Irving, Washington: 1783-1859

Rip van Winkle, 1819 - Thematic Parallels: Resistance to Change

Irving, Washington: Rip van Winkle, 1819
The short story is often considered a reflection on the costs and inevitability of progress, as well as a meditation on what is lost and gained when societies undergo profound change.
The following books are thematically simliar. Having read "Rip van Winkle," the following texts lend themselves well to being read in groups, compared with one another, or used to teach a similar topic over an extended period with a class:
- Hawthorne, Nathaniel: Young Goodman Brown, 1835, ~10pp
  A Puritan man ventures into the forest only to encounter a disturbing, otherworldly gathering, shaking his faith and understanding of his community—much like Rip’s altered understanding of his village upon awakening.
  Both works align in their exploration of disillusionment, identity crisis, and the tension between individual perception and societal change. They represent two sides of early American skepticism: "Young Goodman Brown" religious and psychological, "Rip van Winkle" political and cultural.
- Porter, Katherine Anne: The Jilting of Granny Weatherall, 1930, ~15pp
  The book address themes of personal change, memory, and the passage of time, resonating with Rip Van Winkle’s experience of waking to a changed world.
  Both stories explore the human experience of time, change, and loss, but "Granny Weatherall" delves deeply into the interiority of a dying woman’s mind with complex, layered memories, while "Rip Van Winkle" uses a fantastical, external event to examine change in identity and society.
- Shaw, George Bernard: Pygmalion, 1913, ~100pp
  This play centers on personal transformation and the clash between tradition and modernity, similar to Rip’s experience of awakening in a changed society.
  Both works exploref moral corruption, social criticism, and the consequences of alienation and evil. Both invite readers to reflect on human nature’s darker side and societal failings.
- Sillitoe, Alan: The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner, 1959, ~170pp
  Focuses on individual rebellion against societal expectations and the passage of time, resonating with Rip’s outsider status after his long sleep.
  Both works explore themes of loneliness and alienation yet through different lenses—Rip’s is a fantastical, external isolation caused by time, while Smith’s is a grounded, social isolation rooted in class conflict and internal rebellion. They both highlight the struggle of an individual caught in the tides of change but respond to it in contrasting ways.
List of general discussion questions on Resistance to Change (pdf)
List of essay prompts on Resistance to Change (pdf)