Washington Irving

Choose, identify, and respond to one of the following questions by Sunday, April 9 at 7:00 p.m.

1. In “Rip Van Winkle” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” neither Rip nor Ichabod completely fit into their environment. Why not? What about their characteristics or their communities prevent this fit? What does this disconnect say about these characters or the towns? What broad claim is Irving making?

2. In “The Art of Bookmaking” and “The Mutability of Literature,” Irving presents a fantastic scenario about authorship. Given our discussions and the other works we have read this semester, how would you position Irving’s ideas within the context of early American literature? What claim is Irving making about the writing process?