How do the stories "Rip Van Winkle" and "The Censors" reflect their respective historical, political, and social contexts?
In "Rip Van Winkle," the pertinent social and political context is the formation of the United States. Before Rip falls asleep for twenty years, New York is still a British colony. Rip, for instance, meets with his friends at the inn under the portrait of King George III. When he awakens, he is surprised to find that he lives in a new republic, the United States, that has democratic elections and an active and involved population. He is surprised to no longer be a subject to a king but a citizen in a democracy. The story explores the apathy—represented by Rip—of being a colony against the vigor and spirit of a new nation. For example, as Rip returns, confused, to his hometown after his long sleep, he finds that an election is going on.
"The Censors" explores Argentina in the 1970s, when the political situation became more dangerous...
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after a military government took over in 1976 and began stamping out dissent by arresting and torturing civilians—and censorship became far more common. In this story, Juan becomes a censor in order to find a letter he has carelessly written to his friend Mariana, now in Paris, because he fears the government will track her down and kidnap her. However, Juan ends up co-opted by the system and becomes such a dedicated censor that his zealousness leads him to turn himself in for execution.
Both stories are alike in having a fantasy or fantastical element that leads to highlighting a political situation. In "Rip," it is Rip meeting the supernatural ancient Dutch people who give him the enchanted beer that puts him to sleep for twenty years. This collapses time so that Irving can make a positive commentary on the political changes that have come about while Rip slept. Valenzuela uses magic realism—realism merged with the fantastic—to depict an exaggerated censors' office, more developed than anything that actually existed, in order to comment on how ordinary people can be sucked into collaborating with an evil regime by bureaucracy.
Both stories have main characters who are imperfect. Rip can't adjust to the positive new changes in his society and so becomes a relic of times thankfully past. Juan adjusts too wholly to the new society and, ironically, becomes the agent of his own destruction. We see, for example, his mother trying to urge him to work less, have a drink, and go see friends, but his dedication to his job becomes too all-encompassing.
One story is a positive commentary on political change, while the other is a negative commentary; but both use the fantastic to make a point.
How do "Rip Van Winkle" and "The Censors" reflect the time and place they were written?
"The Censors" was written by Luisa Valenzuela. Being Argentinian herself, the author deals with life and the political situation in Argentina in her work. Therefore,"The Censors" definitely provides a snapshot of life in Argentina in the 1970s.
Because of the fact that there was government censorship, there was no intellectual freedom or freedom of speech in Argentina at this time. People had to be very careful about what they said and whom they said it to. This explains why the main theme of "The Censors" is mistrust: just as mistrust was very prevalent in Argentinian society at the time, "The Censors" deals with it, too. This is Valenzuela’s way of warning her readers not to trust anybody.
In the story, Juan becomes a censor in order to stop his own letter from being intercepted by the censors. Again, this reflects the reality of life in Argentina at the time, as letters were regularly opened and read by censors working for the government.
The short story “Rip Van Winkle” was written by Washington Irving. It was first published in 1819. This story provides a glimpse into life just before and after the American Revolutionary War. Rip Van Winkle, a Dutch-American, falls asleep and wakes up 20 years later, just after the American Revolution. Through the character of Rip Van Winkle, the reader gets a snapshot of life in America after the revolution. Many of Rip's friends died during the revolution, which is something that would have been very common for people living at that time, too.
Furthermore, upon his return, people are asking Rip how he voted and whether he was a Federal or a Democrat. This is the choice Americans would have had for the very first time during these elections, again providing a glimpse into American life at the time.
The local inn is now a hotel and has been renamed the “Union Hotel.” This is again a reference to life in the newly independent America. The country had liberated itself from British rule and instead became a country of proud, independent Americans.