4/24/08 Class Report. Cristy

So today we wrapped up discussion on Rip Van Winkle and then went a little into William Cullen Bryant. We began discussion with trying to resolve on an appropriate moral for Rip Van Winkle and came up with a few ideas. Allison seemed to hit the nail on the head when she stated that NOTHING had happened to Rip by the end of the story. He remained exactly the same. It seems that Irving is condemning Rip who sedately watches life pass him by. It seems to say that "likeability isn't everything". Although, no bad comes to Rip, no good comes to him either. He simply becomes a curious relic of the past. Mr. Lazarow connected him to Newton's laws of motion. 1. an object at rest stays at rest. 2. An object in motion stays in motion. It seems that Rip was an object completely at rest while the town was in motion rolling through a revolution into a new age.
The story ends "...it is a common wish of all hen-pecked husbands in the neighborhood, when life hangs heavy on their hands, that they might have a quieting draught out of Rip Van Winkle's flagon." the key word is "wish" . We all have responsibilities and problems and although we may wish to escape them in a thoughtless slumber but indespite of our "wish" we carry on with our lives. It is a wistful ending. We all wish we could bypass rough times but we know it is never that simple. Irving sought to create American heritage and American legends that would allow Americans to stand by themselves, apart from the europeans.

William Cullen Bryant
The tone of Bryant's poem was soothing and soft. It sought to make us welcome death as a return to a loving mother nature. It glorifies nature and is Romantic then in that sense that it encourages us to become "one" with nature. He makes the progression to death seem like the wanted destiny. Our discussion took a slightly creepy turn when we began to think about how there are more people dead in the Earth than alive on it. Death is the great equalizer no matter what your class rank or economic status no one escapes death in the end. Ian kindly contributed that "Thanatopsis" means meditation on death. More on Bryant to come tomorrow.