Statue of Rip Van Winkle in Irvington, New York, not far from "Sunnyside", the home of Washington Irving
Looking in depth into the American Literature can be a very interesting thing. Digging deeper into the writings and tying them in with personal values and ties can make these early writings very meaningful.
Rip Van Winkle, which is written by Washington Irving, is a short story that is based on borrowed ideas and yet it came to be one of the most widely read and loved pieces of American literature. It has values and symbolisms that relate to our personal lives. Many realizations came to the people who have read and heard of the story.
Rip Van Winkle, a simple good-natured fellow and descendant of the Van Winkles. He was described as a kind neighbor and an obedient hen pecked husband. These plus many more make up his good qualities but, Rip, like everyone else has his down side. Rip had a very kind heart and gentle hands to his neighbors. He would never refuse help from a neighbor even if the task seem impossible Rip would be right by their side .He's a people pleaser, which seems to be a good quality but he also forgets about his wife, kids, and home and has his priorities.
Washington Irving describes,"Rip Van Winkle, however was one of those happy mortals, of foolish, well oiled dispositions, who take the world easy, eat white bread or brown, whichever can be got with least thought or trouble, and would rather starve on a penny than work for a pound.” However Rip was constantly lectured and nagged on by his wife and carried many burdens of his family on his shoulders. This statement is a true example of Rip's character in this story. He had a horrible outlook upon his land and the way he took care of it and his farm was one of the worst in his village.
Rip is the representation of a person who takes life easy. A person who is worse than a mediocre. One who would never want to improve and wouldn’t take the risk. He idles his time by sleeping. He is a symbol of a person who is content with just sleeping and not improving his own self and his own family.
Because of so much nagging and lecturing from his wife, he tries to escape to be free from all the worries and hardships of life. It’s just him and his dog. And this attempt to escape from his home life made him fell asleep for twenty years. He missed so many things while he is asleep. He wasn’t able to enjoy his life to the fullest. Imagine he lost twenty years of his life. Life is so great. We should enjoy every second of it and use every second of everyday to make the most out of our life and to be best of ourselves. Unlike Rip we should not just take the easy way. Hardships and trials should be faced we shouldn’t run away from it or just be the least we can be.
Time is very important that is one thing that Rip didn’t give importance. And most of us are guilty of that. We don’t realize how vital time is, we keep on procrastinating things. We always say that there is still time and that we will just do that important thing tomorrow. Until we weren’t able to do that thing at all because of lack of time. That important thing that we should have done the other day becomes doubled the next day. And we only realize it when it’s already too late, when there’s already so many to do, it’s the consequences of procrastinating things. And there’s no more time to do those entire important thing anymore. One thing that most of us regret.
So we better do our task early so that we’ll be able to finish something. So that we’ll be able to say to ourselves that we have wisely use our time. So that we would be able enjoy our life to the fullest and make the most of our time. For sure, we will all be productive if we learn to value our time. It will improve us, our thinking skills and our self-esteem. It will be the start of achieving something. Achieving something is very fulfilling. Desires are not enough. We should put actions to ours desires to be able to accomplish something.
Let us not be like Rip Van Winkle, an unproductive mediocre poor fellow who doesn’t give importance to his life. Let us be his total opposite, a person who lives as if he will die tomorrow. A productive person who keeps on making himself better. A person who seeks for the welfare of his own family. A person who values time and lives to continuously explore the beauties and wonders of life. Life is too precious to waste.
