Title: Rip Van Winkle - eNotes.com
Headings: Rip Van Winkle
Rip Van Winkle
Rip Van Winkle
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Content: The relationship between Rip and his nagging wife can be paralleled to the relationship between England and the colonies. When Rip speaks to a grown woman in town she realizes she is speaking to her father. She welcomes him into her home and in a sense integrates him into the new America. The story is an allegory of the entire revolutionary experience. Approved by eNotes Editorial Team
Edith Sykes
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Another theme that runs through Rip Van Winkle is lazines. Rip's laziness is eventually punished. His punishment was to remain asleep for 20 years. As a result of his 20 year nap, he misses watching his children grow up, his wife dies, and the village changes. He also sleeps through the entire American Revolution. However, the story also suggests that laziness has been rewarded.