600 Irving, Washington
in the morning,” which makes him appear “selfish
and uninteresting,” something the narrator blames
solely on the city.
On the other hand, in the country, the English-
man reverts to his “natural” state, unencumbered by
the strictures and mores of city life. In the country,
he “breaks loose gladly from the cold formalities
and negative civilities of town” and “he puts no
constraint either upon his guests or himself, but in
the true spirit of hospitality, provides the means of
enjoyment, and leaves everyone to partake to his
inclination.” In the country, the Englishman can
be an individual, whereas in the city, he must be a
member of a society with a multitude of “restraints.”
In the country, different classes move together
“more freely [and are] more disposed to blend and
operate favourably upon each other.” In the city, the
social codes forbid the blending of classes, or even
the association of one with another. In the coun-
try, no such codes limit people’s movements and
relationships.
In “Traits of Indian Character,” Crayon addresses
common complaints that whites level against Native
Americans as reasons to destroy or “civilize” them.
The piece is laden with sarcasm, such as when he
praises the American government for “wisely and
humanely exert[ing] itself to inculcate a friendly and
forbearing spirit towards them, and to protect them
from fraud and injustice,” and follows it with a foot-
note explaining that what this really means is that
the government removed their power to purchase
or sell land “without the express sanction of govern-
ment.” This introduction to society has diminished
the character of the Native Americans so that they
are “mere wrecks and remnants of once powerful
tribes.” According to Crayon, white society bears
responsibility for the “repining and hopeless poverty,
a canker of the mind unknown in savage life,” which
now pervades Native Americans. They are “drunken,
indolent, feeble, thievish, and pusillanimous” because
of the influences of society. In other words, these
individuals lived a purer and more majestic life prior
to their introduction to polite society.
Indeed, Native Americans’ lives prior to their
introduction to white society were vastly different.
The sketch explains, “Their wants were few, and
the means of gratification within their reach. They
saw every one around them sharing the same lot . . .
No roof then rose, but was open to the homeless
stranger.” Each individual or “every one” was treated
as an equal, regardless of his or her status. Once they
began to associate with society, they experienced
“vulgar prejudice and passionate exaggeration.” The
sketch even attributes their “cruelty . . . towards their
prisoners” to the white society’s “burning their vil-
lages and laying waste their slender means of subsis-
tence.” Crayon instead lauds the individual character
of the Native American as possessing “stern resolu-
tion, the unbending pride, the loftiness of spirit,
that seemed to nerve the hearts of these self taught
heroes.” In using the term “heroes,” the text sets the
societal outsider, the Native American, above those
who adhere to the tenets of white society and those
who persecute him.
Irving’s exploration of the individual and society
looks at the individual not necessarily as a single
individual but as that which stands outside of the
limitations placed upon people within the dominant
society. In the country, the Englishman can revert
to his true nature. In the past, prior to contact with
“society,” the Native American was powerful and
honorable. According to these two pieces, as well as
other texts within The Sketchbook, the responsibility
for selfishness, greed, hurried relationships, poverty,
and a host of other social ills rests squarely at the
feet of society.
Robin Gray NicksnationaliSm in The Sketchbook of Geoffrey
Crayon
Washington Irving’s The Sketchbook of Geoffrey
Crayon contains several sketches and stories that
promote a national mythology and literature, build-
ing upon the traditions of the folktale and the
history of the American Revolution. Two in partic-
ular—“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and “Rip Van
Winkle”—promote this nationalistic impulse.
A prefatory note to the story explains that “The
Legend of Sleepy Hollow” was “found among the
papers of the late Diedrich Knickerbocker,” the
pseudonym Irving used when writing his 1809 A
History of New York. A ghostly tale, “Sleepy Hollow”