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GEORGE ORWELL

Imaginative Characteristics in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.
Washington Irving was a well-known American author who lived in the early nineteenth
century . As a child he enjoyed spending his time reading, mostly romance and travel
books. This led to the critical development of the styles that he used in his stories.
These styles were most noticeable through his use of setting, characters, and inventing
with his own imagination. It was through these aspects that he best conveyed his thoughts
about the American spirit. Irving portrayed the spirit of overcoming fears in such an
elaborate and sinister way that he really had an effect on people's lives. He also
portrayed the spirit of living life to the fullest, and enjoying it as much as possible.
Washington Irving's most distinct characteristic, which is found in most of his stories,
is his use of humor to help portray the story. In The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Irving's
use of the supernatural is more acceptable to the modern reader than the more serious
interpretations of Irving's other works This makes The Legend of Sleepy Hollow unique
because it has a distinct use of humor unlike any other story Irving had written at this
time. This captured the reader's attention as being a book which is not as serious and
not meant to be taken literally like others author's works that were around, which made
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow more in touch with the spirit of American folklore . Irving
was very much in touch with local folklore. Most of his stories were based entirely on
people's accounts of local traditions, which made Irving's stories more realistic and
believable. Irving also used this style to promote the American spirit of enjoying and
having fun in your life. The combination of these styles made an outstanding form of
literature that appealed to most American readers at this time . 
Another one of Irving's most notable characteristics is his use of characters in a local
environment. Irving uses local folklore to set the mood of the story and give the people
something to relate to. Irving based his most notable stories on this, and that is why
they are as good as they are. Irving also uses local sagen and accounts of practical
jokes that are scattered freely throughout his tales to add tone and richness . This
style can be seen in almost all of Irving's work, he used it to give the story a light
and colorful appearance allowing the reader to relate with the author on a certain
level*. It also allowed people to be able to form connections between their lives and the
lives of the characters in the story. This was an important aspect of American literature
at this point in time, because readers wanted to be able to relate their lives and
experiences to those of the characters in a story. This gave them a better understanding
of what the author was trying to tell them, and how they should interpret his words.
One of the most amazing things about Washington Irving was his ability to create things
entirely from his imagination. Very few authors can accomplish this trait successfully,
and it is what makes Irving stand out as a great American author. He is especially good
at elaborating and embroidering the skeleton of a local tradition so that it becomes an
involved and romantic tale . Irving would find out what folklore, local society, or a
local tradition came from. He would then combine this knowledge along with his
imagination that would bring the tradition onto a new level. Irving was also capable of
creating pure fiction in his imagination . This was Irving's most outstanding
characteristic. He could start from nothing at all, and create pure fiction that would be
outstanding in length, character, and content. Although Irving had this incredible talent
of creating fiction he was never satisfied with the results . Despite this confidence
flaw, he was still able to compose some of the best fiction writing that is unmatched
even today.
Irving is also well known for his wide use of authentic setting to aid in the creation of
his stories. Like many other authors, Irving commonly made the setting of a story a place
where he had visited before. This allows Irving to relate directly to certain
characteristics of the setting; since he has been there before and can give specific
details to enhance the accuracy of the setting, he can make it more realistic to the
reader. Irving also based the setting of his stories on local tradition. In order to
become familiar with the local tradition of an area, Irving would often read the local
folklore of that place to help him understand the way people perceived things in that
area. This strengthened the connection between the author and reader, which made more
people want to read his books. Irving also made a connection between the setting to
themes and morals in the story . This created an even greater relationship between the
author and the reader. It also sets the mood of the story in the perspective of the
readers this helps to convey the author's thoughts and ideas more easily.
Irving uses his great ability of imagination in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow to help
portray the American spirit of realizing and overcoming one's fears. This is extremely
evident in the The Legend of Sleepy Hollow where the whole time everybody is scared and
all hyped up over the headless man who rides around by the bridge looking for his head.
For some of the people in the story, fear is all they know. Ichabod is a fine example of
how the people should live the American spirit. He is there to show them that they have
to overcome their fears. During the party Brom Von Brunt tries to scare him with the
story about the headless horseman, but after the party Ichabod puts his fears aside and
goes out riding. Even though he disappears and is never heard from again, he still
overcame his fears and Irving's great use of imagination portrayed this action in such a
horrific state of suspense that it kept the reader on the edge of his seat until the
final joke was played at the end. This is another example of how Irving relates to the
readers. Most of Irving's stories end with a joke at the end. This portrays the spirit of
having fun and enjoying life. By putting jokes throughout his works, and ending most of
them with a joke he is telling the readers that they should not take things too seriously
and they should have fun in their life.
This story can also be related to the original American spirit, which is to live an easy
life and be wealthy. Throughout The Legend of Sleepy Hollow Ichabod Crane is trying to
make a living so he can have a good life. He works as a schoolteacher and even though he
is forced to live at other people's houses because he cannot afford a place of his own.
This is completely opposite of the American dream, but what Ichabod is doing is working
towards a place of his own and an easy life which is the American dream. This is similar
to what happens in another one of Irving's works, The Devil and Tom Walker. In this story
Tom Walker is just an average guy who dreams of being a rich man, and ends up trading his
soul in order to become wealthy. But in the end the devil comes for his soul, and all of
his wealth turns to ashes, and he is gone. This is similar to what happened to Ichabod.
He was trying to gain importance in the world, but was killed before he could ever
accomplish anything.
The work of Washington Irving reflects the quality of tension between imaginative
endeavor and cultural tendency. Washington Irving created many stories, which told of
times of hardship, joy, and horrific tales of fear. Irving was able to capture a certain
aspect of folklore that no one else could. He also used his incredible gift of
imagination to portray to us the true meaning of the American spirit. 
Bibliography
1 Encarta 98 Encyclopedia Washington Irving copy write 1993-1996 Microsoft Corporation.
2 Janey Mulland Nineteenth Century Literature Criticism vol. 19 (Detroit: Gale 
Research, 1988) 336-344.
3 Mulland P.337.
4 Michael Davitt The Development of American Romance, Chicago: University of Chicago
Press 1980 P.256.
5 Nancy Black Washington Irving, White on Red (December 1996). 
http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/railton/projects/rissetto/irving.html
6 Janey Mulland Nineteenth Century Literature Criticism P.336.
7 William Trent The Cambridge History of American Literature, New York: The 
Macmillan Company 1938 P.6.
8 Harold Eaton Short Stories, New York: American Book Company 1951 P.71.
9 Author Voss The American Short Story, University of Oklahoma press 1973 P. 7. 
10 Washington Irving The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, (October 1992).
http://softseek.com/Education_and_Science/Literature/Review_6941_index.html
11 Mulland P.341