Nature and mankind in the legend of sleepy hollow

There is a lot to learn about nature. In the book it talks about Ichabod who goes mostly outside and he is a nature lover. The real life natural world can be also dangerous in many ways such as frightening insects and ferocious animals around the world. Sometimes there are beautiful things instead. For example, an attractive sunset, a crisp cut lawn, and an astonishing forest with pretty flowers are all beautiful things. Nature does not let people get bored, it always has something new to show. It is always there when someone is sad and is still there when there are no worries. Some people like Ichabod might not notice this special quality about nature, because they are too focused on other things that their heart desires. He believed in supernatural things. Ichabod enjoyed this fantasy. He was always amazed to listen to the Dutch wives’ stories about terrifying spirits and haunting ghosts.

People have believed in myths to have magic beings that often focus on ways that can be managed by natural things. It does not matter if the unrealistic characters in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow seem real in the story because the characters in the book influenced the readers and they enjoyed reading it. In the story Ichabod strongly believes in fictional stories that includes specters and other supernatural beings. His enjoyment does not last too long because it becomes fear and horror. For example, he imagines himself into the story and that becomes a reality for him. People began to move away from enjoying nature and look forward to the supernatural when the framer, Crane leaves Sleepy Hollow. Soon “ the place abounds with local tales, haunted spots, twilight superstitions and nightmares” (pg: 2, par: 2) Throughout most of the tale, natural surroundings signal the mood of the tale.

The animals in this story have a special role. The scenes of the animals had set up the story. They were in the background but described the theme of family gatherings in the book. The animals have families, with whom they argued, but also had good times, when they had parties. They usually did the activities that humans are usually known to do. Their activities are just like humans. In the book “ files of wild duck made their appearance high in the air (pg: 25, par: 1)” From the book, the animals are seen as the main characters of this story. Nature and the animals are the only things in the story that are real and can be trusted. The other characters that are human seem unrealistic and reminds people that it’s all just a fairy tale.

As Americans were suffering from a cultural issue, Irving gave them a sense of a national story that was something that related to them. People favored his stories because it was a form of entertainment and that encouraged Irving, and he began to “ write for pleasure and to give pleasure” (pg: II, par: 2) to others in different ways. The stories gave him fame. He is often considered as the first great American writer and his tales are the first great works inspired by many other uniquely American folklore. Over the next several years he would visit other locations in the Hudson River Valley and hear many old Dutch legends which influenced his writing. In the next few years he highlighted the bounty of America’s natural resources.

Nature and mankind have an important relationship in Sleepy Hollow. Both are necessary in this story, they connect the points. In Sleepy Hollow, man’s relationship with the natural world is simply to dominate it or that is what Ichabod would think. Nature can sometimes do the same and disturb humans. Irving is writes about how the theme of imagination, brings the supernatural in the story. He used his creativity to entertain people when they needed it most.