2010年美国文学课程论文题 目 Idleness in Characters of Rip Van Winkle 专业班级 2007级英语1班 学 号 0710010123 学生姓名 X-X 指导教师 陈智平 指导教师职称 教授 学院名称 外语学院 完成日期： 2010 年 6 月 1日1Idleness in Characters of Rip Van WinkleAbstractWashington Irving held the proposition in writing not to attempt to lofty theme or to seek to look wise and learned and preferred addressing himself to the feelings and fancy of the reader more than his judgment. This paper is aimed at analyzing contextually his masterpiece, “Rip Van Winkle” according to these ideas to which he adhered in composition. It utilizes the thought that avoids moralizing from the point of focusing on Rip Van Winkle himself, in particular his characters. As an important part of Rips disposition, idleness complements and enriches the figure of Rip. This paper concentrates on an analysis of Rips characters at first then of his idleness and attempts to seek what causes the idleness and what the idleness reflects.Key words: Rip Van Winkle; character; idleness; cause; implication1. Introduction“Rip Van Winkle”，one immortal article in “The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent” of Washing Irving, tells us an unbelievable and magical adventure of a henpecked villager. Rip Van Winkle, the protagonist, goes hunting in quest for peace escaping from his wife in the Kaatskill Mountains, meets a host of singular men playing ninepins, drinks their beverage and has a deep sleep for twenty years. When he returns home, not knowing the American Revolutionary War has taken place, he finds almost everything has changed. It takes him some time to adjust himself to the changes and live a normal life.“Rip Van Winkle” is of eternal fascination, which often attributes to expressing changes with continuity and preservation of tradition and presenting the magic of imagination in the short story (http:/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rip_van_Winkle). But success of an excellent fiction can also be found on the figures it creates. So this paper skips huge topics like history, time, life and death but to have an analysis of the Nobody, Rip Van Winkle, in the village.2. Rips charactersThe vivid description in the article gives a general outline of Rips entire personalities. As has been modeled, Rip is “a simple good-natured man”, “a kind neighbor”, “an obedient henpecked husband”, and “a pliant and malleable farmer” and has “a happy mortal of foolish, well-oiled disposition” (Irving, 811-812).Since peoples characters are connected with their surroundings, it is necessary to first have a look at the village in which Rip lives before analyzing his personalities. The voyagers up the Hudson may have described, at a distance, the light smoke and curling from the village, which indicates the village is away from the metropolis. In this beautifully rural village with sequestered spots, people mostly conducting agricultural production are easy to be content with what they have got and will get. For Rip Van Winkle, little necessity or stress is laid on him to desire extra material achievement. However, enjoying a loose life with friends and neighbors is essential and dispensable in his life. Actually, Rip exercises this tip of theory thoroughly and “would rather starve on a penny than work for a pound” (Irving, 812). Thanks to the surroundings, without much pressure of survival, Rip hold no responsibility to admire the more or the better but “whichever can be got with least thought or trouble” (Irving, 812).As a result, he is naturally of simplicity and good nature as a happy mortal. This belief of Rip may be probably viewed as not ambitious or enterprising because it resists change and advance. But in such a solitary village, it is really hard to expect Rip to possess super-real dreams. Whats important to him is that, apart from rural occupation, he could do what he likes. And considering the life style of early Dutch colonists who settled in America, agriculture and handcraft mainly included, there is a rough speculation about the life of the villagers. Men are engaged in regular work on the farm to produce cabbages, corn and potatoes to support the family and further to earn money for daily expenditure. Women take care of children “trooping like a colt at mothers heel” (Irving, 812), assist men with farm work, deal with trivial jobs at home and give curtain lectures to their husbands. From these typical rural activities it is obvious that people are living in quietness. This kind of serene setting, similar to the village in “The Pride of the Village” by Washington Irving, too, contributes to the formation and stability of Rips characters.Besides, the villag