What is the point of "Rip Van Winkle"? Is it only a funny story or is there something else going on?

This is a very good question to ask, for as much as we
enjoy the account of this tale and the poor hen-pecked Rip Van Winkle who is forced to
escape his wife by running off to the woods and helps everybody else except his own
family, some critics have argued that the way in which Rip Van Winkle goes to sleep
before the American Revolution and wakes up after it suggests that this story somehow
comments upon the Revolution. Such critics point towards the way in which the village is
shown to have been changed by these momentous events and also how it is not actually
presented as being that different after all.

Clearly, the
passing of time has brought some changes, such as in the new faces and the new style of
dress which Rip is not "accustomed" to. In addition, the "village was altered" in terms
of its size and prosperity, having grown in both during his enchanted sleep. The
presentation of the people of this village is likewise
altered:

The very character of the people seemed changed.
There was a busy, bustling, disputatious tone about it, instead of the accustomed phlegm
and drowsy tranquility.

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In particular, the men at the inn seem to be very
interested in politics and talking about contemporary
debates.

However, in spite of
these changes, some critics argue that the emphasis is placed on how the intervening
years have not actually changed the village and Rip's life. The inn has the same face on
its sign, although some changes have been made to overtly alter the
portrait:

The
red coat was changed for one of blue and buff, a sword was held in the hand instead of a
sceptre, the head was decorated with a cocked
hat...

The sign says that the
portrait is of "General Washington," yet the superficial changes make us question
whether this historical change has actually made any lasting difference. Rip is shown to
re-enter his old life very swiftly, relieved at the loss of his wife, and quickly enters
the social life of the village and the inn. We are told that "the chagnes of states and
empires made but little impression on him," but he is far more interested in the way in
which the death of his wife impacts his life. Thus through this story Irving seems to be
pointing towards the way in which the American Revolution did not actually change that
much after all.