It is no small fact that after the American Revolution everything changed in American society. It is one of the most important historical events that shaped our country into what it is today and produced much of the important American literature we have today. Rip Van Winkle, I would say it's one of those literary works and it's not only a fun story to read to children, but an accurate depiction of how America was able to break out of British rule and become the great country that we have Today. Washington Irving understood what the American people were experiencing at the time and wrote to Rip Van Winkle a way for American citizens to deal with and form their own identity. While it was a great thing for America to be completely separate from England, it was also an adjustment and could be seen as a divorce or separation of a family. Irving lets his main character take on that role in his story so that it can be easier for the American people to understand. “The opening paragraph of RVW establishes the theme of the disintegration of the “British” national family “while the country was still a province of Great Britain”: the Kaatskill Mountains “are a dismembered branch of the great Appalachian family.” The images suggest a divided and broken family, and Irving uses the “branch” metaphor for families in other essays in The Sketch Book. In a story dealing with the transition from British to American rule, Irving allusively evokes the common familiar metaphor used before, during, and after the Revolution: England was the "mother" or "parent" country, and the American colonists were the his children. But there is another pertinent cultural metaphor, as Rip is a harried husband, tormented by his demanding wife, and soon finds himself separated from his family.” When family separation occurs, it can be quite traumatic for everyone involved, and I think Irving was trying to help the cause. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Irving does a great job of using metaphors in “Rip Van Winkle” to talk about America before it was influenced by England, during the period of English Influence, and after the American Revolution. Rip Van Winkle is about a man who lives in a close-knit community along the Hudson Valley. Van Winkle is a man greatly admired by his entire community because everyone feels they can count on him to help them when they are in need. It is ironic, however, that Van Winkle's wife, Dame Van Winkle, can hardly stand her husband. “Morning, noon, and night, his tongue went incessantly, and everything he said or did surely produced a torrent of domestic eloquence.” His wife could be justified for always being angry at her husband, due to his lack of help around the house. Her constant complaints could be the reason why he decides to avoid her as much as possible, so she could be her own enemy due to the incitements she has against her husband. Irving uses Dame Van Winkle as a metaphor for England and her constant need to tell America what to do and how to do it. America, of course, is portrayed as Rip Van Winkle, so we can see that a constantly nagging wife (England) telling her husband (America) what to do is what really made Rip Van Winkle want to run away. in fact what Rip Van Winkle wants to do. He decides that the only way to escape his wife and the farm and finally be happy is to leave and go squirrel hunting with his dog and his gun. From this metaphor it can be seen that the,.