Sleep and Alcohol

Sleep
In relationship with Time, Space, and Tradition

A static form of sleep is seen in Irving’s Rip Van Winkle. The world changed while Rip was sleeping. There are two dimensions to this portrayal of sleep. First, Irving preserves the past’s credibility by letting Rip sleep outside of time. Second, through the isolation of his character, Irving emphasizes the persistence and fundamental existence of the past. One instant that illustrates such idea is when Rip first got back to his village. He noticed that the old village inn was now The Union Hotel; and the previous sign of King George got painted over to become General Washington. Metaphorically, the past got “painted over” by the presence, but its existence will never cease to be. In other word, Irving’s past is definitely more reliable, persistent, yet adaptive.

According to Hobsbawn's definition, "invented tradition" is "set of practices, normally governed by overtly or tacitly accepted rules and of a ritual or symolic nature, which seek to inculcate certain values and norms of behavior by repetition, which automatically implies continuity with the past" (Hobsbawn 1).

Approaching the past through sleep, Irving implies a sacred vulnerability of history. During sleep, Rip Van Winkle is prone to harms. Simultaneously, what he carries within himself seems untouchable. Hence, when Rip wakes up, he is symbolically a past that is inserted into the post-revoution America. As Rip finds his way back into society, he is the invented tradition that actually has a continuity with the past (even with a twenty years gap).

Alcohol
Drinking in Colonial America

"Colonial Americans, at least many of them, believed alcohol could cure the sick, strengthen the weak, enliven the aged, and generally make the world a better place."

In a time when alcohol was believed to possess a healing power, there seems to be a tinge of hope in Iriving's decision to put Rip to sleep by alcohol. Rip fell asleep for twenty years, then woke up to find America an independent nation. With the help of alcohol, peace had stayed with him in spite of his country's warfare.