Ichabod Crane Sets example essay topic

Spooked American author, short story writer, essayist, poet, travel book writer, biographer, and columnist-WASHINGTON IRVING is best known for "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow", in which the schoolmaster Ichabod Crane meets with a headless horseman. Irving was born in New York, April 3, 1783, and died of heart disease, at Sunnyside, his country-seat, on the banks of the Hudson, on November 28, 1859. Despite the decline in his popularity, our national memory is peopled with his creations-Ichabod Crane and Rip Van Winkle. In his own day he was regarded by some as a amateur; nevertheless, he wrote fiction and facts so gracefully that even his critics must admit that his work is rewarding to readers who come upon him more than two hundred years after his birth.

So why has "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" been considered and used as children's story or fairy tale? First, this book is about a mystery of a killer. There are three bodies that turn up beheaded, and no one knows who the killer might be. A frail schoolteacher from the town of Sleepy Hollow named Ichabod Crane goes out on a journey to try and find out who the killer might be. He is surprised to find out that the killer is actually someone that returned from the dead to seek revenge upon the town. Ichabod Crane sets out to hunt down the headless horseman that has killed many people.

The daughter of the host he is staying with, who he is determined to marry, accompanies him. He thinks he can beat the horseman by using his brain and they set out on a journey full of spook to try and beat the horseman at his own game. This book is really great for children because it is a mysterious tale that many children can get into. This is a book that can also be good for adults but it is written in a way that children can read it and love it as well. It keeps kids thinking and wondering what is going to happen next. This is something that a book should do because it keeps kids interested and into the book.

Second, it's a simple tale, the horseman kills, Crane tracks him, the horseman kills again, and Crane uncovers the truth piece by piece. It's not so complicated for the small brains to digest. What makes the novel so extremely readable, though, is that it is not just a straight horror story. There are elements of love and of comedy as well.

Crane cuts a simultaneously dashingly humorous and na " ive figure. It's clear from the start why he has been exiled from the city, as the novel's introduction shows us-but the icy novel, drenched with cold autumn rain, treats Crane nothing if not warmly. The city would be lucky to have such a man. Sleepy Hollow is saved by his methodical strangeness. The grotesque metal instruments and twisted psyches, the bloodless skin and expressionistic sets, the blond, princess-these elements are depicted in great details which in turn leave great chills to the readers. It is a triumphant mixture of fairytale and humor, sophisticated enough for adults but not too scary for children.

In conclusion, children need to learn to see beyond today. The children need to be guided in an examination of yesterdays and a perception of tomorrows. The child needs to hear of the history of nations, of mankind's progress and all that is good throughout the Creation, and also of mankind's many failings, of the devastation caused by mankind's wrongdoing, and of God's Providence. What children need are stories, tales of mythical places, stories of heroes, of excitement and danger, tales of courage. Whether these Stories were written yesterday or centuries ago, these Stories are timeless, being old, rooted in the ancient truths, and new, shining forth brightly to illuminate the future, and I think that "The legend of Sleepy Hallow" serves that purpose. It is well known that children have an unquenchable desire to understand "why?" , and those that seek will find the clues to the answers, for the stories will guide them.