"Rip Van Winkle" is undoubtedly Washington Irving's masterpiece, and this story of a man who falls asleep for twenty years seems to escape the law of time, as it still haunts us with its mystery. Once the reader realizes that Rip is precisely sleeping during the American Revolution, the story begins to bristle with cultural overlap and cultural conflicts arise between what was and what is. Through the vivid image of Rip Van Winkle, one can see a picture of the American colonies under the rule of Royal England. By successfully using the method of character description and psychological analysis, the image of England that the character of Rip symbolizes stands out among many other symbols. Romantic writers tend to incorporate nature as a key factor in their writing. For Irving, the Kaatskill Mountains have always been a source of pride for the American people, past and present. Early in his story, Washington Irving uses personification to invest the Kaatskill Mountains with human qualities. The Kaatskill reveals itself as a firm territorial protector of the village at its “noble height”. Deliberately bringing mountains to life allows them to become mysterious and unpredictable. In fact, they can even play tricks on those who venture within its limits. It is not surprising that these visual features are the symbol of a safe, quiet and eternal life of Americans before they came under the domination of Great Britain. Irving expressed the kindness of Rip Van Winkle because he was so popular and he was the big favorite of the village. All the men and women in the town loved him because he helped anyone who asked for his help. His... middle of paper ... so could he have known immediately that they were gone in the first place? By showing the reader the very sight of what Rip Van Winkle was able to see, the reader learns about his surroundings, which allows him to understand how everything changed after he woke up. People wear clothes “of a different fashion from that to which he was accustomed.” Even the village was changed; it was larger and more populated. There were rows of houses he had never seen before.” It is a symbol of America's growth and prosperity after the Revolution. Through the vivid image of Rip Van Winkle, one can see a picture of the American colonies under the rule of Royal England. Successfully using the method of character description and psychological analysis, the image of England symbolized by the character of Rip stands out among many other symbols..