When Rip awakens after a twenty-year sleep, he is unaware of how much the world around him has changed. When Rip comes to town, the only thing he worries about is the lecture he will receive from Dame "he was afraid to meet his wife" (Irving 86). Rip arrives in town shocked to find the image of King George III replaced by George Washington. As Rip proceeds through the neighborhood he once knew, he becomes confused and unable to understand the current government he lives under, to the point that he is baffled when the townspeople ask him "which side did he vote for?". ” (Irving 89). Although there were still many Loyalists around at the time of Rips' revival, “The Revolution awakened the fire in the American spirit and the citizens came alive with the anticipation of their new government” (Freeman). Rip must now adapt to these patriotic