What changes does Rip Van Winkle notice after waking up?

After Rip Van Winkle's strange ordeal with the men playing nine-pins on the mountain, he falls into a deep, drunken slumber. Upon waking, he is concerned that he may have slept on the mountain all night, not yet guessing at the true nature of his circumstance. He finds that his beloved dog, Wolf, is no longer there, but Rip assumes that he must have chased a small animal. Furthermore, Rip finds that in place of his gun is just an "old firelock" that is so rusted and old that it cannot possibly be his. He writes this off as a trick of the men who gave him liquor the night prior.

However, when Rip attempts to return to the "amphitheater" hollow where he originally found the strange men, he finds that the natural landscape has changed, and the amphitheater is nowhere to be found. When Rip returns to town, he finds the most striking absence of all: The influence of the British Empire is nowhere to be found. When asked who he voted for, Rip, having never participated in this democratic process in his life, is almost attacked by the townspeople, being perceived as a traitor to America. It is only at this point that Rip begins to realize that he has been asleep for years and that a revolutionary war has taken place.

One of the many changes that Rip Van Winkle notices on waking up relates to his favorite inn. Before Rip fell asleep, the inn was a place of peace and repose, a haven of calm where Rip, and many of the other men of the town, would pass their days in civilized conversation and gentle amusement.

But now, the inn has been transformed into the Union Hotel, and the whole atmosphere of the place has changed. Now, people engage in passionate and often violent debate over politics. As Rip soon discovers, to his horror, they're also intensely suspicious of anyone who appears out of place, as Rip does. Rip's disheveled appearance and nervous demeanor make him stick out like a sore thumb, leading some of the patrons of the hotel to wonder if he's some kind of traitor hellbent on disrupting the election.

The key before and after difference in the story is that Rip goes to sleep a citizen of Great Britain and wakes up a citizen of the United States. In the twenty years that Rip has been snoozing, the former colonists declared their independence, fought a revolution, and established their own nation. Showing the difference between the two times is the whole point of the story.

The town before the revolution, the place Rip knows so well before he falls asleep, is a drowsy, quiet, apathetic place. The men gather in front of the inn under the portrait of King George III and talk about news that is three months old. They have no sense of themselves as participants in the life of the nation. They have no sense of agency.

In contrast, Rip comes back into a town invigorated and energized by being part of a democratic republic. People have a voice: they have representation. They can vote and elect their own officials! Apathetic, happy-go-lucky, unfocused people such as Rip have no place in this active and enthusiastic new world where independence has changed everything for the better. In writing this story, Irving is participating in myth-building about a new nation.

In "Rip Van Winkle," what hints indicate Rip has awakened in a different time?

Washington Irving, in Rip Van Winkle, provides many different hints as to provide Rip with clues to the fact that he is no longer in the same time period in which he fell asleep.

The first clue that time has passed is the fact that Rip's gun has rusted. While he believes that his gun was stolen, it has simply oxidized. Rip also finds his dog missing.

Next, as Rip enters the village, he notices that he does not recognize any of the villagers, nor do they seem to recognize him. Rip certainly begins to become concerned at this point.

When looking around the village, Rip begins to notice the changes in the architecture and the clothing of the villagers. The clothing and buildings have changed dramatically since his "nap."

Later, Rip comes upon his own home. It has fallen in ruins. Concerned greatly now, Rip goes to the village inn. Upon entering the inn, he not only continues to notice the strangers, but he also notices that the picture of King George III has been replaced with one of George Washington.

All of these things Rip notices are hints provided regarding the passage of time.