Example research essay topic: Rip Van Winkle Sir Walter Scott - 1,068 words

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Washingtons work is ended, said Mrs. Irving, and the child shall be named after him. And so, Washington Irving, the last of eleven children, was born on William Street in New York City on April 3, 1783, to a prosperous merchant family headed by William and Sarah Irving. He lived in a town of about 25, 000, from which he drew much of the material for his stories and sketches. He spent his childhood days wandering the town and listening to the Dutch descendents as well as reading a great deal in his fathers large library. He was always cheerful, kind and sweet natured though a great part of his life was a struggle against ill health, grief, and work that he did not like. (Compton's) Washington Irving's on-and-off schooling ended at the age of sixteen mainly due to his state of health.

In 1798, he thoroughly explored the pleasant region of Sleepy Hollow, to be forever remembered in his later work, Sketch Book. In 1800, he took an extended trip up the Hudson and into the Mohawk Valley. In 1802, he began publishing a series of letters signed under the pseudonym Jonathan Old style, in the Morning Chronicle, a paper just established by his elder brother. After leaving school, he began the study of law, but in 1804, he was sent abroad by his brothers, who were anxious over the condition of his health. On his first year and a half visit, he touched the Mediterranean ports and enjoyed the experience of a real capture by pirates. He remained four months in each of Paris and London.

This experience was in every way broadening and educational and in 1806, with his health well regained, Irving returned to America. (web) A year later, Irving, his friend James K. Paulding, and his brother William Irving, joined together in the publication of a small journal entitled Salmagundi. This publication appeared anonymously, ran from January 1807 to January 1808, and included twenty entries. In this paper, Washington critiqued the theater.

He would often go as far as to critique the theater company (actors included), the building, the audience, and the orchestra in the pettiest and most ill-natured way. These would not prove to be Irving's best works, but were the starting point in his career as an author. (web) In 1809, at 26 years old, Irving's first notable work, A History of New York by yet another pseudonym, Dietrich Knickerbocker, appeared, (web) a satirical account of New York State during the period of Dutch occupation (1609 - 1664). His mocking tone and comical descriptions of early American life counterbalanced the nationalism prevalent in much American writing of the time. The work is generally considered the first important contribution to American comic literature. (web) At this point in time, he was still unsettled in his plans, and although admitted to the bar, he was neither attracted to law nor likely to pursue it as a career.

Now Irving had become involved with Matilda Hoffman, daughter of the gentleman in whose office he had followed the study of law. However, she was stricken with fatal illness, and her death had a great impact on the young man. (web) There is greater significance in the appearance of A History of New York than it seems, for both Irving as well as literature as a whole. It served as proof that the New World civilization could produce fine literature. The lively humor of Knickerbocker proved unnecessarily irritating to some descendants of the Dutch heroes who were caricatured by Irving, and his good-natured laughter was understood and echoed by most of Irving's contemporaries.

A History of New York was well received, and introduced Irving to the literary circle of which he would soon become a part, Sir Walter Scott declaring it as good as the work of Jonathan Swift. (web) Even after such accomplishment, Irving remained undecided as to his future plans. Unfavorable as it was, he became a partner with his brothers in the hardware business. During this time, he did much traveling and was a familiar as well as a welcome figure in the society of Philadelphia, Washington, and Baltimore. During the war of 1812, he showed his patriotism by offering his services to the state. He was made governors aid as well as military secretary. From 1812 to 1814, he was also editor of Analytic magazine in Philadelphia and New York.

In May of 1815, Washington Irving made his second trip to Europe, to Liverpool, England, as a silent partner in his brothers commercial firm, intending only to be absent for a few months. However, after a series of losses, the business went into bankruptcy in 1818, and Irving returned to writing for a living. While in England, he became the intimate friend of several well-known writers including Thomas Campbell, Sir Walter Scott, and Thomas Moore. (Funk & Wagnalls) He now took the pen name Geoffrey Crayon, Esq. and published his most popular work, the Sketch-Book, a collection of short stories in essays. An English publisher published it, and for it Irving received $ 2, 000. It included such stories as The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, and Rip Van Winkle, two of the most popular classics in the field of the short story.

Readers could relate to his characters because his writing had a way of tying into the American identity. Philip Young stated, commenting on the character Rip Van Winkle, Rip was a near-perfect image of the way a large part of the world looks at us (Americans): likeable enough up to a point and at times, but essentially immature, self-centered, careless and above all-and perhaps dangerously-innocent. (web) The Sketch-Book was praised for its geniality, grace, and humor in both England and in the United States. The Sketch-Book contained more than thirty papers, including The Boars Head Tavern, Westminster Abbey, Rural Funerals, The Pride of the Village, and The Angler. (web) Through his writings, Irving composed two different kinds of stories. One was his realistic stories, which sought objectively to deal with real places, events, or persons, (i. e. The Alhambra).

The second kind were impressionist stories which are tales shaped and given meaning through the narrator (i. e. Rip Van Winkle). (web) In 1822, Irving also published Brace-Bridge Hall as a sequel to the Sketch-Book. After this appeared, he lived in Dresden, Germany from 1822 - 1823. Then, in 1824, Irv...

Research essay sample on Rip Van Winkle Sir Walter Scott