Rip Van Winkle Questions and Answers
What details in "Rip Van Winkle" reveal a romantic fascination with the past and nature?
Give 3 adjectives that describe Rip Van Winkle in the beginning of the story. What has made him that way?
What does Rip Van Winkle symbolize?
What happens at the end of "Rip Van Winkle"?
What is the conflict in "Rip Van Winkle"?
What are three ironic elements in Washington Irving's "Rip Van Winkle"?
In "Rip Van Winkle," what is the setting of the story?
What is the exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution for "Rip Van Winkle"?
What are the supernatural elements of "Rip Van Winkle"?
Is "Rip Van Winkle" a true story?
What is the main idea of the story "Rip Van Winkle"?
In "Rip Van Winkle," how did Rip react when he realised that everything had changed?
How does Irving create the mood of magic and fantasy which helps prepare the reader for Rip's strange experience in the mountains?
In what ways is "Rip Van Winkle" a classic story of wish fulfillment?
Why did Irving make Rip sleep for twenty years in "Rip Van Winkle"?
What is the moral of "Rip Van Winkle"?
Compare the village before and after Rip's 20 years sleeping in "Rip Van Winkle."
What elements of "Rip Van Winkle" are satirical?
Describe the appearance and behavior of the group that Rip meets on the mountains. What causes him to fall asleep?
Who is Wolf in "Rip Van Winkle"?
Describe the "great error" in Rip's character in "Rip Van Winkle."
Why does the narrator say that a termagant wife can be considered a "tolerable blessing" in "Rip Van Winkle"?
How does the fictional character of Rip Van Winkle contrast with the historical character of Benjamin Franklin, the self-made man?
What are some figures of speech in "Rip Van Winkle"?
What is the point of view and theme in "Rip Van Winkle"?
At the end of "Rip Van Winkle," do most of the inhabitants of the village believe his story?
Whose portrait was said to be hanging in front of the town inn in "Rip Van Winkle"?
This story is supposed to have a light-hearted tone and entertain the reader. Find and write down a line where Irving uses humor.
What contrasting values do Rip and Dame Van Winkle represent?
What American stereotypes do you see in "Rip Van Winkle"?
What is different when Rip Van Winkle wakes up that was not there before he fell asleep?
Compare and contrast "Rip Van Winkle" and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." How are the stories of these men similar and how do they differ?
Who is Irving's target audience in "Rip Van Winkle"?
How would you describe the amphitheater before Rip falls asleep, and how would you describe it after he wakens? How do they compare? What is the significance?
Who is the most ancient inhabitant of the village and what does he affirm?
Is "Rip Van Winkle" tragic, comic, or mock serious? Why? Explain by giving examples.
Is there a defined thesis for the story "Rip Van Winkle"?
What does Rip Van Winkle's wolf represent?
How do the descriptive words in the introductory paragraphs, such as "magical," "fairy," and "noble," prepare readers for the story?
How does Irving use his two narrators (Crayon and Knickerbocker) to defend the tale's credibility, and how would you describe the tone in these introductory passages?
What metaphors are used in "Rip Van Winkle" and what are their meanings?
What are the Romantic elements in "Rip Van Winkle"?
Explain how Rip Van Winkle might be seen as a model American romantic hero. What are some of his qualities that can support this?
In "Rip Van Winkle," what hints does the author give that tell Rip he is no longer in the same time which he fell asleep?
How would you describe the encounter with the little man and the game of nine pins? Why do you think Irving spends so much time describing them? Why does Rip feel that they are the most "melancholy party of pleasure he had ever witnessed"?
What imagery does Irving use to portray nature in "Rip Van Winkle"? How is nature portrayed?
Do you, as a late twentieth-century reader, find the story humorous, or is it too outdated to be funny to us today? Explain your response.
What is a character description of Dame Van Winkle in "Rip Van Winkle"?
Why was Rip Van Winkle's wife angry?
What literary devices are used in "Rip Van Winkle"?
Showing 1-50 of 272