Washington Irving: A Political Analysis of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is one of the many stories found in Sketch-Book, by Washington Irving. The story takes place in the village of Tarrytown, New York. The first and main character introduced is a homeless schoolteacher, Ichabod Crane. His only method in finding quarters at night is to coax the townspeople into allowing him board for the night (357). Later in the story, he takes a liking to Katrina Van Tassel, the daughter of Baltus Van Tassel. He finds himself in competition with another man: Adam Brom Bones van Blunt. They both try to win her over, though every time Brom Bones attempts to thwart Crane's efforts, he finds himself appearing to be the fool (383). At the Van Tassel party, Ichabod asks Katrina to marry him, and is unexpectedly turned town, for it is revealed that Katrina never really took interest in Ichabod, she merely used him in order to make Brom Bones desire her. Ichabod becomes infuriated, and leaves the party immediately. He passes through a graveyard on his horse, and as he reaches the end he is confronted by the Ghost of the Headless Horseman, a soldier whose head was taken off by cannonball fire. Ichabod is superstitious, so after crossing a bridge while running from the horseman, he stops because ghosts cannot cross over bridges. Unluckily for him, the Headless Horseman takes his head and throws it at Crane, taking him off his horse and leaving him on the ground (386). In the morning, the townspeople find Ichabod's hat and a smashed pumpkin in the shape of a head. The townspeople issued a search, and found not a trace of Ichabod Crane.

Irving has created the perfect setting for a supernatural experience. The town seems to be "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 marvelous beliefs; have trances and visions, and see strange sights, and hear music and voices in the air" (993).

Ichabod Crane is the schoolmaster of the town. He is described as tall and lanky with "narrow shoulders, long arms and legs, hands that dangled a mile out of his sleeves, feet that might have served for shovels, and his whole frame most loosely hung together" (994). He is also said to have a small, flat head with big eyes and big green eyes with a long nose. Crane is compared to a weather vane and a scarecrow. Due to his appearance the reader views Ichabod as a clownish looking man with questionable intelligence and a meager education. He is ridiculous looking and unduly proud of his educational background. Most likely that background merely consists of being able to read and write.

While the title of the story is "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," I feel as though that aspect of it, the legend, is hardly ...