When Rip awakes from his nap in the story, “Rip Van Winkle,” his dog is missing and he feels a touch of rheumatism. When he returns to town, he finds everything suddenly changed, and only when the villagers point out his long beard does he begin to realize what has happened. Assume that the story follows Rip’s perspective in order to let the reader feel the suddenness of these changes along with him. What seems most different for Rip? What does the story have to say about the changes in America from the beginning to the end of the tale?