In almost every narrative, everyone loves a protagonist who exhibits the qualities of strength, valor, and good looks. People tend to identify with a heroic character as a way of vicariously living out their dreams. However, in the short story, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”, Ichabod is presumed to be the hero of the story; however, he tends to falls short of those idealistic qualities. His semblance of a hero is quickly dismantled by his idiosyncrasies. This eventually leads to his downfall at the end of this short story due to his irrationality, physical traits, and lack of dexterity. The author, Washington Irving criticizes Ichabod Crane by using word choice, juxtaposition, and allusions to reveal that Crane is not the hero that the reader supposes he should be. Irving depicts Ichabod as gullible and naive because of his irrational belief in the supernatural, by using exaggerated diction. The author questions Ichabod’s rationality when he says, “How often thrown into complete dismay by some rushing blast, howling among the trees, in the idea that it was the Galloping Hessian on one of his nightly scourings!” (Irving 28). In this quote, Irving emphasizes Crane’s paranoia when he says he is “thrown into complete dismay”. Crane becomes…show more content… First, he characterizes Ichabod by using exaggerated diction as being gullible and naive because of his irrational belief in the supernatural. Next, he accentuates Brom Bones’ character to display the qualities a hero should have by using allusions. Finally, he juxtaposes Brom and Ichabod to reaffirm the inadequacy of Ichabod’s attributes as the protagonist which contradicts the reader’s normal expectation of the main character. Irving cites these instances to prove to the readers that the protagonist is not always the hero who displays the qualities of strength, valor, and good
