An Autobiographical View Of Washington Irving Essay

An Autobiographical View Of Washington Irving Essay, Research Paper An Autobiographical View of Washington Irving Today I am regarded as one of the first writers to represent an English style of writing throughout the world to gain universal recognition. For fifty years I charmed and instructed the American people and held first place in their affections. I became the first writer to lift American literature into the popular respect of Europe and was regarded as the chief representative of the American name in the world of letters. How did my life come to mean so much? Throughout my childhood my dreams of travelling spurred my interest for writing and noting down my subjective view of the world. This satirical and humorous point a view caught the attention of America and

Europe and my works began to be released in other languages in order to be universally understood. My writing has always been influenced by my voyages throughout Spain, France, England, and Italy. My literature also showed a better portrayal of America for Englishmen to better understand its possibilities. At times I may have struggled to find my true passion in life, and at times America might have been insincere to accept my writing, but in the end my literature left and indelible impression on the world today. My life started on April 3, 1783 in the city of New York (Trent 245). I was born into a family of eight older brothers and I was the youngest of eleven children (245). Although my family was large it had been one of the most respectable names in Scotland (246). My

parents then left their good origin to begin a life in America in humble circumstances (Warner and Irving 21). I will never forget how my parent s situation influenced how I was brought up. My father endeavored to bring us up in sound religious principles, and left no room in our lives for triviality (22). This cold and severe discipline would have been intolerable to an average family (22). As I reflect upon my childhood years I remember my father s futile struggle to awaken religious sensibility in us (23-24). I revolted from his teachings that seemed to regard everything that was pleasant as evil (24). My mother was one to stand opposite of father s discipline and was more gentle, intelligent, and loving towards the rest of her children (24). My brothers and sisters were

detracted from religion by my father s strict preaching; subsequently all of them became detached from the Episcopal Church as adults (24). As a young boy I was filled with curiosity and mischief, everything my father had tried to suppress (Warner and Irving 23). I finished school by the age of sixteen and then seemingly never found literature or study interesting (Trent 246). I found a passion in dreaming about the wonders of travel and the secrets of the world. I used to wander about the pier and watch the ships departing on long voyages, and dream of going to the ends of the earth (Warner and Irving 23). At seventeen my life was without a distinct direction. I dispassionately studied law for some time until I had found writing as a source of alternate escape (Roth 17). In 1802

I began submitting a series of letters to the Morning Chronicle which had become my first literary publications under the pseudonym of Jonathon Oldstyle (Warner and Washington 30). This publication foreshadowed the sensibility and quiet humor in my writing (30). Growing up had become difficult for me in part because of my poor health, at a young age I began suffering from a pulmonary disease (30). In my childhood, however, dreams of travel and curiosity of the world had been most important (26). At the age of nineteen my health started to deteriorate even more so and my brothers became determined to send me to Europe to explore the world (Trent 247). My brothers anxiety over my health proved to me how impaired and delicate I had become as I came of age (Warner and Irving 31).