Title: Rip Van Winkle Summary and Study Guide | SuperSummary
Headings: Rip Van Winkle
Rip Van Winkle
Rip Van Winkle
Washington Irving
Rip Van Winkle Summary and Study Guide
Summary: “Rip Van Winkle”
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Content: The tavern politicians become increasingly suspicious of Rip, wondering “which side he voted for.” When a befuddled Rip swears loyalty to the King, they accuse him of being a British spy and grill him on who he knows in the village. As Rip names his friends, he learns that they all died in the war or left the village for better opportunities. When he claims he is Rip Van Winkle, the villagers pipe up that Rip Van Winkle is over there—and Rip sees a young man who looks strikingly like him, lazing about just as he did. Rip starts to doubt his identity and even his sanity. Rip notices a pretty woman with a child in the crowd. He strikes up a conversation with her and discovers that she is his daughter, Judith Gardenier. She tells him that his wife Dame Van Winkle died a short time ago. An old woman finally recognizes Rip as Rip Van Winkle, the man who disappeared 20 years prior; the oldest person in the village, Peter Vanderdonk, confirms it.