How mr rabbit was too sharp for mr fox

15 March 2018

The Wonderful Tar Baby Stories

The Wonderful Tar Baby stories by Joel Chandler Harris are among the most popular tales of Uncle Remus. Harris was born and raised in Eatonton Georgia, he was an illegitimate child, and his mom was an Irish immigrant. He lived and studied in the turnwold plantation. He spent most of his time in the slave quarters, he had something in common with them because he was Irish and He was less self-conscious there and felt his humble background as an illegitimate. The tar baby story was obtained from West African folklore. It had become a fundamental part of the African American oral tradition by the time Harris heard it while growing up on the turnwold plantation. Uncle Remus is a fictional character in a collection of African American folktales that were adapted by Joel Chandler Harris. The Tar baby stories were published in the 1880’s, and they took place in the slave era, the era that led to the end of the civil war. These stories are fables, and they have a hidden message that is displayed throughout them. Harris shows the relationship between Brer Fox and Brer Rabbit, and they represent two historical sides in the American nation.

The Tar Baby Stories took place in the Antebellum era, where black people were used as slaves. After the union soldiers took over the plantation Joel Chandler Harris lived with a poor family and he spent most of his time in the slave quarters. He witnessed the miserable life that they were living, and that led him to write the Wonderful Tar Baby stories. Harris used the characters to describe the reality and the true facts about slavery and the combat between the north and the south. Uncle Remus is an old a slave for the owner of the plantation. He tells stories to the little boy, who is the son of the owner of the plantation. The the little boy is well educated, white, and he speaks proper english. We can see that in story when the little boy asks Uncle Remus "did the fox kill and eat the rabbit when he caught him with the Tar-Baby?"(par.1). While Uncle Remus seems to be uneducated because of the way he speaks. "Law, honey, ain't I tell you 'bout dat?"(par.1).

Each one of the characters in these stories plays a significant role. I believe that Brer Rabbit represents the south, he represents the enslaved African Americans who used their wits to overcome the abuse that they experienced from the north. The rabbit is a trickster, according to the TeacherServe website “tricksters are animals or characters who, while ostensibly disadvantaged and weak in a contest of wills, power, and/or resources, succeed in getting the best of their larger, more powerful adversaries. Tricksters achieve their objectives through indirection and mask-wearing, through playing upon the gullibility of their opponents. In other words, tricksters succeed by outsmarting or outthinking their opponents.” For instance, in the story “How Mr. Rabbit Was Too Sharp For Mr. Fox” Harris states “'Skin me, Brer Fox,' sez Brer Rabbit, sezee, 'snatch out my eyeballs, t'ar out my yeras by de roots, en cut off my legs,' sezee, 'but do please, Brer Fox, don't fling me in dat brier-patch,' sezee.” (par.11). Harris shows how the rabbit plays the fox and uses his wit to convince him to put him in the brier patch so he can escape. Nevertheless, the brier patch is the slave quarters, because the condition there is tragic, but the people from the south were used to it, because they were forced to live in it after the union soldiers came and took over their land. Similarly, the rabbit is known to be the only animal who can survive the brier patch. So he made the fox think that he was scared from the brier patch, and he convinced the fox to throw him in it so he can escape. As shown in the story the rabbit tells the fox “‘Bred en bawn in a brier-patch, Brer Fox--bred en bawn in a brier-patch!’”(par.13).

On the other hand, I believe that Brer Fox represents the north and the union soldiers who took over the plantation. They came in and took over the plantation, and made the people who worked there lose their jobs. Not only that but also they made them suffer and live with poor families. Just like they made Harris lose his job in the Turnwold plantation, so he had to go and live with a poor family. Likewise the fox, he didn’t care about his hunger. All he wanted was to make the rabbit suffer. Because the rabbit always bossed everyone. And we can see that in the story when the rabbit says to the fox "'Skin me, Brer Fox,' sez Brer Rabbit, sezee, 'snatch out my eyeballs, t'ar out my yeras by de roots, en cut off my legs,' sezee, 'but do please, Brer Fox, don't fling me in dat brier-patch,' sezee. Co'se Brer Fox wnater hurt Brer Rabbit bad ez he kin, so he cotch 'im by de behime legs en slung 'im right in de middle er de brierpatch"'(par.11,12).

The meaning of a tar baby is a sticky situation. In this story the tar baby is a symbol for slavery and civil war, the rabbit got stuck in it and he couldn’t get out of it. Just like what happened with the people from the south, they got stuck in slavery and the war with the north and they couldn’t get out of it for many years. But they were able to survive, they went back from the fields and they sang and drank to keep their spirits up from the abuse they experienced in the fields. That is how the rabbit survived from the fox, and freed himself from the tar baby.

Prompt:

Stories: “The Wonderful Tar Baby Story” and “How Mr. Rabbit was too Sharp for Mr. Fox”. By Joel Chandler Harris.

For the second part (2 pages): I would like you to assert the place the stories of Joel Chandler Harris have in American literature. The collection – originally published in 1880 – was first received as a literary triumph, being so well received that President Roosevelt himself thought the stories served, “...to bring our people closer together...[Harris’] art is not only an art addition to our sum of national achievement, but it has also always been an addition to the forces that tell for decency...” However, as decades passed, critics began to blast Harris’ collection as a blemish on American literature that only sought to exploit the culture of African Americans. With that, explore the questions: Is Harris’ work worthy of praise? Do these stories, “...bring our people closer together...”? Where should Harris’ work fall in American literature? This second section of your essay requires both examples from the stories as well as one researched article from the MVC library database as it will serve to aid your argument. This essay should be 5 full pages in length in MLA format with a work-cited page.