View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by eGrove (Univ. of Mississippi) Studies in English, New Series Volume 9 Article 7 1-1-1991 The Irving Influence in the Snopes rilogyT Clyde Wade University of Missouri-Rolla Follow this and additional works at: https://egrove.olemiss.edu/studies_eng_new Part of the American Literature Commons Recommended Citation Wade, Clyde (1991) "The Irving Influence in the Snopes rilogyT ," Studies in English, New Series: Vol. 9 , Article 7. Available at: https://egrove.olemiss.edu/studies_eng_new/vol9/iss1/7 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the English at eGrove. It has been accepted for inclusion in Studies in English, New Series by an authorized editor of eGrove. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Wade: Irving Influence in Snopes Trilogy THE IRVING INFLUENCE IN THE SNOPES TRILOGY Clyde Wade University of Missouri-Rolla At the crest of the tremendous flood of popular, critical, and scholarly tribute that poured forth to celebrate Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in its centennial year, John Gerber strove to estimate the worth of that book as a quintessential archetype of American fiction. He initiated the effort with this comparison: “The trip down the Mississippi River on a raft has become legendary, and like Rip Van Winkle the main characters have become firmly fixed in the public consciousness.”1 It is appropriate that Gerber should strive to determine the importance of Huck’s story according to that of Rip, for one can scarcely say which character or narrative has the firmer hold upon the American imagination.