Washington Irving once wrote in his short story Philip of Pokanoket : An Indian Memoir: “Little minds are tamed and subdued by misfortune; but great minds rise above them.” Washington Irving was one of those great minds. Irving, author of many great short stories, such as The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle, Irving was one of the greatest early American authors. Known as “the Father of American Literature”, Washington Irving has made an impact on the world of literature by popularizing the folktale genre, by creating fantastic historical pieces, and by helping to start American fiction.
Washington Irving created fantastic realities of history in the world or his home. A good example of this is how Irving popularized the story of Christopher Columbus in two of his literary works, “A History of the Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus” (1828) and “Voyages and Discoveries of the Companions of Christopher Columbus” (1831). (Theodore 1453). He portrayed Columbus the courageous and heroic discoverer of the Americas. This history that Irving created is the story that most people grew up knowing of Columbus.
This story has since been revealed as false and the truth of Columbus’s brutality has been revealed, but because of the popularity of his story, Washington Irving was able to mask over Christopher Columbus’s brutal exploitations and cruelty and turn him into the hero who discovered our homeland. He also made the history of his home state of New York and the United States more extensive when he wrote many stories about the Hudson River Valley and the original colonies, including the biography of the man whom he was named in honor of, The Life of George Washington.
His influence upon history was expanded when he wrote a satire of his history, named fittingly, The History of New York. In this he introduced the nation to the unreliable historian Diedrich Knickerbocker, who later became the inspiration of a nickname for the people of New York.
He later issued an new addition in which, “he expresses his main aim in penning the book: ‘to embody the traditions of our city in an amusing for; to illustrate its local humors, customs, and peculiarities; to clothe home scenes and places and familiar names with those imaginative and whimsical associations so seldom met with in our new country, but which live like charms and spells about the cities of the old world, binding the heart of the native inhabitant to his home.’” (Tinnemeyer 3) In this, he hoped to show and poke fun at the traditions of his home state. He also wanted to show the world the history and beliefs of his home and to show that New Yorkers can easily laugh at their own odd beliefs and hopes and oddities that make that place their home.
Washington Irving created and retold folktales from throughout the New York Hudson River Valley and formed them into some of the most popular short stories in America. Some people consider Washington Irving the “father of the modern short story.” His best-known works are the short stories set in New York’s Hudson River Valley (Badertscher 1) Each of his short stories, such as the Legend of Sleepy Hollow and the Devil and Tom Walker, are set in the Hudson River Valley a hundred or more years in the past. Each of them either was seen as folklore or great legends immediately and were popularized for hundreds years.
Another example of his influence was that “[a] major part of Washington Irving’s legacy was his ability to use European models to create a powerful American literature. Drawing on European folktales, he created a fictitious (though highly detailed) history of his home state, one that made New Yorkers proud to call themselves ‘Knickerbockers.’” (Badertscher 4) The term Knickerbocker became popular because of one of his many pseudonyms.
When Irving created his stories, he adapted many legends from England and Europe when he lived there for more than a decade, popularizing his work in Europe as well as in America. Then, he created a fantastic history for the city he grew up in making New York known all over the United States and, in other countries around the world. All of his pseudonyms were very extensive, from Geoffrey Crayon to Johnathan Oldstyle. It is an honor for one of Washington Irving’s many pseudonyms, Diedrich Knickerbocker. The term Knickerbocker has become a well known name for the people of New York, even being used as the name of the New York Basketball team, The Knickerbockers, commonly known as the New York Knicks.
Washington Irving was a major force in helping to start American fiction. Irving was one of the country’s first professional writers, and one of the first American writers to gain an international reputation. (Badertscher 1) This makes him more influential because he laid the groundwork for future professional fictional authors. He also allowed the inspiration for many authors worldwide. As a testament to the success of one of Irving’s works, The History of New York, Sir Walter Scott, a Scottish historical novelist, praised Irving’s writing, and compared his wit to that of Jonathan Swift, the author of Gulliver’s Travels, and Laurence Sterne, author of Tristram Shandy.
Both of these authors are well known for their contributions to the literary world, and being placed on a pedestal with great authors of the era was an honor. As a result of Washington Irving’s literary prowess, “[t]oday many critics agree that in ‘Rip Van Winkle’ and ‘The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,’ Irving established an artistic standard and model for subsequent generations of American short story writers.” (Hayes 58) This shows that Irving created a standard for hundreds of other short story writers around the world. A good example of his influence on different styles of writing is his origination of the Romantic style of writing in some pieces.
In her piece “Washington Irving, the Nineteenth-Century American Bachelor,” Jenifer Banks wrote, that as a contrast to most pieces about responsibility that were written at the time, Washington Irving wrote Rip Van Winkle, a story about a man who fled responsibility of his colonial life to hunt and woke up in a new and free world after the revolution. (Banks 1) This particular piece shows that his writing broke the mold of accepting responsibility and showed someone who was running away from responsibility and getting a good future.
It also sparked the imagination with ideas of time travel, later inspiring Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, and many other authors. In this piece, Irving also shows that no matter what occurs, change will always be inevitable, whether it be beliefs and values or stability, and there is a large price to pay when trying to evade the change. (Theodore 1455) This is extremely influential for today, where it feels like everything is changing, whether it be beliefs, ideals, political opinions or even simple fads. No matter where and when you look, you always see the world rotating and revolving around you and Washington Irving’s Rip Van Winkle is the a major force behind introducing this idea of the nonstop feeling of life to the public.
Washington Irving was an exceptional mind who rose above most others and inspired future American authors to write in such an elegant, and, now, well known style to that has stood the test of time. He popularized now well know styles of writing, and ideas of fiction. He popularized time travel and folk stories in a time from the god fearing to the romantic. His influence on American authors was one of the most impactive with his unforgettable legacy and famous stories.
