The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

At last, I got a chance to submitted my long - long time prose after inactive for a while. Enough chit - chat, I present you one of greatest prose written by Washington Irving, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

Introduction
 
 The valley known as Sleepy Hollow hides from the world in the high hills of New York State. There are many stories told about the quiet valley. But the story that people believe most is about a man who rides a horse at night. The story says the man died many years ago during the American revolutionary war. His head was shot off. Every night he rises from his burial place, jumps on his horse and rides through the valley looking for his lost head.

1.      Theme, its theme about love. It is obvoiusly the story involve around Ichabod, a teacher of small school in his village who fall in love with Katrina Van Tassel, the only daughter of rich Dutch farmer. It is unrequired love because at last, Ichabod lost Katrina after being hit by headless rider.  

2.      Plot

·        Structure of Plot

The beginning start about Ichabod Crane as a teacher from small school who fallin love with Katrina. He dreams himself to be the master of rich Dutch farmer with Katrina as his wife. The middle start after he realize it is tough to get Katrine when Brom try to get in his path. The problem become complicate after Brom shows his jealousy in the night when Ichabod dances with Katrina. When the party is over, here author show its climax when Ichabod encounter headless rider who rides a horse. For finale, Ichabod disappeared just leaving his horse and old hat found around the bridge. After his disappeare, people talk in couple of weeks and tought Ichabod being taken by the headless rider because lost his love for Katrina. Something very important as love is same like the head of body. That people think about.

·        Kind of plot

After the following progress of plot, it is decide that the plot belong to progress plot. It is explain the story begin with exposition, awekening of problem, complication, climax and last the author shows the resolution.

3.      Character

·       Ichabod                               

     He roles as round character because we could see many side of his life as teacher who teachs in school and church, and so on. He is main character along with Katrina and Brom. He is not dynamic character because his occupation not change at all. He also protagonis because he carry the author goal to show about the Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

·        Katrina Van Tassel                 

      Her role as flat character because we could not see other side of her except she is only daughter of rich Dutch farmer. She is main character and static character because her occupation not change at all. She also female protagonis who also carry author goal like Ichabod.

·         Brom Van Brount                   

      His role as flat character same like Katrina and Ichabod as well. He also main character but in antagonis side because he block Ichibod path. He is static character and also flat character because author did not show other side of his life except as hero of girl, his appereance and his glory for winning many prizes.

·       Farmer                                    

     He only supporting, flat and static character because just loans Ichabod his horse.

·       Mother and Father of Katrina 

     They are supporting character because here the author only shows them as homemaster where the place they hold party.

·        Headless Rider                       

      He is main character and his role as medder because he put the end of story line and what purpose did the author desire.

      Characterization uses here focus on directed order. It seems the author try to brings understanding of this following character in this way. But this way only works in main character only. The rest not describes very detail like main character does. He did not let the reader judge what kind of characters do in his story.

4.      Setting

o    Physical Setting                      

       The story take place in a quiet valley of New York State’s hill known as Sleepy Hollow. This story settle in a village near Sleepy  Hollow named Tarry Town.

o    Chronological Setting                 

       The story begin with legend around the Sleepy Hollow about rider who rises from his burial place, jump to his horse and seeks his lost head. In Tarry Town, which was founded by people from Holland several years ago, the story start to evolved after saveral years after American Revolutionary war.

o    Social Setting                           

       This story influence by Sleepy Hollow’s Legend. Because of this is most fearsome story near Tarry Town, is is has great influence in their lifestyle, economic, social, norm and folktales. For example it is influence in norm, Ichabod who is not found along with his horse being believe was taken by Headless Rider. Same as the Rider who lost his head, his important part of body, Ichabod also lost his love,his most important feeling for now.

5.      Point of View

·         The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, the author sets  himself as third person point of view. Here we could find that actually the author hide himself to become “invisible author”. Because he is invisible author, we could not track down his presence. Instead he uses word like he, she, they and so on to expresses his presence as invisible author. As his role as invisible author, he also an omniscient author because he know what character thinking about. But still because he don’t know about entire character thought, we called him limited omniscient. For example, he did not explain what happen to Ichabod after that night.

6.      Style and Tone

·         Style

Style is how the author says something, the choice of words and the use of language, sentence construction, imagery but not what the author says. In order to brings what Ichabod feel toward Katrina, although in the end he is vanishes to nowhere, the author adds story about headless rider who seeks his lost head. There is similiarty between what happen to Ichabod and the headless rider. Both of them lost something very important to theirselves. Ichabod lost his heart and the rider lost his head. Judging from the storyline, the author seems to provides folktale of  The Legend of Sleepy Hollow as background to expresses the progress of story. There is not many dialogue include in this short version of novel but most of them set on denotative meaning and there is no hidden meaning at all. Although like that in panorama part, the author shows a little conotative meaning for example “She was a girl in bloom…much like a round red, rosy apple” (fourth paragraph, second sentence) which is metaphor expression. This story also has symbol put in itself, for example “a round red, rosy apple” (fourth paragraph, second sentence) represented as fine looking lady. Many of  the sentences directly the progress of story and events exist in side itself. Most of the are why of thought and his effort to get to Katrina attention. Neither from Katrina nor Brom nor Headless Rider expresses in word. Aside of that, the author influence the storyline with folktales of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. It seems he try to put focus on thr progress of story through the contruction of panorama technique.

·         Tone

Tone tells us the author feels about his or her subject. Words express the writer's attitude toward his or her work, subject, and readers. This attitude could be expresses as serius, humorous, horor etc. Especially in this story, the author put serius atmosfer with passionate effect in the beginning but turn into real horror in the end. It is suitable because the story of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow has great influence and it is so “real” when the Ichabod encounter the Headless Rider in the night after he has dance with Katrina. Well, in the end the author shows the resolution and it is clearly sets that both of Ichabod and the Headless Rider lost same importhat things to themselves. Lost somethings and they better disappeare to nowhere.

7.      Structure and Technique

§  The author just defining the description about the background of story. Rest of the of story mostly expresses through panorama technique and just small part expresses by scenic ( using conversation or dialogue as describing atmosfer).