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1. Rip van winkle II
Washington Irving
American Literature
Instructor: Ph.D. Le Thi Thanh
Group’s members:
Nguyen Phuong Uyen
Quach Minh Thanh
Nguyen Minh Thang
Tran Cong Phuc
Dang Hoang Viet
Huu Loc

2. Background of the story
 The short story "Rip Van Winkle" was
written by Washington Irving (1783-
1859) while he was living in
Birmingham, England, it was part of
“The Sketch Book of Geoffrey
Crayon”.
 The story is set in New York's Catskill
Mountains but Irving admitted, “When
I wrote the story, I had never been on
the Catskills”.
 2000 copies of the first octavo-sized
installment which included "Rip Van
Winkle" were released on June 23,
1819, in New York, Boston, Baltimore,
and Philadelphia.

3. Summary
 Rip awakes after 20
years and can’t find his
gun and dog. He also
worries that his wife will
be angry with him for
spending the entire night
away from home. He
comes back to the village
and is very surprise with
lots of changes in here:
people, clothes, the
buildings and landscape,
everything is very
different from the village
in his memory.

4. Summary
 Dogs bark at him and children make
fun of him because of his long beard.
He comes back home and waits for his
wife’s voice, the faithful dog and child
but nobody is in there. Rip comes to the
little village inn to find his friends but he
can’t because the inn was changed to
“the union hotel, by Janathan Doolittle”.
Rip becomes the stranger with
everyone in village and from the
townspeople, he knows his friends died,
his country do not belong to Britain.

5. Summary
 He meets a young woman who has the same
name as his daughter and she tells him that
her father, Rip Van Winkle, went into the
mountains and disappeared twenty years
before. He knows that she’s his daughter,
they recognize each other. He tells his story
about the strange men with the keg, and an
old villager still remembers the historical
“fact” that the explorer Hendrick Hudson
haunts the mountain and appears every
twenty years. His daughter brings Rip to
come to her house and says that Rip’s wife
had died several years ago.

6. Summary
 Rip is now free to spend entire time to
do everything he likes such as sitting
at the inn, telling and retelling his story
without fear of scolding.

7. The meaning of rip van
winkle’s sleep
 Rip Van Winkle was old generation and
he was isolated with new society after 20
years. Everything changes during the
time and if we cannot catch the change,
we will be forgotten.
 After awaking, Rip saw everything
actually changed, but still basically the
same. It means that the changes after
the revolution did not much influence the
townspeople’s life. From this point, the
authors described that the revolution in
politics and society was superficial,
shallow and changes was a myth.

8. The meaning of rip van
winkle’s sleep
 To Rip Van Winkle, it took him for a
long time to realize that his country
was not belong to Britain and he was
an independent citizen of American
after 20 years sleep, but he still was
himself, he resumed his old walks and
habits. It means that there are some
habits and opinions cannot changes in
the life.

9. THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN
BEFORE AND AFTER RIP VAN
WINKLE’S SLEEP
Before After
Appearance He went into the
mountain with his
gun of the clean,
well-oiled fowling
piece and the
faithful dog.
He found a rusted
gun and the wolf
had disappeared.
His beard had
grown a foot long,
rusty fowling piece
and uncouth dress.

10. THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN
BEFORE AND AFTER RIP VAN
WINKLE’S SLEEP
The life in the village Rip knew all people in
the village and they
knew him as a kind
neighbor and an
obedient henpecked
husband.
The very village was
altered; it was larger
and more populous.
Their dress was
different fashion from
that to which he was
accustomed. There
were rows of houses
which he had never
seen before, and
those which had been
his familiar haunts had
disappeared.

11. THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN
BEFORE AND AFTER RIP VAN
WINKLE’S SLEEP
The life in the village He used to go to the
inn, of a long lazy
summer’s day telling
endless sleepy stories
about nothing with his
old friends.
His friend had died.
The inn was goneand
over the door was
painted, “The Union
Hotel, by Jonathan
Doolittle.” The great
tree in front of the inn
was instead by
fluttering a flag, on
which was a singular
assemblage of stars
and stripes.

12. THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN
BEFORE AND AFTER RIP VAN
WINKLE’S SLEEP
The government On the bench before
the Dutch inn was the
portrait of King George
III in red coat and a
scepter. His generation
was Tory or loyalist to
King George III.
The red coat was changed
for one of blue and buff, a
sword was stuck in the
hand instead of a scepter,
the head was decorated
with a cocked hat, and
underneath was painted in
large characters, GENERAL
WASHINGTON.
The rights of citizens—
election—members of
Congress—liberty—
Bunker’s Hill—heroes of
’76—and other words was
not meaningful to Rip.

13. ANSWER THE QUESTIONS
4.Do you agree that rip’s character depicts the
society of America as seen by England, whereas
the England portrayed by his wife, Dame Van
Winkle?
 My group agrees with this point of view. Rip Van
Winkle, by Washington Irving, is symbolic of the
European sentiment towards the new society in
America and establishes an identity before and after
the American Revolution. Rip Van Winkle's character
depicts the society of America as seen by England,
whereas the England portrayed by his wife, Dame Van
Winkle. The townspeople represent American society
at large and how it changed with the realization of
becoming an independent country.

14. ANSWER THE QUESTIONS
 Rip Van Winkle was a "a kind neighbor, and an
obedient hen-pecked husband". All the good wives
of the village liked him because he was willing help
at any time. "In a word Rip was ready to attend to
anybody's business but his own; but as to doing
family duty, and keeping his farm in order, he found
it impossible." Seeing that Rip Van Winkle's family
was deteriorating while the people of the town were
profiting from his rebellion against the authority and
possible needs of his family shows that the Crown
was losing respect while America was gaining the
loyalty of its own people. Rip's idleness could be
perceived as the British perception that America
was unwilling to focus on their duties as servants of

15. ANSWER THE QUESTIONS
5.Do the townspeople, in presenting the
society of America, show how American
society changed before and after the
revolution?
 The townspeople, in representing the American
society, show how American society changed
before and after the revolution. Before the
revolution, it seemed that the townspeople were
more complacent and unmotivated. This is
representative of repression America
experienced while under British rule. This
furthered the opinion that Americans were just
lazy and unproductive subjects of the Crown.

16. ANSWER THE QUESTIONS
The revolution awoke the fire within the American
Spirit and the townspeople became alive with
anticipation of their new government. When Rip
came back to his town after his 20 years nap, the
townspeople were filled with a new found energy
looking forward to the next elections. They asked
questions of political nature as opposed to before
when all conversation was idle gossip.
 Irving's "Rip Van Winkle" demonstrates the
change in America's ideals due to the transition
experienced through the American Revolution.
This story gives us insight into the internal
personalities of the American colonists and how
the passage of time changes a society.

17. ANSWER THE QUESTIONS
6.Give your impression about the last phrase of
the story: “and it is common wish of all
henpecked husbands… have a quieting draught
of Rip Van Winkle’s flagon”. Have you ever
wished “have a quieting draught of Rip Van
Winkle’s flagon”?
 For my group, we think that it’s not impressed us at
all. A quieting draught out is one of the best solutions
for all henpecked husbands when the life is too
difficult and responsible for them. Nowadays, some
people want to get drunk to forget the heavy life when
they can’t handle it anymore. So it’s easy to
understand that this action is real and legitimate for a
common wish of all henpecked husbands.

18. ANSWER THE QUESTIONS
7. Could you find any stories in Vietnamese
literature with the similarities to the plot and
character of Rip Van Winkle?
 Ten-years sleeping ( Giac ngu muoi nam) of Ho
Chi Minh is a story in Vietnamese literature with
the similarities to the plot of Rip Van Winkle. The
story is about a soldier name Minh Van Nong
who fighting for independence in Viet Nam. In the
war, he was shot at head and awakes in hospital
after a ten-year faint. During the time he was
faint, everything is changed, the country is united
and he meetshis daughter who now is a woman
studying in university. They recognize each other
and the daughter tells Minh the changes during
ten years.

19. Thank you for your
attention