The Changing of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

2577 Words6 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The legend of the sleepy hollow

The Changing of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

"Once upon a time" is the predictable beginning of a fairy tale and "happily ever after" is the ending. "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Washington Irving is a classical myth that defies the conventional standards of a fairy tale. Set in a valley in New England, It's a gothic tale of mystery and suspense that bears no definite ending surrounding the myth of the "Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow" (Heath 1355). The original text created by Irving was intended for the mature reader, a reader who could understand a sense of irony, had knowledge of history, and taste. What of and how has "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" remained successful with audiences through a period of over one hundred and seventy years? The changes implemented in the text vary by editor from none to several, to create a family movie few changes were taken by Disney, but to create a mainstream movie the changes made by Director Tim Burton are many.

Over time the language of the original text of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Irving has been reworked to accommodate the change in audience. The Heath Anthology of American Literature has an unabridged version of the original wording (1354-1373). A complete copy of the original text of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" can be found in the young adolescent classic section of a bookstore or the juvenile section in the library. A juvenile edition of the text adapted by Arthur Rackham from 1928 was a replicate of the original it is filled with seven colored illustrations and numerous sketching. A young adolescent version adapted by Bryan Brown from 2001 has been abridged to accommodate the current young reader. The format is changed in Brownâs edition. The yo...

... middle of paper ...

... the retelling of the tale of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow."

Works Cited and Consulted

Dizard, Wilson, Jr. Old Media New Media: Mass Communications in The Information Age. New York: Longman, 2000.

Fowles, Jib. The Case for Television Violence. California: Sage Publications, 1999.

Irving, Washington. "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." Ed. Illustrated Arthur Rackham. United States: David McKay, 1928.

Irving, Washington. "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." Ed. Bryan Brown. New York: Masterwork Books, 2001.

Irving, Washington. "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." The Heath Anthology of American Literature. 3rd ed. Vol. 1. Ed. Jayne M. Fargnoli. New York: Houghton, 1998. 1354-1373.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Narr. Bing Crosby. Disney Mini Classic, 1949.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Dir. Tim Burton. Perf. Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, 1999.

Show More
Related

  • How Does Washington Irving Use Direct Characterization Of The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow

    449 Words  | 1 Pages

    Throughout Irving’s story, he used characterization, irony, the dreams, and other literacy devices to bring The Legend of Sleepy Hollow to life for Irving’s audience.

    Read More

  • An Analysis Of Stephen Crane's 'The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow'

    1078 Words  | 3 Pages

    The readings “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by Washington Irving and The Monster by Stephen Crane are to amazing readings. However, these two texts represent violence and conflicts in different ways, which shows that although they have the same concept their tactic for this same concept is used in a different approach.

    Read More

  • Juan Ponce de Leon: The Spanish Explorer

    1092 Words  | 3 Pages

    Washington Irving, Voyages and Discoveries of the Companions of Columbus (New York: Frederick Unger Publishing Company,)

    Read More

  • Hawthorne’s Exploits and Irving’s Miscues

    1131 Words  | 3 Pages

    Fifteen years separate Washington Irving’s short story “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” with Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story, “Young Goodman Brown.” The two share an eerie connection because of the trepidation the two protagonists endure throughout the story. The style of writing between the two is not similar because of the different literary elements they choose to exploit. Irving’s “Sleepy Hollow” chronicles Ichabod Crane’s failed courtship of Katrina Van Tassel as well as his obsession over the legend of the Headless Horseman. Hawthorne’s story follows the spiritual journey of the protagonist, Young Goodman Brown, through the woods of Puritan New England where he looses his religious faith. However, Hawthorne’s work with “Young Goodman Brown” is of higher quality than Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” because Hawthorne succeeds in exploiting symbols, developing characters, and incorporating worthwhile themes.

    Read More

  • Book Review Of David Harley's Viruses Revealed?

    802 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...ies on other programs for it to continue to spread and often times the same program can be hit by the same virus several times. Cracking these codes and viruses is much harder to figure out. It’s almost like these virus writers make it a puzzle to solve before you can actually disband the virus itself. Even when the code is cracked and disassembled, writers normally just rewrite that code to do the exact same thing again.

    Read More

  • “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”: Washington Irving's Story vs. Tim Burton's Movie

    862 Words  | 2 Pages

    in creating his vision of the town of Sleepy Hollow and the headless horseman, Katrina,

    Read More

  • Allusion In The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow

    1002 Words  | 3 Pages

    Irving does this to help readers realize how caught up the society of Sleepy Hollow is with their past. Irving frequently brings up the Revolutionary war and how the headless horseman was a Hessian soldier from the war. When he writes, “The dominant spirit that haunts this enchanted region is the apparition of a figure on horseback without a head. It is said to be the ghost of a Hessian trooper, whose head had been carried away by a cannonball in some nameless battle during the Revolutionary War… The specter is known, at all the country firesides, by the name of the Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow” (Irving 2). This is an allusion to the Revolutionary war because the headless horseman was a hessian soldier. This explains the theme of supernatural because the Headless Horseman haunts their town and the main character, Ichabod Crane, comes across the ghost of him. Another major allusion in “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” is Ichabod's belief in witches. The author supports this when saying, “He was, moreover, esteemed by the women as a man of great erudition, for he had read several books quite through, and was a perfect master of Cotton Mather's 'History of New England Witchcraft” (Irving 4). Ichabod also believes in the supernatural past. His belief in witches supports the theme of supernatural within the book. Referring to the past using allusion develops different themes within the

    Read More

  • Gender Issues in Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

    2339 Words  | 5 Pages

    Benoit, Raymond. Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." The Explicator. Washington: Heldref Publications, 1996. "

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Young Goodman Brown And The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow

    1171 Words  | 3 Pages

    Although at times it is easy to get carried away with the adventure of a story, noticing the elements a writer has put into his work is very important. In reading “Young Goodman Brown” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” you can see both similarities as well as differences of how both Nathaniel Hawthorne and Washington Irving chose to illuminate their romantic writing styles. The writers both use a mystical woodsy setting with supernatural twists to draw in readers. Underlying you will find the differing romantic themes each writer used, as well as how each writer chose to end their work.

    Read More

  • Diedrich Knickerbocker

    1580 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...cenery of the town and the often odd spiritual occurrences that take place in the town. "Certain it is, the place still continues under the sway of some witching power, that holds a spell over the minds of the good people, causing them to walk in a continual reverie. They are given to all kinds of marvellous beliefs; are subject to trances and visions; and frequently see strange sights, and hear music and voices in the air. The whole neighborhood abounds with local tales, haunted spots, and twilight superstitions." (Irving 1). Using words and descriptions like he did, Irving makes Knickerbocker's stories more believeable because he makes the reader feel like they are actually in the town of Sleepy Hollow. With just a little imagination he turned a ghost story into a credible account of actions that actually took place just by using his fake historian Knickerbocker.

    Read More

  • Edgar Allan Poe and the Search for the American Identity

    1314 Words  | 3 Pages

    Milne, Ira Mark. "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." Short Stories for Students. Vol. 8. Detroit:

    Read More

  • Sleepy Hollow: The Film and The Story

    1469 Words  | 3 Pages

    Washington Irving’s short story, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” was adapted into a movie titled “Sleepy Hollow” directed by Tim Burton nearly two centuries after the original publication. When the story was adapted as a film, several extensive changes were made. A short story easily read in one sitting was turned into a nearly two-hour thriller, mystery, and horror movie by incorporating new details and modifying the original version of the story. The short story relates the failed courtship of Katrina Van Tassel by Ichabod Crane. His courtship is cut short by the classic romance antagonist-the bigger, stronger, and better looking Broom Bones. Ichabod wishes to marry Katrina because of her beauty but also because of the wealthy inheritance she will receive when her father, Baltus Van Tassel and stepmother, Lady Van Tassel die. However, the film tells the story of Ichabod Crane as an investigator who is sent to Sleepy Hollow to investigate the recent decapitations that are occurring. These modifications alter the original story entirely, thus failing to capture the Irving’s true interpretation of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” The film and the original story have similarities and differences in the plot, characters, and setting.

    Read More

  • The Vision of The Anointed

    745 Words  | 2 Pages

    In chapter three which is titled by the numbers, Sowell discusses scientific evidence through data. He enlightens us on how to take facts and create them into valid theories. One fascinating subtopic was the “AHA” Statistics, where he describes how people find some numbers that fit their insights. In this chapter he focuses on how people get paid differently according to race, and gender. I do find this to be true. I agree that somewhere statistics by the anointed has proven that those tiny details (race and gender) have an affect on the way someone is paid doing the same work. I agree that facts and numbers are not entirely correct, but they are shaped and formed to me the anointed needs, and desires.

    Read More

  • Folk Tale Characteristics in the Legend of Sleepy Hollow

    1322 Words  | 3 Pages

    Irving, Washington. "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." Ed. Illustrated Arthur Rackham. United States: David McKay, 1928.

    Read More

  • Cybercrime History: Computer Viruses And What Are They?

    1722 Words  | 4 Pages

    The history of cybercrime goes back to 1971 and the first computer virus called the Creeper which was created by Bob H. Thomas, who was a BBN engineer (Dalakov, Meltzer, and Phillips). BBN which stands for Bolt, Beranek and Newman, is now Raytheon BBN Technologies (“About”, Dalakov). A computer virus is a program that is created to cause damage to a computer or perform other malicious acts (204). The Creeper virus was designed to infect the ARPANET network. The ARPANET, which stands for Advance Research Projects Agency was set up by the U.S. Government as an agency in 1969 to provide a network of computers that would connect various academic and research organizations; it was the predecessor of the Internet (“Internet”, Morley, and Parker).

    Read More

More about The Changing of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

Open Document