkle,” the ghost of Henry Hudson induces 20 years of deep sleep on the protagonist, while a headless horseman is responsible for the disappearance of Ichabod Crane in “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” Irving’s works demonstrate how magical folklore can be beneficial by simultaneously providing entertainment and historical allusions.

While supernatural elements provide the basis for Irving’s plots, he also makes several important historical allusions. Most notably, both of his famous folktales include characters and remnants of the American Revolution. In “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” the Headless Horseman is the ghost of a Hessian trooper who was decapitated in battle, and now rides around in search of his head. This fear of British soldiers is also seen in “Rip Van Winkle”, when the new town accuses Rip o f being a “tory.” Irving’s writings, and other early American works, seem to perpetuate a stigma of King George or any monarchical rule. Through these folktales, the American Revolution is a historical truth and change that Americans had to adjust to, similar to the characters in “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and “Rip Van Winkle.”