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symbolism of different characters in rip van wrinkle

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symbolism of different characters in rip van wrinkle
Nicholas Vedder
Character Analysis
“The opinions of this junto were completely controlled by Nicholas Vedder, a patriarch of the village, and landlord of the inn.”
From this part of description, we can see that Nicholas Vedder is a very old man. What’s more important is that from the latter description we can see that not only he is physically old but he is spiritually old too.

“... at the door of which he took his seat from morning till night, just moving sufficiently to avoid the sun, and keep in the shade of a large tree; so that the neighbors could tell the hour by his movements as accurately as by a sundial.”
Although this part of description is exaggerated in a humorous way, we still can see that Nicholas Vedder is a rigid man, who does his thing in a fixed way, unwilling to change a little. Also, I think “sun” and “shade” are used metaphorically. “Sun” actually stands for new ideas while “shade” stands for old fixed mindset. So, he is always avoiding new things and shut the outside world from him.

“It is true he was rarely heard to speak, but smoked his pipe incessantly ... When anything that was read or related displeased him, he was observed to smoke his pipe vehemently, and to send forth short, frequent and angry puffs; but when pleased, he would inhale the smoke slowly and tranquilly, and emit it in light and placid clouds ...”
This extract tells us that Nicholas does not talk much, which does not mean he has not his own ideas or opinion, but he does not show his ideas or opinion in a straight forward way. So, even if he is displeased or offended, he will just tolerate it through smoking. Also, I think smoking is just a way of escaping the reality or difficulty. By smoking, Nicholas’ mind can be occupied by this physical addiction instead of being bothered by the reality.
Another way to understand this excerpt is that Nicholas stands for the old feudalism during the colonial time. He is the absolute right among villagers. And the villagers

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