Rip’s Dependence on Society for Self-Identity Essay -- Rip Van Winkle

Rip’s Dependence on Society for Self-Identity    Rip Van Winkle   Ã‚  After falling asleep in the forest, a man returns to find his house abandoned, his town transformed his friends dead or missing and his own identity in serious doubt. Suddenly he recognizes his exact likeness walking down the street and for a moment he loses his identity. This is not a science fiction piece but rather the well known tale of Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving. In the moment when Van Winkle sees his exact likeness walking up the mountain, he let's out an anguished cry, ". . .I can't tell what's my name, or who I am I am!" (Page 410) With that one statement we understand Van Winkle's predicament. Without his community to define him Van Winkle is lost, for he only exists through the eyes of others. To understand better Van Winkle's predicament we must first understand his character and how he was viewed by his community. Examining the text we find ample examples of both. Irving describes his main character as an amiable fool. As stated in the text Van Winkle is ". . . one of those happy mortals, of foolish, well-oiled dispositions, who take the world easy, eat white bread or brown, which ever can be got with least thought or trouble, and would rather starve on a penny than work for a pound." (Page 404) He is also said to be a man who, "If left to himself would whistle his life away . . . " (Page 404) Clearly Van Winkle has little concern for the matters of getting ahead. Yet one has to look at how he fits into his rustic community to get a clearer impression of him. Although much satire is made of Van Winkle being a "henpecked husband", the story al... ...n to an "old woman" who finally comes forward and proclaims, "Sure enough! it is Rip Van Winkle -- it is himself." (Page 411) After her identification is corroborated by the elderly Peter Vanderdonk, Van Winkle is Van Winkle once more. Once he is identified, Van Winkle's place in the community is reinstated. In fact his status even improves to the point where he is considered, "one of the patriarchs of the village", for in their eyes he is now a town historian. The story of Van Winkle shows us how dependent he was on the community, without which he could not exist. His place within the society and the acknowledgment of others were crucial to how he defined himself. Works Cited: Irving, Washington. "Rip Van Winkle." The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Paul Lauter. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1998.