Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving and Neighbour Rosicky by Willa Cather 

Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving and Neighbour Rosicky by Willa Cather 

Abstract

Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving and Neighbour Rosicky by Willa Cather are two short stories of two different characters who share some similarities basing on their life stories. The characters share a common aspect in terms of their relationship with others, their sense of adventure, and the trials and conflicts they face in life. Rip, for instance, tries to escape his wife’s nagging and ends up disappearing for twenty years. He comes back to a changed world and environment he does not recognize. Rosicky, in ‘Neighbour Rosicky’ is diagnosed with heart disease and ends up being a handyman at home to his family. He begins to recall his life and the choices he made from his early life to his old age. His wife, Mary, tries her best to keep him comfortable and happy, with help from their son and his wife. He tells stories of his coming to America, and this creates a close bond between him and his daughter-in-law, Polly. He dies after suffering a heart attack. Both characters have a good relationship with others as they moved along significantly with their family members and the people around them. Their sense of adventure is based on the fact of wanting to get away and settle, with a fresh start and a settled environment. Despite their search for a fresh start, they are faced with trials that lead to their deaths, in the case of Rosicky in ‘Neighbour Rosicky.’ The paper will discuss, in length, these aspects of the characters in the short stories.

Written by Washington Irving and Willa Cather, Rip Van Winkle and Neighbour Rosicky are short stories that depict certain aspects of the lives of the characters. Neighbour Rosicky highlights the plight of a Czech who traveled to the US and suffered health problems that affected his life. Rosicky has strong family values and toiled on his farm before poor health forced him out of work. Rip Van Winkle, on the other hand, is about Rip, who does not like being around his wife even though he loves her. He leaves for the forest where he stays for 20 years. While these two main characters are different in several aspects, they share significant similarities in the areas of their relationship with others, their sense of adventure, and the conflicts and trials they faced in life. While some differences are evident between Rip Van Winkle and Anton Rosicky, they are similar in terms of their relationship with others, sense of adventure, and the conflicts and trials they faced in life.

The relationship between both characters with others is amicable, as they seem to get along well with everyone. Rosicky, for instance, is a well-respected man in his community. Members of his village and his daughter-in-law, Polly, look up to him, and he assists them whenever he can. As stated, “He didn’t know another farmhouse where a man could get such a warm welcome and such a strong coffee with rich cream” (Cather, 695). After being diagnosed with a bad heart, he does not opt to sit around and to do nothing. He becomes handy in the house by helping his wife in cleaning the house and also does some tailoring. He tries to help his son, Rudolph, on his farm, which eventually leads to his death due to the strenuous labor. Rip, on the other hand, is also a good member of his community and tries to help those in need whenever he can. Housewives and children love him because of the little good deeds he does to them. As stated in the story, “The children of the village too will shout with joy when he approach” (Irving, 517).   Rip is good at helping others, but he is inept at helping himself or his family, thus the nagging from his wife. He leaves all the work to his wife, running the house, caring for the children, and working on the farm, yet he is not a lazy man. He is good at hunting and fishing and is willing to do things for others, but when it comes to his land, he seems to have bad luck. Both characters are considerate towards the needs of others and help them as much as possible. Anton Rosicky and Rip Van Winkle both lived in communities that valued relationships and took the associations seriously. Although they were known for different values, they loved to establish a good rapport with other members. Rip loved children and dealt kindly with the housewives of his village. Rosicky, too, related well with the different members of the town regardless of their social status. He was also amicable with the family members, such as his daughter-in-law.

Both characters have a sense of adventure as they seek for a better life. Rosicky, for instance, had traveled all his life, and therefore, he knew a lot about it. Furthermore, there was always an unexpected situation that he had to tackle, and these experiences helped him. He tells stories of his time in London and how he was faced with difficulties in finding food and shelter. As stated, “After his grandfather died, he went back to live with his father and stepmother, but she was very hard on him, and his father helped him to get passage to London” (Cather, 702). He also talks about the time he stole a goose from his landlady and how he felt terrible about it that he searched the city to find a way to replace it. Rip, on the other hand, experienced his sense of adventure when he met the man in the woods. Wanting to go as far away as possible from his wife, he followed the man to what he thought was a party, and this served as an adventure. He joins in and is served with a liquor that knocks him out for twenty years. He wakes up with memory loss and faces the daunting task of finding his home. As stated, “Ah, poor man, his name was Rip Van Winkle, it’s twenty years since he went away from home with his gun” (Irving, 525). Both Rosicky and Rip experienced some adventure, albeit in different situations. Rosicky was familiar with traveling and the fun of it, while for Rip, it was a misadventure. They both had exciting experiences to share about their traveling adventures.

The third similarity both characters share in the conflicts and trials they both faced. Rosicky, for instance, his major test was his poor health. When he found that he was sick, he had to stop working on the farm and reorganize his schedule so that they could fit in with his illness. As stated, “Chust to take it easy like a ‘stay around the house dis winter” (Cather, 699). He became a handyman in his house, where he helped his wife with cleaning the house and some tailoring job. Rip, on the other hand, his major conflict was with his wife, whom he found to be too nagging. He was afraid to face her, and therefore, escaped into the woods. As stated, “Poor Rip was at last reduced almost to despair, and his only alternative to escape from the labor of farming and clamor of his wife, was to take the gun in hand and stroll away into the woods” (Irving 519). As a result of these trials and conflicts faced, Rosicky ends up dying of a heart attack while Rip disappears for twenty years. Both characters faced varied trials that ended differently for them. Rosicky was not fortunate to talk about his pain and suffering because he died. On the other hand, Rip got the chance to narrate the details about his disappearance that he could remember.

In conclusion, Both Anton Rosicky and Rip Van Winkle had similar experiences in their relationship with others, their senses of adventure, and the trials and conflicts they faced. They were both loved by their neighbors. Besides, they experienced some form of travel adventure even though the outcomes were different, and they endured hardships that redefined the course of their lives.

References

Irving, Washington. (1963). Rip Van Winkle, And the Legend of Sleepy Hollow. New York: Macmillan.

Willa, Cather. (1932). Neighbour Rosicky. Mankato, Minn: Creative Education.