rip van wrinkle by washington irving

I'm not completely sure I understand your question. Although the story is a work of fiction, Rip Van Winkle,” one of the most famous of the sketches, tells the story of an indolent but good-natured Dutch-American from pre-Revolutionary War New York. 

When Van Winkle returns to the village, he finds history has happened without him. The inn where he used to meet his friends has disappeared, and where there used to be a picture of George III there is now one of a certain George Washington. The new group of people at the new hotel there is full of completely different people, and their discussions are more argumentative than he remembers. The crowd asks him questions, especially about what political party he belongs to. He is confused and says he is still a loyal subject of the king. They declare him a traitor and a Tory. When he says he has just come looking for his friends, they tell him that Nicholaus Vedder has been dead for eighteen years and Van Bummel is now in Congress.