Answer:
In "Rip Van Winkle," Washington Irving describes Rip as “one of those happy mortals, of foolish, well-oiled dispositions, who take the world easy, eat white bread or brown, whichever can be got with least thought or trouble...” Irving uses a third-person omniscient point of view to tell the story. This point of view allows the author to give readers the private and intimate details about Rip’s life and character that would not have been discernible from any other point of view. For example, he describes Rip’s wife as constantly nagging him:
“… his wife kept continually dinning in his ears about his idleness, his carelessness, and the ruin he was bringing on his family.”
At the same time, Irving is able to distance himself from the story while dryly commenting on everything that happens. For example, he describes the villager’s reactions when Rip returns after many years:
“The by-standers began now to look at each other, nod, wink significantly, and tap their fingers against their foreheads. There was a whisper, also, about keeping the old fellow from doing mischief…”
If the story was told from the first person point of view (by the protagonist Rip), the readers would get intimate but inaccurate details about the story because it would be twisted by Rip’s biases. Through the third-person omniscient point of view, the author is able to make important commentary on American society.
