Rip Van Winkle- A Written Response
Choose one of the following responses and type a written reflection. Be sure your
paper is in proper MLA format!
A Creative Response:
1. Writing an epilogue. Write an epilogue to this story called “Dame Van Winkle.”
Describe her response to Rip’s disappearance. Was she also emancipated? Will
you have Dame Van Winkle tell her own story, or let Diedrich Knickerbocker
continue?
A Critical Response:
1. Modernizing the story. Suppose the story were reset in the late twentieth century.
What elements of the story would have to change? In a paragraph, explain how
the following story elements could be altered to set the story in America today.
a. Setting
b. Characters
c. Conflict
2. Explaining a Parallel. Rip’s awakening has been seen by many critics as a parallel to
the awakening of the new American nation. In a short essay, cite the specific elements in
Rip’s emancipation that reflect the country’s emancipation from Great Britain. You may
want to discuss the ideas of independence, peace and maturity. Cite details from the
story to prove that Irving is deliberately connecting Rip’s emancipation with that of
America.