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1Washington Irving
Washington Irving is extremely good at descriptive writing. “It was, as I have said, a fine autumnal day; the sky was clear and serene, and nature wore that rich and golden livery which we always associate with the idea of abundance. The forests had put on their sober brown and yellow, while some trees of the tenderer kind had been nipped by the frosts into brilliant dyes of orange, purple, and scarlet.” “…the pigeons were snugly put to bed in a comfortable pie, and tucked in with a coverlet of crust; the geese were swimming in their own gravy; and the ducks pairing cosily in dishes, like snug married couples, with a decent competency of onion sauce.” He is also has a very good sense of humor and his word choice is excellent. These characteristics lead me to believe that he is very well read, smart, and humorous.
http://kirjasto.sci.fi/wirving.htm
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2Setting of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow"
The story takes place after the American Revolution (so about 1780s) in Sleepy Hollow-- a valley that is about two miles from Tarry Town, New York. Washington Irving lived in Tarry Town in the house pictured above. The setting of this story is important because it takes place in New England, where the Salem Witch Trials had taken place less than 100 years before the story was written. So we expect a very superstitious community which is a perfect place for a superstitious person like Ichabod Crane to be.
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3Main Character- Ichabod Crane
Ichabod Crane is the main character of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow. He's from Connecticut, but has come to Sleepy Hollow to become a school teacher. He is described as "tall, but exceedingly lank, with narrow shoulders, long arms and legs, hands that dangled a mile out of his sleeves, feet that might have served for shovels, and his whole frame most loosely hung together. His head was small, and flat at top, with huge ears, large green glassy eyes, and a long snipe nose, so that it looked like a weather-cock perched upon his spindle neck to tell which way the wind blew." Ichabod is extremely superstitious. He believes every myth, legend, and ghost story he hears. He is extremely skinny, but has an endless appetite. But he doesn't have much money for food, so he befriends the family of his students and dines with different families each week. So when he becomes interested in the beautiful, rich heiress, Katrina Van Tassel, he immediately begins to romanticize about marrying her and inheriting all of the wealth of the Van Tassels.
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4Characters
Ichabod is interested in Katrina Van Tassel's wealth. It is believed that she allows Ichabod to flirt with her to make Brom Bones want her even more. Brom Bones want to marry the same woman (Katrina) that Ichabod wants to marry. He sees Ichabod as a threat so he pulls pranks on him. He started by smoking out Ichabod's singing school by stopping up the chimney, and by the end of the book, we assume that his final prank was to dress as the Headless Horseman and run Ichabod out of town.
http://askville.amazon.com/characters-Legend-Sleepy-Hollow/AnswerViewer.do?requestId=13520103
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5Plot
Ichabod and Brom Bones are both fighting for the affection of Katrina Van Tassel. Brom Bones tries to scare Ichabod Crane off by pulling pranks on him, but Ichabod does not leave. One night, Ichabod is invited to a party at the Van Tassels. He stays after the party to talk to Katrina, and she somehow disappoints him. Ichabod leaves and has to go through Sleepy Hollow to get home. The headless horseman is waiting there for him and begins to follow Ichabod. Brom Bones knows that Ichabod is superstitious and fascinated by the legend of Sleepy Hollow. Could it be that Brom Bones' last prank on Ichabod is pretending to be the Headless Horseman?
http://www.gradesaver.com/the-legend-of-sleepy-hollow/study-guide/short-summary/
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6Conflict
There are two types of conflicts used.
Man vs. Self- Ichabod is so superstitious. He needs to overcome his own fears and needs to come to terms with what's reality and what's not real. His superstitious self is what leads him to his ruin.
Man vs. Man- Brom Bones plays pranks on Ichabod to get him to stop courting Katrina. Brom knows that Ichabod is superstitious and uses that information to run Ichabod out of town.
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7Theme
1. Imagination is extremely powerful. Ichabod's imagination leads to his downfall. He loves to hear stories about ghosts, legends, and myths, but because of his powerful imagination, he convinces himself that it is all real. Ichabod gets so wrapped up in his imaginations: he imagines himself owning the farm of the Van Tassels and marrying Katrina. He enjoys these fantasies so much that he forgets to back to reality to even try and make his fantasies reality. Irving wants us to realize that taking our imagination too far is a bad thing because sometimes we forget to come back to reality.
2. Believing in superstitions is what causes us to see the "supernatural." If everyone tells you that Sleepy Hollow is haunted, you expect to see ghosts, so your imagination will convince you that they are there. If people were not so superstitious, we wouldn't scare ourselves.
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8Connections
When I was little, everything I knew about The Legend of Sleepy Hollow came from what I saw in the Disney movie. It was not until I read the actual story that I delved a little deeper and actually saw the real story of Ichabod Crane. From the movie, I perceived that Ichabod was a character to pity because his looks were quite goofy, but you just liked him because he looked so silly and because he seemed nice. But in the book, you don't pity him and you really don't like him all that much. He's a moocher and selfish. I interpreted the ending of the movie and the book differently. I watched that movie quite a lot when I was little, especially around Halloween, and I always agreed with the townspeople that he was dead. How could a guy get chased by a headless horseman, get hit by a fiery jack-o-lantern and survive? It just didn't seem possible. But after reading the story, I was pretty sure that Ichabod ran off. I got to know a little more about Brom Bones and I don't think he would actually kill Ichabod. He didn't seem like a murderer. And Ichabod was SOOOO superstitious that it would only seem right that he would run from the "ghost." When I watched the movie, I felt so bad that Ichabod died. It didn't seem fair. But I think Ichabod got exactly what he deserved in the book. He was so self-centered and superstitious, he needed to get hit in the head with a pumpkin and run out of town.