Which tale features a man waking after a 20-year nap?

• A. The Great Carbuncle
• B. Mrs. Williams and the Lightning
• C. The Innocents Abroad
• D. Rip Van Winkle

Answer: (D)

The idea being tested is the impact of a literal, long sleep on a character and the world around him. In Rip Van Winkle, a man wanders into the Catskill Mountains, encounters a mysterious figure, and drifts into a deep slumber for twenty years. When he finally wakes, he finds that everything has changed: the American Revolution has occurred, people and customs have shifted, and his own life is now out of sync with the world he once knew. The tale uses this extended nap to explore themes about time, change, and identity, showing how life can move on even as an individual remains stationary.

The other options don’t center on waking after a long sleep: one follows a quest for a magical gem, another is a travelogue, and the last is a different kind of domestic or moral tale. So the long, transformative sleep is the key feature that makes Rip Van Winkle the correct choice.