First published in 1819, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” is one of the popular short stories by Washington Irving, considered the Founding Father of American Literature. Forming part of his collection “The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent,” ‘Sleepy Hollow though written in Birmingham, England, based on a German folktale chronicled by Karl Musaus, Irving has succeeded in giving the story a characteristic American flavor through its setting and characters that made it into one of the classics in America. Irving’s style of narration in “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” is so sophisticated and modern in its approach that it is considered to have established the modern genre of short story in American Literature .

“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” demonstrates Irving Washington’s indubitable perception of the craft of story telling and the astute use of literary elements in presenting a logical explanation to the supernatural elements contained in legend of the Sleepy Hollow. In the story, Irving initially creates the background and atmosphere to the central theme of the story using the local legend as a forerunner. While this may be imperative to understanding the story in its completeness, certain other passages are perhaps more imperative in appreciating and enhancing the thrill and entertainment of the classic.

Consider the passage – “ But if there was a pleasure in all this, while snugly
cuddling in the chimney corner of a chamber. ……………What fearful shapes and shadows beset his path, amidst the dim and ghastly glare of a snowy night! ………How often did he shrink with curdling awe at the sound of his own steps on the frosty crust beneath his feet; and dread to look over his shoulder, lest he should behold some uncouth being tramping close behind him! and how often was he thrown into complete dismay by some rushing blast, howling among the trees, in the idea that it was the Galloping Hessian on one of his nightly scourings!” [Irving, 2004]

Before attempting to analyze the imperativeness of the passage in understanding and appreciating the thrill of the story, an understanding -- a summary – of the story would be imperative. “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” is set in the Dutch settlement of Tarry Town near a sequestered glen called Sleepy Hollow, around the year 1787. It tells the story of Ichabod Crane, a prudish schoolmaster from Connecticut, with a penchant for stories about ghosts and spirits, who has “tarried” in Sleepy Hollow, for the purpose of instructing the children in the basic skills of reading, writing, and arithmetic. He looks forward to marry the young and beautiful Katrina Van Tassel, daughter of the rich Baltus Van Tassel, but is scared off by Abraham Van Brunt, the handsome high-spirited lover of Katrina. As a precursor to the main story, Irving presents a local legend – that of the Headless Horseman or Galloping Hessian of the Hollow, the ghost of a Hessian trooper who lost his head to a canon-ball during “some nameless battle” of the American Revolutionary War and who trails Sleepy Hollow in search of a replacement head. Abraham scares off the squeamish Ichabod by posing himself as the headless Galloping Hessian of the Hollow, the legend of which had “sank deep in the mind of Ichabod.”

Now coming to the imperativeness of the above-mentioned passage in understanding and appreciating the story. Vital to the appreciation of the story is Ichabod’s penchant for legendary and imaginative stories of ghosts and spirits and his firm belief in the existence of the supernatural spirits. It is the firm belief and fearful disposition of Ichabod that Brom Bones maneuvers in scaring him off from the town for winning over Katrina in wedding. If the passage were not included in the story, it would have been difficult to comprehend and appreciate the fright of Ichabod, when he encountered the shadowy object of alarm –the figure of a headless horseman on a black horse of powerful frame—which he identified as the Headless Horseman of the Sleepy Hollow. custom essays

The passage helps the reader in understanding the character of Ichabod – his belief and fearful disposition towards the legend of the Sleepy Hollow. It would otherwise seem illogical and even unbelievable, for a schoolmaster, a “ man of some importance” and “great erudition” to be scared off by the mischief of his rival. While Ichabod’s penchant for stories of ghosts and spirits are elucidated in other passages, this passage dexterously reveal the frightful temperament of Irving; he is scared by almost everything he saw or heard and he imagines himself surrounded by mysterious dangers. It is easy to believe that the sight of the ‘headless’ horseman would terrify such a person, though in reality a waywardness of Brom Bones, as revealed by Irving in yet another passage that is imperative to understand the whole story behind the legend. Irving’s astute foreshadowing “how often was he thrown into complete dismay by some rushing blast, howling among the trees, in the idea that it was the Galloping Hessian on one of his nightly scourings!” [Irving, 2004] facilitates the appreciation of Ichabod’s plight on seeing the headless image, making the story believable and enhancing the reading experience.