Lindsey Importico
Liberty University
ENGL201: American Literature I
Professor Yaw Adu-Gyamfi
March 6th, 2023
“Rip Van Winkle” as an Allegory
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“Rip Van Winkle” as an Allegory
"Rip Van Winkle" by Washington Irving can be interpreted as an allegory that conveys a
deeper meaning beyond its literal story. An allegory is a literary device that focuses on symbolic
characters, objects, or actions to symbolize ideas, moral values, or historical events. The setup of
"Rip Van Winkle" showcases the years before and after the American Revolution. It greatly
interprets the people's national identities of the newly formed civilization as the story's point of
view. The central part of the story is an allegory of the American Revolution, which is the period
between the protagonist Rip Van Winkle falling asleep for twenty years, a great representation of
America under British rule. His waking up and adaptation are a great representation of the
renaissance. The period after the twenty years when Rip Van Winkle awakened and descended
the mountain refers to the time of the American Revolution as he discovered everything had
changed. After the change, there is always a struggle to get footing which Rip Van Winkle
represents well after he found change and people were struggling to find their identity amongst
all the changes.
Rip Van Winkle is the protagonist who represents the Americans well through his
individualism. He is a man who loves his personal independence and freedom, which leads to
him resisting demands from his wife (Washington, 2017). He struggles to have his space
representing the Americans at that time as they always struggled under British rule. On the other
side, the wife, Dame Van Winkle, the antagonist, is an allegory of the British colonies. She is the
wife who is demanding and controlling, just like the British colonies who want America to be as
they wish. Dame Van Winkle is a domineering and controlling figure who tries to force Rip to
conform to her expectations and responsibilities. She was always on the toes of her husband. She
wants things done her way, controlling her husband and leading to her husband living under her
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shadow. "His fences were continually falling to pieces; his cow was always getting lost or else
eating up the vegetables in the garden. Nothing ever grew well in his fields” ((Washington, 2017,
11). It is an allegory of how the British colonies exerted pressure on Americans and always had a
reason to seek to control the Americans. She is also a repressive ad oppressive woman who nags
and controls her husband's behavior. It represents British rule's repressive and oppressive nature
over the American colonies, which often involved strict control and suppression of dissenting
voices (Reynolds, 2021).
Rip Van Winkle is a husband who has adjusted to living under his wife's shadow due to
her controlling effect, which is an allegory of the living conditions of the Americans under
British rule. It is a living plan Rip Van Winkle dislikes and often states in the text. Through the
marriage, the wife grows from a hard woman to a softer one who is left with a sharp tongue
which leaves him angry as a result of everything that she says. "Morning, noon, and night, her
tongue was incessantly going, everything he said or did was sure to produce more angry talk”
(Washington, 2017, 11). It persisted in the British colonies growing stricter and harsher to the
Americans, resulting in them feeling restricted. The wife always being in control led to Rip Van
Winkle being doubtful of his contribution. He was in doubt of his identity, whether he was
himself or a different man, which is an allegory of the American renaissance interests which
explores the complexities of America, challenging their identity and rediscovery after the change
that had occurred during the evolution (Reynolds, 2021).
The story is an allegory of the American Revolution and the changes that occurred in
American society during this time. Rip Van Winkle is showcased as a lazy and unproductive
man. It is a nature that is similar to that of the British colonists. The British colonists never
agreed to take responsibility and contributions to the development of the American colonies.
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Instead, they used the Americans to grow their colonies without giving back to the people or
giving them the opportunity to grow. The oppressive nature limited the Americas but grew the
capabilities of the colonists. The British monarchy and its oppressive rule over the colonies only
got the Americans in a more oppressive position.
Additionally, when Rip Van Winkle woke up and discovered he had slept for twenty
years, he found great changes. It is an allegory of the changes in American society during and
after the American Revolution. He descends from the mountain, finds major changes to the town,
and feels he is in a new place. "The very village was altered; it was larger and more populous"
(Washington, 2017, 17). The town had great changes; his house had been destroyed, the village
did not exist, and a large wooden building stood with a name and image of a specific individual.
Looking around for the people he knew, there were none, and he got into a state of confusion and
anxiety, leading to self-doubt. "He doubted his own identity, and whether he was himself or
another man" (Washington, 2017, 17). It now required him to take the time to take a bearing and
start learning the new changes, which was a journey of self-discovery. It is an allegory of the
Americans' struggle to get their identity after the revolution (Reynolds, 2016).
As the story ends, Rip Van Winkle starts accepting the changes. It is an allegory of the
American's acceptance of a new identity. Accepting change takes time, but it all determines the
value and good things the change brings to the people. "The changes of states and empires made
little impression on him. But he well understood one kind of independence from a sharp-tongued
wife. Luckily he had that independence now; he could go in and out whenever the pleased"
(Washington, 2017, 17). It is the same way that Rip Van Winkle took time to accept the change in
the new village and get along with the villagers. It was a change, and the best part was that he did
not have to deal with his wife. He was finally independent of the sharp-tongued wife. It was a
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good experience for the Americans as they experienced their freedom from England, giving those
moments to enjoy freedom (Reynolds, 2016).
Conclusively, "Rip Van Winkle" is a story which is an allegory of the American
Revolution and the changes that occurred in American society, which is effectively expressed by
the characters and events, which gives a deeper meaning to the story despite the metaphors.
There were great changes that occurred in America before and after the revolution. The story
represents how the Americans were living under England's rule. The wife is a great
representation of England. The things Americans had experienced had led to them trying to avoid
England's tyranny, and they would do anything to escape. It was well represented by how Rip
Van Winkle tried to escape his wife, and when he managed, he came back to changes that
disoriented his identity. It needed more effort for him to get footing into the changes that had
taken place. It showed the Americans trying to take footing with taking footing and embracing
the new identity.
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References
Reynolds, D. S. (2016). American Renaissance. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Literature.
Reynolds, L. J. (2021). The Routledge Introduction to American Renaissance Literature.
Routledge.
Washington, I. (2017). Rip Van Winkle. El Cid Editor.
