of skill and experience as a writer. A comment made by Irving himself expressed his feelings towards his characters:“I am always at a loss to know how much to believe of my own stories.” (From Tales of a Traveler, 1824) (Oldstyle 1)This comment is used to show the significance of Irving’s fictional works to American literature. He used styles such as manipulation and imagery to captivate the reader. Imagery such as in Chapter 1 of “Rip Van Winkle” is enchanting and grabs the reader:“When the weather is fair and settled, they are clothed in blue and purple, and print their bold outlines on the clear evening sky; but, sometimes, when the rest of the landscape is cloudless, they will gather a hood of gray vapors about their summits, which, in the last rays of the setting sun, will glow and light up like a crown of glory.” (Knickerbocker 2)This sentence, alone, shows his technique in which gives to reader a picture of what is taking place in the piece. This style is typical now and is among many that has been brought or shared through Washington Irving’s fictional works, as well as his European experiences have brought life to his non-fictional pieces. During the seventeen years he spent in Europe (following his mother’s death-Sarah Sanders Irving) from 1815 to 1832, Irving not only served many diplomatic purposes, but many (of course) literal as well. Irving was fascinated by Spain. During his stay there, he wrote Columbus (1828), Conquest of Granada (1828), and The Companions of Columbus (1831). Then, in 1832, he wrote Alhambra, which concerned the legends and concerns of Moorish Spain. These books shared a common purpose-historical research. This may seem boring, but Irving used his literary experiences in Europe to write of historical events with themes as entertainment. He used themes instead of writing on like a historian writing a research paper. Upon returning to the ...
