rip van winkle 读后感.doc

题 目 Reading after Rip Van Winkle 专业班级 2008级英语4班 学 号 0810010402 学生姓名 高倩 Reading after Rip Van Winkle Rip Van Winkle is a famous novel written by Irving. The background is a small village of USA in the Dutch colonial period. Rip is a warm hearted man who is farming a small piece of barren land for living. One day, in order to elude his wife who is extremely garrulous and man-eating, he went hunting alone to the Jill Mountain which is near the Hudson River. He happened to meet the capital of Hudson and his companions. He fell asleep after drinking their magic wine. He go home after he wake up, until that time does he find that he has spend fully 20 years . Everything has changed and became Strange for him. His wife is dead and his close friends have died in a war or gone somewhere else. The village which used to be occlusive becomes lively. Speeches, handbills and elections happened everywhere. He immediately gets into trouble when he hails himself a loyal subject of George III, not knowing that in the meantime the American Revolution has taken place and he is not supposed to be a loyal subject of any Hanoverian any longer. But rip is completely in different about these because what disturb him most is the “Womens dictatorship”. This novel is a story which is full of romance and it is one of Washington Irvings master works. The characterization is successful. Irving shapes two Distinctive characters-rip and his wife. Rip is a person who is a little bit lazy, kindhearted and pussy-whipped. The descriptions of these qualities are vivid. For example, when he describe the scenery of chat .he disrobes “When anything that was read or related displeased him, he was observed to smoke his pipe vehemently, and send forth short, frequent, and angry puffs; but when pleased, he would inhale the smoke slowly and tranquilly, and emit it in light and placid clouds, and sometimes taking the pipe from his mouth, and letting the fragrant vapor curl about his nose, would gravely nod his head in token of perfect approbation The writer catches the details of smoking and incisively shows us the rips lazy and uxoriousness. When I was reading, it seemed that I was reading a cartoon instead of a novel. The author doesnt use too much word to describe the hero, but use the most succinct words to lineate the lifelike character. The language of this novel which is full of humors and spontaneous can be said as the perfect model in American literature. Great number of popular folk orals and slangs are used in this book. The concise language not only has strong sense of peoples life but also appears effortless and fluid. Few rhetorical flourishes are used in this article. Washington Irving puts the event, scenery and the actions and words of characters lively in the front of readers. Washington Irving, as the first world renowned American writer, is called “the father of American short novel”. His relaxed, humorous and witty language and graceful literature style received Extensive international recognition. However, Irvings value doesnt blend in the American society at that time. In this novel, Irving uses metaphor to point out that the live of American people doesnt improve virtually after the success of the independence revolution. The work shows the writers yearn for the ancient civilization all over the European, the miss for the pristine civilization and way of life which is not influenced by capitalism, the avoidance of the main stream life and the chase of personal ideal. It shows the writers yearn for the ancient civilization. From 1819 to 1820, Irving lived in a village of Britain. He felt in love with the scenery of countryside in Britain. It also inspired his creative inspiration continuously. Rip Van Winkle is a story adapted from a Germanic folklore. There are many descriptions on the ancient civilized objects in this novel. These all reflect Irvings Culture tendency. In order to elude his wife, he went hunting alone to a “deserted, few people tread” place. After that, Irving traces out scenery full of European sentiment through the experiences of Rip. When rip see an old man, “His dress was of the antique Dutch fashiona cloth jerkin strapped around the waistseveral pair of breeches, the outer one of ample volume, decorated with rows of buttons down the sides, and bunches at the knees.” After entering the amphitheater, Irving gives another description“On a level spot in the center was a company of odd-looking personages playing at ninepins. They were dressed in a quaint, outlandish fashion: some wore short doublets, others jerkins, with long knives in their belts, and most had enormous breeches, of similar style with that of the guides.”all these descriptions show the writers infatuation on European ancient culture. This novel shows the writers conservative attitude towards revolution. Rip think everything become so strange and he cant understand it. He get a view of an irascible looking man is fiercely giving an election speech. A short officious man catches his arm and asks him which party he will vote to. The descriptions of these ugly performances show the implied degeneration of emotion. The story expresses the writers mental boycott and aversion to the changes caused by revolution.The novel shows the authors avoidance of the main stream life and the chase of personal ideal. Rip is“ one of those happy mortals, of foolish, well-oiled dispositions, who take the world easy, eat white bread or brown, whichever