Brer Rabbit, Uncle Remus, and Song of the South: first musings might Splash Mountain, the Walt Disney World attraction, or the timeless tales published by Joel Chandler Harris. These stories are becoming lost in history, as political correctness has become imperative to culture today. Society and academics have censored Joel Chandler Harris’ works about Uncle Remus due to worries regarding his unintentional undermining of African American culture, his citation absences, and how his usage of the stories created a false illustration of slave life.
Joel Chandler Harris, born on December 9, 1848, began his life in Putnam County, Georgia. In 1862, he worked as a printing apprentice on a plantation where he began to hear slave tales (Bickley 13). …show more content…
“The child-hero is a symbol of purity and innocence” (Cunningham). “African trickster figures were more obsessed with manipulating the strong and reversing the normal structure of power and prestige” (Levine 105). “Their greatest point of departure was that human trickster stories were more restricted by the realities of the slaves’ situation” (Levine 131). Slave tales sometimes shared painfully real morals to slave children (Levine 115). “… Lessons embodied in the animal trickster tales ran directly counter to those of the moralistic tales considered earlier” (Levine 116). “These tales dealt with slaves and masters instead of rabbits and wolves and were in many respects more open and direct, slaves and freedmen guarded them more closely” (Levine 125).
“The life of every slave could be altered by the most arbitrary and amoral acts. They could be whipped, sexually assaulted, ripped out of societies in which they had deep roots, and bartered away for pecuniary profit by men and women who were also capable of treating them with kindness and consideration and who professed belief in a moral code which they held up for emulation not only by their children bit often by their slaves as well” (Levine …show more content…
“The tactics slaves resorted to in order to resist the compulsions of their situation would have been familiar enough to the creature of their animal tales” (Levine 122). “ Slaves have their code of honor, and their tricks of trade” (Levine 121). “Their conceptions of justice and right are not very different from those of white men. They say: ‘We do the work; we raise the corn and wheat; and part of it is justly ours’” (Levine 121). “A significant number of slaves lied, cheated, stole, feigned illness, and loafed” (Levine 122). “Many former slaves were completely candid about these behavior patterns and almost unanimous in defending” (Levine 122). “In these attitudes we can begin to perceive the mechanism that slaves erected to help reduce the tensions between their universal ideals and their worldly needs” (Levine 123). “Thus it was possible for slaves to rationalize their need to lie, cheat and steal… without creating… a counter mortality” (Levine
Joel Chandler Harris, born on December 9, 1848, began his life in Putnam County, Georgia. In 1862, he worked as a printing apprentice on a plantation where he began to hear slave tales (Bickley 13). …show more content…
“The child-hero is a symbol of purity and innocence” (Cunningham). “African trickster figures were more obsessed with manipulating the strong and reversing the normal structure of power and prestige” (Levine 105). “Their greatest point of departure was that human trickster stories were more restricted by the realities of the slaves’ situation” (Levine 131). Slave tales sometimes shared painfully real morals to slave children (Levine 115). “… Lessons embodied in the animal trickster tales ran directly counter to those of the moralistic tales considered earlier” (Levine 116). “These tales dealt with slaves and masters instead of rabbits and wolves and were in many respects more open and direct, slaves and freedmen guarded them more closely” (Levine 125).
“The life of every slave could be altered by the most arbitrary and amoral acts. They could be whipped, sexually assaulted, ripped out of societies in which they had deep roots, and bartered away for pecuniary profit by men and women who were also capable of treating them with kindness and consideration and who professed belief in a moral code which they held up for emulation not only by their children bit often by their slaves as well” (Levine …show more content…
“The tactics slaves resorted to in order to resist the compulsions of their situation would have been familiar enough to the creature of their animal tales” (Levine 122). “ Slaves have their code of honor, and their tricks of trade” (Levine 121). “Their conceptions of justice and right are not very different from those of white men. They say: ‘We do the work; we raise the corn and wheat; and part of it is justly ours’” (Levine 121). “A significant number of slaves lied, cheated, stole, feigned illness, and loafed” (Levine 122). “Many former slaves were completely candid about these behavior patterns and almost unanimous in defending” (Levine 122). “In these attitudes we can begin to perceive the mechanism that slaves erected to help reduce the tensions between their universal ideals and their worldly needs” (Levine 123). “Thus it was possible for slaves to rationalize their need to lie, cheat and steal… without creating… a counter mortality” (Levine