Sleepy Hollow, 1844 Summary and Analysis

The "pastoral ideal" has been a part of American culture since its initial colonization. A new land, unsettled and virgin in its natural surroundings, provided new residents a beautiful, bountiful setting, in which they could settle into farming and livestock raising, amid a peaceful environment, lush with forests, streams, mountains, lakes and fertile soil. This ideal, that is, to live among the beauties of nature, has remained a part of the American view of life, even through the twentieth century. This pastoral view has been reflected in both American literature and in the political, social and economic principles, and continues even as the complexities of an advanced society make "pastoralism" appear ancient and obscure.

Two kinds of pastoral ideal exist in America. The first, or "sentimental" type, is reflected in the principles so often espoused by politicians, sociologists and...