The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

535 Words3 Pages
Wshington Irving is fairly considered as one of the masters of storytelling. According to Jeffrey Rubin-Dorsky,, author of “The Value of Storytelling: ‘Rip Van Winkle’ and ‘The Legend of the Sleepy Hollow’ in the Context of ‘The Sketch Book’”, Irving’s “The Legend of the Sleepy Hollow” has been heard, read, and staged by generations of children and adults 393). At the heart of the story is a romantic opposition between a boringly traditional, self-centered schoolmaster Ichabod Crane and a strong, straightforward and young Brom van Brunt (Brom Bones) in their fight for the heart of 18-year-old Katrina Van Tassel. This romantic opposition has far-reaching social, cultural and political implications. Having been written in a period of social transition from the old to new traditions, the story reflects a conflict between the glorious but obscure past and simple but practical and pragmatic present. The romantic opposition between Ichabod Crane and Brom van Brunt is that of the old shrewd intellectualism and modern rationality and physical strength. In Washington Irving’s “The Legend of the Sleepy Hollow”, Ichabod Crane is the representative of the old stability and shrewdness, whereas Brom van Brunt carries the spirit of modernity and change; unfortunately, Crane’s boring traditionality and self-centered intellectualism leave him no chance to outperform his modern American rival and confirm the triumph of novelty and creativity over the glorious but disconnected past. Ichabod Crane and Brom van Brunt (further Brom Bones) live in Tarrytown, some twenty miles away from New York, but have different appearances and occupy different social niches. Irving describes Ichabod Crane as “tall, but exceedingly lank, with narrow shoulders, long arms and legs, hands that dangled in a mile out of his sleeves, feet that might have served for shovels, and his whole frame most loosely
Open Document