Name:___________________________________________Per:______Date:_________
“Rip Van Winkle” by Washington Irving
Directions: Answer the following question in complete sentences. This short story will
be in the final exam.
1. Reread the first three paragraphs and pretend you are a film director. How would you
film the opening setting?
2. How does Rip’s “meekness of spirit” gain him popularity?
3. Why do the children follow Rip?
4. Based on the story, what do you thin Irving’s view on marriage is? Support your
answer with specific examples.
5. Describe Rip’s encounter with the little man and the game of pins.
6. Describe the difference between the “amphitheater” before and after Rip falls asleep.
What is the significance of this?
7. How does the behavior of the patrons in the village inn change, and what does this say
about human nature?
8. Find examples of each of the features of American Romanticism in the story:
a. Distrust of civilization b. Nostalgia for the past c. Concern for individual freedom d. Love for the beauty of the natural landscape e. Interest in the supernatural -
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