Rip Van Winkle

by Washington Irving

Rip Van Winkle: Tone 1 key example

Definition of Tone

The tone of a piece of writing is its general character or attitude, which might be cheerful or depressive, sarcastic or sincere, comical or mournful, praising or critical, and so on. For instance... read full definition
The tone of a piece of writing is its general character or attitude, which might be cheerful or depressive, sarcastic or sincere, comical or mournful, praising or critical... read full definition
The tone of a piece of writing is its general character or attitude, which might be cheerful or depressive, sarcastic or sincere, comical... read full definition
Tone
Explanation and Analysis:

The tone of "Rip Van Winkle" is serious and scholarly on the surface, but ultimately it is lighthearted and comedic, mocking traditional heroes and history. Rip becomes a folk hero by accident, not because he does anything particularly heroic:

Having nothing to do at home, and being arrived at that happy age when a man can be idle with impunity, he took his place once more on the bench at the inn door and was reverenced as one of the patriarchs of the village, and a chronicle of the old times “before the war.”