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THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW
By Washington Irving
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving is about the consequences of obsessions. The story takes place in a remote market town in New York and is about a man named Ichabod Crane and his love for a lady named Katrina Van Tassel, whom was also loved by another man named Brom Bones. The growing rivalry between the two men causes quite a few problems. Ichabod wanders out into the forest one night and is confronted by the ghost of an old Hessian trooper who ends up knocking Ichabod of his horse and possibly killing him. In my opinion, the cause of this mishap may have resulted from Ichabods love for Katrina.
Ichabod Crane is, in my opinion, the protagonist of this story. Ichabod was extremely funny looking. The book describes him as "Tall but exceedingly lank, with narrow shoulders, long arms and legs, hands that dangled a mile out of his sleeves, feet that might have served as shovels, and his whole frame most loosely hung together. His head was small, and flat at top, with huge ears, large green glassy eyes, and a long snipe nose, so that it looked like a weathercock, perched upon his spindle neck". He was also a fragile schoolteacher who seemed to have goals and dreams and was kind to others, especially his students. The book even states, "He was even the companion and playmate of the larger boys; And on holiday afternoons would convoy some of the smaller ones home". Ichabod was also in love with a young lady named Katrina Van Tassel and according to the book "Ichabod Crane had a soft and foolish heart toward the sex." And I think she may have got him into more trouble then most are willing to admit.
Brom Van Brunt, sometimes known as "Brom Bones", is whom I see to be the Antagonist of this story. Brom is a beefy handsome man who "Was broad shouldered and double-jointed, with short curly black hair". He didn't seem to be a very good gentleman, the book states "He was always ready for either a fight or frolic; he had more mischief then ill will in his composition; and with his overbearing roughness, there was a strong dash of waggish good humor at bottom". Brom was also, like Ichabod, after the heart of Katrina Van Tassel, The books states that "This rantipole hero had for some time singled out the blooming Katrina for the object of his uncouth gallantries". This little rivalry for Katrina seemed to cause quite a bit of tension between the two.
One of the most significant characters in this story is Katrina Van Tassel, the lady who had both the protagonist and antagonist after her heart. The book described her as "A blooming lass of fresh eighteen; plump as a partridge; ripe and melting and rosy-cheeked as one of her father's peaches, and universally famed, not merely for her beauty, but her vast expectations". At one point Ichabod danced with her at a party and the book states that "Brom Bones, sorely smitten with love jealousy sat brooding by himself in one corner." I see Katrina as the cause of Ichabod's death. He was too caught up in winning her that he failed to notice his surroundings, such as Brom and his growing jealousy.
The story seems to be about Ichabod Crane's obsession with a Katrina Van Tassel and Brom Bones who wants to have this lady for himself. It all takes place in a small, remote, peaceful town whose only excitement seems to be in ghost stories. The inciting incident is when the story first introduces Ichabod's love for a lady, in which the book states "…If his path had not been crossed by a being that causes more perplexity that ghosts, goblins, and the whole race of witches put together, and that wasa woman". This all slowly develops into something bigger when Brom Bones and his interest in Katrina is introduced, "This rantipole hero had for some time singled out the blooming Katrina for the object of his uncouth gallantries". The rivalry between the two is then introduced on page 1 where the book states, "Such was the formidable rival with whom Ichabod Crane had to contend, and, considering all things, a stouter man than he would have shrunk from the competition, and a wiser man would have despaired". Brom Bones was then constantly picking on poor old Ichabod and even went as far as to ridicule him in front of Katrina, "Brom took all the opportunities of turning him into ridicule in presence of his mistress, and had a scoundrel dog whom he taught to whine in the most ridiculous manner, and introduced as a rival of Ichabod's to instruct her in psalmody". Later Ichabod seemed to get back at Brom by dancing with Katrina at a party, the book says that "The lady of his heart was his partner in the dance, and smiling graciously in reply to all his amorous oglings; while Brom Bones, sorely smitten with jealousy, sat brooding by himself in one corner". It seemed that Brom Bones had had enough, and Ichabod headed home during the night. Ichabod was then confronted by the fabled ghost of Sleepy Hollow, The Headless Horseman. After a long chase with the ghost the story then hit the climax in which the story says, "Just then he saw the goblin rising in his stirrups, and in the very act of hurling his head at him. Ichabod endeavored to dodge the horrible missile, but too late. It encountered his cranium with a tremendous crashhe was tumbled headlong into the dust, and Gunpowder, the black steed, and the goblin rider, passed like a whirlwind". The story then enters the resolution saying "The next morning the old horse was found without his saddle, and with the bridal under his feet, soberly cropping the grass at his masters gate" and "The brook was searched, but the body of the schoolmaster was not to be discovered". In the denouement Brom ends up marrying Katrina and all that remains of Ichabod are the stories and opinions that the townspeople spoke of, such as "… brought home the intelligence that Ichabod crane was still alive; that he had left the neighborhood partly through fear of the goblin…" and "The old country wives, however, who are the best judges of these matters, maintain to this day that Ichabod was spirited away by supernatural means."
The story takes place in a small market town on the shore of the Hudson River in New York known as Sleepy Hollow. The town is known as a very calming place, the book states that "A drowsy, dreamy influence seems to hang over the land, and pervade the very atmosphere". The Narrator even makes a personal comment on it saying "If ever I should wish for a retreat, whither I might steal from the world and its distractions and dream quietly away the remnant of a troubled life, I know of none more promising than this little valley." The time period of the story is never stated clearly which in my opinion makes the town feel even more remote.
I see the theme of this story to be 'Do not be so obsessed with something that you fail to notice your surroundings'. I think the author wanted to convey this message to the reader to show what jealousy can really do to someone and how making them angrier might cause them to do something unexpected. There is one quote in particular that I think shows how Ichabod stopped noticing everything around him because he was so caught up in Katrina and that is "… Yet daylight put an end to all these evils; and he would have passed a pleasant life of it, in despite of the Devil and all his works, if his path had not been crossed by a being that causes more perplexity that ghosts, goblins, and the whole race of witches put together, and that wasa woman". I see this as an important lesson and it think it is what the author wanted the reader to learn from this book.
I found this novel to be a very good read, with a cool twist at the end. The authors storytelling ability was superb and helped make the book much more interesting and exciting, I especially liked the way he described things so specifically so you can really feel what he wanted you to, He did this with quotes like "He beheld something huge, misshapen, black and towering. It stirred not, but seemed gathered up in the glom, like some gigantic monster ready to spring upon the traveler". However, sometimes he used big or confusing words that would make the story a little hard to follow, such as "Reciting for their amusement all the epitaphs on the tombstones; or sauntering with a whole bevy of them". Lines like that made it really hard for me to understand what he was trying to say sometimes. The way he described the setting and characters however was great, he wrote extremely descriptive lines such as "… Broken down plough horse, that had outlived almost everything but its viciousness. He was gaunt and shagged, with an ewe neck and a head like a hammer; his rusty mane and tail were tangled and knotted with burrs; one eye had lost its pupil, and was glaring and spectral; but the other had the gleam of a genuine devil in it". However one thing that disturbed me about the way he described the setting was, he never gave a specific time period in witch the story took place. Whenever he was describing a time period it seemed to be very vague such as "In a remote period of American history". The authors style really made the story interesting. He basically let you create your own ending by not explaining entirely who the headless horseman really was, Some might think it was truly the ghost of an old Hessian trooper, others might think it is Brom Bones dressed up and out to kill the one who is trying to steal his girl. The other doesn't even specify whether Ichabod dies or not, he states the opinions of the townsfolk in lines like "… brought home the intelligence that Ichabod crane was still alive; that he had left the neighborhood partly through fear of the goblin…" and "The old country wives, however, who are the best judges of these matters, maintain to this day that Ichabod was spirited away by supernatural means." This lets the reader choose what ending he likes best.
I really did enjoy reading this book, I had not read it because I had assumed it was just a children's book, but the story turned out to be quite entertaining. I really enjoyed the way the story was so cleverly written and would recommend it to anyone that is looking for an exciting story.
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