“Rip Van Winkle”

• Genre: Short story; fantasy; folk tale
• Originally Published: 1819
• Reading Level/Interest: 1140L; ages 10 and up; grades 5-12
• Structure/Length: Approximately 23 pages
• Protagonist/Central Conflict: The story follows the character of Rip Van Winkle, a lazy and amiable man who escapes his nagging wife by wandering into the Catskill Mountains. He falls asleep and wakes up 20 years later to find everything has changed. The central conflict explores themes of transformation, nostalgia, and the passage of time.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Old-fashioned gender roles and stereotypes; depiction of alcohol

Washington Irving, Author

• Bio: Born April 3, 1783, and died November 28, 1859; an American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, and historian; considered one of the first notable authors of American literature; his works often dealt with American myths and legends
• Other Works: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1820); A History of New York (1809); Tales of the Alhambra (1832)

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Guide:

• America’s War for Independence and the Meaning of Freedom
• Myth in the Old World and the New
• Rip Van Winkle: Early American Romantic

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Teaching Guide, students will:

• Develop an understanding of the cultural and historical contexts surrounding Romanticism that incite Rip Van Winkle’s conflict.
• Analyze paired texts and other brief resources to make connections via the text’s themes of Freedom, The Old and New World, and American Romanticism.