Rip The Character

2 Pages 586 Words

Rip the Character

I always thought the story of “Rip Van Winkle” was a kid’s story teaching the lesson to not be lazy. While in a way it still is a story about not being lazy it also symbolizes so much more than I ever knew. The character of Rip is used to show how the American man is seen from abroad. The foreigners stereotyped the typical American male as being the perfectly jolly over grown child, perpetually “one of the boys”, and ignorant of his own wife and the whole world of other adult men. Throughout out the following short essay I will discuss and support my topic of Rip as symbolic of the mythic American male.
For example in the very beginning of the story Rip is perceived as a very lazy, yet jolly young man. When he’s introduced he is ducking out of work and avoiding the wife. All Rip wants to do is sit back and relax and let all the good things come to him. Rip himself does just enough to provide for him and his family. Speaking of his family, Rip’s children were very wild and ragged looking. Even his own son was taking after him all the way from his clothes to his attitude towards things. It is said in the story that Rip, if left to himself, would of whistled life away in perfect contentment. Such examples in the story point to how ignorant Rip is of his family and the rest of the world.
Rip tried to work, but everything he tried don his own farm was useless. Every part of his farm was horrible. All his fences were falling apart, which sent his cows astray. Weeds had taken over his cabbage patch. Rip’s farm had become the worst farm in the town. No matter what Rip did his farm just wouldn’t do the correct thing. So instead of trying to fight his own farm Rip would take his jolly self into town every day. The children of the town loved Rip. Rip helped the kids build their toys, taught them how to fly kites, and shoot marbles. Just as a kid would be Rip was ready to do anyone o...