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  • Essay / Free College Essays - The Motif of Magic in Rip van...

    The Motif of Magic in Rip van WinkleThe story of Rip van Winkle is a popular folk tale from the United States. Its overall motif is the magical passage of many years in what seems only a few days. The popular Japanese version of this story is Urashima Taro. In addition to the common motif, the main characters Rip van Winkle and Urashima Taro's personality and plot structures are also similar. The main characters, Rip van Winkle and Urashima Taro, in both stories are very similar. Both are simple men. An example of this is how they spend their time. For example, Urashima Taro likes to spend his days fishing, but doesn't really care if he catches anything, and Rip van Winkle likes to go hunting in the mountains with his dog as an excuse to get away from his duties. However, both men have social responsibilities that don't mesh well with this lazy lifestyle. For example, Rip van Winkle's short-tempered wife constantly scolds him for his lack of ambition and initiative. Taro has either a mother or a wife who depends on him for the very few fish he takes the trouble to bring home. While we recognize that these men are irresponsible, we sympathize with their simple desires and understand that they are also very kind. As an example, Rip is portrayed as a friendly and caring father and Taro saves a turtle who is cruelly teased by a group of boys. It's easy to imagine them as basically the same man. The first episode of both stories emphasizes these aspects of their characters and habits. The next episode has them having experiences with magical people far from their own communities. In one case, Rip goes hunting in the mountains and meets some fairies who are bowling and drinking. He enjoys their company and, after drinking a magical drink, falls asleep for many, many years. In the other case, the turtle takes Taro to the Ryugu Palace at the bottom of the sea. After joining the beautiful women in a variety of fun pastimes, he too discovers that he too has been gone for many, many years. The third episode of the two stories concerns the men's return to their communities. In both cases, the men find their old homes strange and very unfamiliar. They experience loneliness, isolation and old age. These similarities in structure and character help make the stories almost identical..