The setting of the legend of sleepy hollow is the period of early settlers. The early settlers were very fond of listening to stories and particularly that were supernatural. As there were exploring the unexplored, the supernatural phenomenon was a very popular topic of discussion among the settlers. The small town of Sleepy Hollow had growing fear of the unexplained and particularly a Horseman without a head. The introduction of the protagonist Ichabod Crane as a school teacher would be perfect thing to do as a school teacher ideally relies on scientific inquiry rather than believe on heresy. Ironically he tells stories of Ghosts and goblins himself to the women of the town to impress them. He is not the best candidate to be a teacher as he has many personality flaws. One of the women he falls for uses him as a bait to attract Brom Bones who is stronger and more appealing than him. This makes him leave a place of social gathering while all the thoughts of the ghastly stories come up to his mind. On a horse named Daredevil he rides back with his head full of tales of horror. Daredevil is a good name of the horse as it represents the irony of situation Crane is in. He is scared for his life as he finds the Headless horseman chasing him. I would suspect that this was the fragment of his imagination as he was very willing to believe the stories that told and it became real when he was most vulnerable, having a broken heart. This story is an allegory as we can say that anyone who stops to think will lose their heads. Here the school master was a victim of situation that he created in his head and eventually he lost it. It was a short story but certainly a classic. It was a good read.
No comments:
Post a Comment