6. Why does Irving place the quotation on truth at the beginning of the story? 7. What fables and traditions are connected with the Catskills? 8. Why were these mountains "regarded as perfect barometers" and spoken of as "fairy mountains"? 9. Describe Rip Van Winkle and his surroundings as here given. 10. Why was Rip Van Winkle liked by all the women of the neighborhood? 11. Why was he such a general favorite with children? 12. Cite passages to show just what kind of man he was. 13. Explain "well-oiled disposition." Pages 344-351 Words and Expressions for Study: dapper, junto, patriarch, adherents, vehemently, perfect approbation, tranquillity, terrible virago, reciprocated, lagging bark, impending cliffs, encountering, vague apprehension, singularity, cloth jerkin, usual alacrity, amphitheatre, perpendicular precipices, incomprehensible, quaint outlandish fashion, doublets, sugarloaf hat, hanger, melancholy party of pleasure, lacklustre countenances, quaffed, reiterated, flagon. 14. Just what kind of person was Dame Van Winkle? Give proofs. 15. To what extent was Rip Van Winkle's shiftlessness due to the sharp tongue of his wife? 16. How did her disposition affect even the dog Wolf? 17. How did Rip first seek relief from these domestic storms? 18. Cite passages showing that this "junto" exactly corresponds to a loafer's club in a present-day village. 19. Why was not Rip safe here? 20. To what extreme was he next driven in self-defense? 21. Describe in your own words the scene from the green knoll when Rip paused to rest. 22. What now attracted Rip's attention? 23. Describe the approaching stranger. 24. What request did the stranger make by sign to Rip? 25. What did Rip see in the amphitheatre? 26. What experiences did he have there? 27. What in it all seemed so odd to him? 28. What caused his "deep sleep"? Pages 351-358 Words and Expressions for Study: woe-begone party, fire-lock, roysterers, gambol, made shift, toilsome way, impenetrable, perplexities, recurrence, addled, forlorn, connubial fears, gaping windows, singularly metamorphosed, disputatious tone, phlegm, doling, haranguing vehemently, Babylonish jargon, vacant stupidity, arm akimbo, tory. 29. What were the first thoughts which came to him on waking? 30. What strange experiences did he now have? 31. What changes had appeared in his surroundings since he fell asleep? 32. What strange sights confronted him upon his return to his native village and to his home? 33. Why should he now be called "a tory"? 34. What political changes had taken place since his departure from the village? 35. How did Rip finally manage to prove his identity to these people? Pages 359-368 Words and Expressions for Study: squall, enormous lapses of time, precise counterpart, train of recollections, corroborated, vigil, ditto, hereditary disposition, species of despotism, petticoat government, flighty, draught. 36. Explain "tap their fingers against their foreheads." 37. What is the true explanation of his strange behavior? 38. Why did Rip prefer to make friends among the younger generation? 39. Explain "idle with impunity,” “regular track of gossip,” “petticoat government." 40. How did Rip get "his neck out of the yoke of matrimony"? 41. Since Rip told his story, how did the inhabitants regard a thunder-storm in the Catskills? 42. Give a short summary of the story. 43. What seems to you to be the author's purpose in writing this story? ADDITIONAL READINGS IRVING: Sketch Book. Knickerbocker's History of New York. Thor and the Giants. HALE: The Man without a Country. LOWELL: Vision of Sir Launfal. ANDERSEN: The Snow Queen. A PROPHECY These lines were first published in England in 1345, before the discovery of America, and before any of the discoveries and inventions mentioned therein. Carriage without horses shall go, And accidents fill the world with woe. The world upside down shall be, And no horse nor ass be at his side. . Under water man shall walk, Shall ride, shall sleep, shall talk. Iron in the water shall float Fire and water shall wonders do, -Mother Shipton. |