The Gothic style of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow.docx
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TheGothicstyleoftheLegendofSleepyHollow
2009级英语师范5班谭颖20090521172
TheGothicstyleoftheLegendofSleepyHollow
TanYing
Class5,Grade2009,SchoolofForeignLanguagesandLiterature,ForeignTradeandBusinessCollege,ChongqingNormalUniversity
Abstract:
WashingtonIvringisagreatwriterwhomadegreatcontributionstothedevelopmentofAmericanliterature.ManyofwashingtonIvring’sworkshowsacolorofgothic.OneofthetypicalworkisthelegendofSleepyHollow.ThispaperwillmakeashortintroductionoftheoriginandcharacteristicstyleofGothicFiction.AndhavealookattheuseofgothicstyleintheLegendofSleepyHollow.
KeyWords:
WashingtonIvring;theLegendofSleepyHollow;gothicstyle
1.Introduction
WashingtonivringisagreatwriterwhomadegreatcontributionstothedevelopmentofAmericanliterature,knownas“thefatheroftheAmericanshortstory”.IvringabsorbedtheessenceofEuropeancultureandliteratureandformedhisownliteraturestyleasfresh,natural,humorousandmusical.Hisworksbringthereadersgreatjoy.Manyofwashingtonivring’sworkshowsasenseofhumorandwitty,andheusingbeautifullanguagecreatapoeticalworld.Besides,therearealsosomeworksembodytheGothicstyle.ThemosttypicalworkisthelegendofSleepyHollow.
The"Sleepyhollow"isaremotemountainvillagelocatedtotheHudsonRiverandtheenvironmenttherewerebeautifulandquiet.Thevillagerstherehasaclosedmindandfirmlybelievedinallsortsofghosts.Lean,lankyschoolmaster,IchabodCrane,fromConnecticut,fallinlovewiththe18-year-oldKatrinaVanTassel.Sheisthedaughterandsolechildofawealthyfarmer,BaltusVanTassel.IchaboddreamofhecouldmarryKatrinaonedayandinheritherfather’sproperty.Oneautumnnight,heattendedthebanquethostedbyKaterina’fatherwithhisshabbysuit.Whenheleaves,hewaspursuedbytheghostof“HeadlessHorseman”,whocloselybehindhimandterrifiedthe“ghost-fearing”manoutofhiswits.Infact,itwasapracticaljokeofVanBrunt,atownrowdy,whoalsolovedKatrina.Whenhegettheface,Ichabodshamedtodeathandleavedthetown.Therearemanydetaileddescriptionsontheenvironmentandplots.Theenvironmentismostlygrim,andtheplotsinthisstoryareabsurd.Anatmosphereofghostlyandgothicfilledthestory.
2.AShortIntroductionofWashingtonIvring
2.1Earlyyears’experienceandaccumulation
2.1.1Childhoodexperience
WashingtonIrvingwasborninManhattan,NewYorkCity,in1783.Hisfamilywaspartofthecity'ssmall,vibrantmerchantclass.Atthesameweek,TheUnitedStatesdefeatedtheBritishachievedthevictoryoftherevolutionofindependence.Sohisfamilynamedhimaftertheheroofrevolution,GeorgeWashington.
Ivringwasinvalidwhenhewasyoungandfinallyleaveschoolwhenhewas16.Afterthatheworkedasastudentinseverallawfirms,buthehasnointerestinlaw.Onthecontrary,hewasfondofliteratureeversincehewasachild.Heliketoreadadventurestories,suchasRobinsonCrusoeandGulliver'sTravels.Andhehadoftensneakingintotheatrestowatchdramas.Hisbrothersoftenencouragehimtopursuedhisliteraryaspirationswithfinanciallysupport.
In1798,Manhattanoutbreaksofyellowfever.ConsideredforIvring’ssafty,hisfamilysendhimtoTarrytown.“SleepyHollow”islocatedashortdistanceawayfromTarrytown.Inthere,IvringbecamefamiliarwithitsquaintDutchcustomsandlocalghoststories.IvringalsomadeseveralothertripsalongtheHudsonriver.Duringthesetrips,hepassedthroughtheGatskillmountainregion,it’sthesettingfor“RipVanWinkle”.TheseexperienceshaveapowerfulwitchingeffectonIvring’sboyishimagination,ashimselfsaid.
2.1.2YoungIvring
Attheageof19,IrvingbeganwritingletterstotheNewYork MorningChronicle.Theseletterswerecommentsonthecity'snewsortheaterscene.TheselettersbringIvringbothfameandinfamy.
Concernedforhishealth,Irving'sbrothersfinancedhimtotravelaroundEuropefrom1804to1806.Irvingbypassedmanysitesandlocationswhichisbenefitforaofayoungman’sdevelopment,includingFrance,ItalyandEngland.Hehadtookalargenumberoftravelnotesduringthisexperience,whichaccumulatedmeaningfulmaterialsforhislatercreation.WhilevisitingRomein1805,heoncewantbeapainter.
2.2Firstachievement
AfterreturnedfromEurope,hehadbeenworkedasalayerinVirginia,afterthathehelpedhistwobrotherswiththeirimportbusiness.Buthe’snotgoodatlaw,norgoodatbusiness.Atthesametime,Irvingbeganactivelysocializingwithagroupofliterateyoungmen.Andin1807,CollaboratingwithhisbrotherWilliamandthoseyoungmen,Irvingcreatedtheliterarymagazine Salmagundi .InSalmagundi,IvringcommentNewYorkcultureandpoliticsinamanneroflampoon.Ivringrevealedhistalentofhumor,wittyandsatire.ItspreadingIvring’sfamebeyondNewYorkCity.
ThefirstimportantworkofIvirngisAHistoryofNew-York underthepseudonymof DiedrichKnickerbocker.Thisworkwasmakingagreathitwiththereadingpublic.
Beforethis,althoughAmericahasbeenindependencemorethanthirtyyears,butinliterature,ithasfailedtogetridoftheshacklesofBritainallthetime.IvringuseAmerican’slocalsubjectmatterstowriteAHistoryofNew-YorkhaveimportantsignificancetopromoteAmerican’sNationalliterature.
2.3LifeineuropeandASketchBook
DuringtheWarof1812,WashingtonIvringonceservedinthearmyforashorttime.ThewarwasdisastrousformanyAmericanmerchants,includingIrving'sfamily.In1815,hewenttoEnglandtohelpthefamilytradingcompany.HeremainedinEuropeforthenextseventeenyears.Butthefirmstillbustedup.Withoutsourceofincome,Ivringbeganmakealivelihoodbywriting,continuedhiscreation.
Inthemeantime,IvringacquaintancedwithseveralfamouswritersandwentsightseeingmanyhistoricinterestspotsofEngland,whichstrengthenIvring’sconvictionasawriter.Finally,in1820,hecompileacollectionofwritingsandsendittothepressanditisTheSketchBookofGeoffreyCrayon,Gent.
Thisbookcontains32shortstories,withhumorouslanguage,romanticcolorandlife-likecharacters,describedold-ages’scustomsandold-typesimplegoodnesspeopleofEnglandandAmerican.ThepubishofASketchBookgetgreatattentionintheEuropeanandAmericanliteratureworld.TheworksettledIvring’spositioninthehistoryofAmericanliterature.TheshortstoriesThelegendoftheSleepyHollowandRipVanWinkleinitwasthefamousworkspopularatthattimeandhandeddowntothisday.
Later,IvringwroteBracebridgeHallandTalesofaTravellerwithasimilartype,butnotasgoodasASketchBook.
2.4 MinistertoSpainandfinalyears
In1826,IvringassumetheofficeofAmericaEmbassyinSpain,theexperiencethereinspiredhisinterestinthestudyofSpainishhistory.Hewrote3booksaboutSpainaround1829.TheyareTheLifeandVoyagesofChristopherColumbus,TheChroniclesoftheConquestofGranadaandTalesoftheAlhambra.
IvringreturnedtoAmericain1832andwaswarmlywelcomedbyNewYorkcitizens.BecausethereaderssorelyneedIvringdescribenativelife,hehadbeenexploringthenewlydevelopedwesternAmerica,andwrotetheworkofATouronthePrairies.
Inthegloamingofhislife,hemianlywrote3biographyTheLifeofOliverGoldsmith,MahometandHisSuccessorsandTheLifeofGeorgeWashington(5volumes).
Intheyearof1859,WashingtonIrvingdiedofaheartattackattheageof76.InmemoryofthewriterwhohaddonegreatcontributiontoAmericanliterature,Americanpeoplehangaflagathalf-masttoexpressmourningforthedead.
3.TheoriginandcharacteristicstyleofGothicFiction
3.1Evolutionoftheword"Goth"
Originally,theword"Goth"referstoatribelivinginnorthernEurope,whichbelongstotheTeutonic.Teutonespouredintothesoutherneuropefromthe6thcentury,whichcausedaseriesofwar.HardyandroughGothwasthemainforceagainstRomaninthewar.Afterhundredsofyearsofconflictandwar,TeutoniceventuallydestroyedthepowerfulWestRomeEmpire.AndtheGothestablishedmanykingdomsinItaly,southernSpain,FranceandNorthAfrica.However,theGothsassimilatedquitequicklyintotheadvancedcivilizationofRome,andsoonloseitsnationality.TheGothsasanationdisappearedinhistory.
ButthebellicoseandsavageGothsleftadeepstamponthemindofsouthernEuropean,especiallyItaly.AftermorethanonethousandyearsofthefalloftheWesternRomanEmpire,Vasari,anItalian,foundthewordGothinthedustofhistory,torefertoakindofmedievalarchitecturewhichisunwelcomebytheRenaissancethinkers.ThiskindofarchitecturewaspopularinEuropefromthe12thtothe16thcentury,mainlyreflectedinthechurchandthecastle,suchastheCathedralofNotreDame,Paris.Lightnessandsoaringspires,massivestonewalls,narrowwindow,stainedglass,thedarkinteriorandthegloomytunnelandsoon,allofwhichrepresentsbackward,brutalityanddarknesstotheRenaissancethinkers,whoadvocatingancientGreekandRomecivilizations.ThiskindofbuildingisawonderfulsymboltodescribetheDarkAgeswhoreplacedthegloriouscivilizationofancientRome.Therefore,using“Gothic”torefertothearchitecturalstylefitsperfectly.Asaresult,undertheinfluenceofRenaissancethinkers,“Goth”wasgraduallyendowedwiththemeaningofsavage,terror,backward,mysterious,darkageandmedieval.
3.2TheoriginsofGothicNovel
InthelatereighteenthCentury,Gothicbecameanameofnewnovelstyle.ThisnameisbecauseofitsoriginalworkTheCastleofOtranto,writtenbyHoraceWalpole,