The document provides an analysis of Washington Irving's short story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Erik Israel García Alvarado. It summarizes the plot of the story, focusing on the main character Ichabod Crane. It then analyzes key themes in the story like religion, ambition, and chauvinism. The analysis uses examples from the text to show how Irving critiques the religious beliefs and superstitions of early American settlers. It also examines how the story depicts Ichabod Crane's selfish nature and view of women as objects. The conclusion states that beneath the spooky tale, the story addresses themes that remain relevant today and still reveal aspects of human nature.

1. Universidad Latina
School of Social Studies
English Language Teaching
Professor: Franklin Alberto Delgado
Elocution and composition II
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
By Washington Irving
Analysis by Erik Israel García Alvarado
July 01, 2016

2. Abstract
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is a short story that shows in subtle way the
customs, religious beliefs and attitudes of the multicultural town in Sleepy Hollow. In the
same way, as the reader delves into the story, he or she has the chance to pay attention
of the pretentious purposes of the main character who in the end vanishes from the story
leaving behind a valuable message.
Key words: reading, literature, vocabulary, school, library, Sleepy Hollow.
Resumen
La legenda de Sleepy Hollow is un cuento corto que muestra en una forma sutil
las costumbres, creencias religiosas y actitudes de un pueblo multicultural en Sleepy
Hollow. De igual manera, tan pronto como el lector se sumerge en la historia el o ella
tiene el gusto de analizar las pretenciosas ideas del carácter principal quién al final de la
historia desaparece dejando un mensaje con gran valor literario.
Palabras claves: Lectura, literatura, vocabulario, escuela, librería, Sleepy Hollow.
Bibliography of Washington Irving
He was born in the city of New York, April 8, 1783. He was the eight son of William
and Sarah Irving, and the youngest of eleven children. His family was from Scotland and
as most dissenters moved to America pursuing a new life. His father was a deacon in a
Presbyterian church who endeavored to bring up his children in sound religious principles.
In Irving`s time, New York was a rural city of about twenty – three thousand inhabitants

3. which had primitive conditions, yet its people rejoiced in religion and family values. When
Irving was sixteen he worked for a law firm but preferred writing instead, so he made his
first publication in 1802 in a local newspaper called “morning Chronicle” a newspaper
established by his bother Peter. As time elapsed, in 1812 a war took place between United
States and England and as a result Irving did some service in the US- army. Afterwards,
Irving traveled to England in order to fix a family`s business that was in financial distress;
however, he never detached himself from writing, so in 1819, Irving sent to his brother
Ebenezer in New York a set of short pieces under the name of “ The Sketch Book of
Geoffrey Canyon, Gent.” Among this compilation of letters was the short story of The
Legend of Sleepy Hollow which gave him renown in America.
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow `s Plot
The legend of Sleepy Hollow was set in New York in the Tarrytown settlement in
1790. The main action happened in a sequestered long and deep valley called Sleepy
Hollow. This area also known as a glen gained notoriety because a ghost called the
Headless Horseman supposedly haunted its thick woods. In the 1800s families lived off
the agriculture and were relatively small. Similarly, people were very attached to their
religious practices, and to their superstitions which sometimes were just absurd.
According to Amanda Pallay, the banks of Hudson River Valley were occupied by Dutch
settlers who outnumbered the English and Irish, so a multicultural folklore covered the
area from which originated all kinds of folktales. Thus, resulted that most local people
were afraid of supernatural beings or other silly things. Thereby, this may have influenced
Irving into writing a story related to a Headless Horseman. (Paley, A.2016, para, 4). One
rumor that particularly caught Irving`s attention was the belief of a Hessian soldier`s ghost

4. who was searching for his head after being beheaded while riding among a cross fire in
the middle of the Revolutionary war. This tale had bewitched the town and maintained all
of its people in an endless fear. For Irving, this fable helped him to conceive the idea of
short story which he embedded with the life of a superstitious school teacher. In the story,
Ichabod Crane heard from the women of the town many urban legends and because he
was superstitious he believed in them. Because the teacher made little money he gave
private singing lessons and as a result he met Katrina Van Tassel who was the daughter
of a rich Dutch Farmer. He set his mind to marry her, but the route to marriage was
challenged by another pretender Brom Van Brunt, also known as Brom Bones. Both
characters engaged in a competition to win her favor. Since, Brom Bones had no
education and no other way to compete with the teacher he resumed to play pranks on
Ichabod. On one night, after visiting Katrina he took the road among the dark woods when
suddenly he met a Headless Rider next to him; he managed to escape from him but the
rider hurl his pumpkin head at him. This knock Ichabod off his horse and apparently he
disappeared after that. The next day people searched for him but no trace was found
except his hat and a smashed pumpkin. A rumor was heard that he moved to New York
but the women from the town presumed that he was taken by the Headless Horseman.
Main Character
Ichabod Crane is the main character of the story and the new school master in
Sleepy Hollow. He is described as “tall, but exceedingly lank, with narrow shoulders, long
arms and legs, hands that dangled a mile out of his sleeves. His head was small, and flat
at the top, with huge ears, so that it looked like a weather-cock perched.” In the story
Ichabod success as a teacher is overshadowed by his dark desires such as ambition and

5. egotism. As ambitious, he finds his job as a teacher unsuitable to fulfill his desires, so he
sets his eyes on Katrina Van Tassel who is the only daughter of a rich Dutch man which
he thinks can be his way out of poverty. An as egotistic because he diminishes women
and men alike. He thinks that his superiority as being a smart teacher must give him honor
and respect. He also thinks that his singing skills are superior to anyone else in the town.
All that being set makes Ichabod Crane a round and dynamic character because in the
end he realizes that he had made a fool of himself. For example, Ichabod`s first encounter
with reality began when Katrina refused to marry him; then, he realizes that things are not
the way he thought them to be. Next, his rivalry with his antagonist Brom Bones reveals
his weaknesses such as ugliness, and a bad horse rider skills. Finally, his meeting with
the Headless Horseman serves to clarify that in the broader sense his stupidity to believe
in superstitions and that he is not that brave at all. In the end, Ichabod represents men
who are selfish and who are self-lovers. Ichabod is the embodiment all modern men who
are egotistic and also afraid of reality.
Themes
Irving manages to cramp up in a short story themes like religion, ambition and
chauvinism. To be sure, religion was practiced by most new settlers from any background;
however, their faith was challenged by absurd superstations that contradicted their
spirituality. Irving, criticized these new settlers whose devotion disputed the word of God
in the Bible. For example, a true Christian would have known the content of the psalm 23
which in the verse 23:4 mentions “even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of
the dead I will fear no evil for you are with me:” So for Irving these new settlers were as

6. pagans as the Romans. Their piety was weak and simply fake. An example of this
religiousness is the following:
The dominant spirit, however, that haunts this enchanted region, and
seems to be commander-in-chief of all the powers of the air, is the
apparition of a figure on horseback without a head. It is said by some to be
the ghost of a hessian trooper. (Irving,W,pag 7)
In the paragraph above, the residents of Sleepy Hollow were afraid of their made
up superstitions. Another aspect in relation to religion is the fact that people believed in
ghosts, and for anyone who truly believes in God knows that it is irrational to conceive
those ideas. Therefore, the writer of this essay beliefs that Irving was criticizing the
convictions of these new settlers whose assumptions and suppositions were merely
nonsensical and comical.
Ghosts and superstitions may seem scary and a bit comical, yet a stubborn
teacher whose intentions were as evil as the devil is very conspicuous in the story.
Teaching may have been a prestigious profession in the early eighteen century and
Washington Irving had probably experienced that himself in the small town of New York.
This small excerpt exemplifies this assertion,
The schoolmaster is generally a man of some importance in the female circle
of a rural neighborhood; being considered a kind of idle gentlemanlike
personage. (Irving. page, 11).
Therefore Ichabod took advantage of his status and played with the woman in the town.
However, as in present time teaching is not a well-paying profession, likewise in Irving`s

7. time, so Ichabod besides teaching he taught music in private tutorials in order to make
extra money. Now, while working as a private teacher he met Katrina and felt in love with
her state. Ambition is theme in the story a bit comical because Ichabod is depicted to be
ambitious and wanting to own all that Katrina had in order to have everything he liked to
eat.
Similarly, chauvinism is clearly depicted in the story. Ichabod flirted with most
women in town due to his abilities in singing, he managed to stay single all of his life.
Perhaps he held a concept of women as mere sexual objects or he expected to find
someone worth his intelligence. It was through this occupation that he meets Katrina Von
Tassel and set his mind on her in order to acquire the vast wealth that accompanied her.
His determination to possess everything she possessed was challenged by Brom Van
Brunt. As a result of another pretender of Katrina Ichabod utilizes his skills as a singers
and tries to thwart his enemy aside. This may show how disdainful was Ichabod not only
to women but also to men. The following excerpt exemplifies Ichabod `s chauvinism.
Ichabod Crane had a soft and foolish heart toward the sex; and it is not to be
wondered at, that so tempting a morsel soon found favor in his eyes; more
especially after he had visited her in her paternal mansion. (Irving, W. page,
13)
The text above shows how Ichabod has a selfish heart and how he sees women as
objects. The author of this essay has exemplify the religious beliefs of the settlers of
Sleepy Hollow, Ichabod `s ambition and his chauvinistic attitude.

8. Conclusion
Washington Irving`s observations inspired a great spooky story. It is undeniable
that he spent a great deal of time in the settlements near the Hudson River where he may
have heard the Dutch-Americans folk tales, and transformed that idea into a good story.
However, the story not only entertained us with spooky folktale but also renders a vast
array of messages and themes. Some of the themes are evident and but others may
require a deep analysis. The fact that Irving exemplifies the religious beliefs and
superstitions of the new settlers of America it shows the reader a characteristic that
predominated in the eighteen century. Moreover, by showing how man can be ambitious
and see women as mere objects shows a dark site of man that should be considered and
avoided. In the end the story finishes with a message and the reader is shown that bad
purposes bring bad denouements.
Summing up, superstition, religion and sins are great themes that combine may
bring out the hidden side of humans. Washington Irving manages to put all together in a
spooky story those themes which still catches people`s attention. The story can be read
at any age in high school and may serve to engage students into analysis that are still
common and present in the modern society because there still people who are ambitious,
and women are sometimes discredited by men.

9. Refence list
Green,J.(2014). The Quakers,the dutchand the ladies.RetrievedonJuly01,2016 from the webpage
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p47tZLJbdag
Irwing,W.(2016). The Legend of the Sleepy Hollow.RetreivedonJuly01,2016 from the webpage
http://www.ibiblio.org/ebooks/Irving/Sleepy/Irving_Sleepy.pdf
Palley,A.(2016).The true story behind the legend of Sleepy Hollow. RetreivedonJuly01, 2016 fromthe
webpage http://www.quickenloans.com/blog/true-story-legend-sleepy-hollow
Warner,D. (s.f.). American man of letters.RetreivedonJuly01,2016 fromthe webpage
https://archive.org/stream/washingtonirvin02warngoog#page/n6/mode/2up