ELEMENTS OF FICTION and Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving

The story of Rip Van Winkle has been the cause of many interpretations and famously provides a guideline for authors who wish to compose their writings in a fashion that is distinctive and has a solid footing in its setting and plot. It is considered to be one of the most famous stories from The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, with its setting being America. There are interpretations that suggest that the story being an Old World Fairytale, the setting could not have been from the plane that humankind exists on, but there is reason to believe through reading earlier tales in the book that the story takes place in America.

The narrator of the story changes abruptly from Crayon to Diedrich Knickerbocker, who seems adamant about the story and its authenticity. Through this insistence, the author has used the element of ambiguity making the authenticity and genuineness of the story even more mysterious. There are several relating elements that seem to serve as a grounds for a kind of other worldliness to the story, whether the author intended it or not. The characterization and detail in each character is provided in such a way that is reminiscent of the stories of old, hence the earlier interpretations seem to have some grounds in their claims of old Folk stories. The narrator of the story, being an avid traveler, is a highly interesting study in himself, since he provides the reader with several anecdotes and mysteriously leads on the story with several hints towards the cultures he has encountered, as well as people and stories. According to the narrator, Rip Van Winkle is a gentle, elderly man who is considered generally good-natured and even though has roots in military, is of a peaceful disposition. ...