Title: The Complete Tales of Uncle Remus
Author: Joel Chandler Harris, The Collective Memory of Africa and the Cherokee Indians
File Under: Folk Tales, Storytelling, Historical Memory, Humor
Age Group: All Ages
Uncle Remus stories are a national treasure. They are best when told, though. So don't be daunted by this collection, in which you will need to plow through a bunch of that transliterated kind of dialogue where your eyes glaze over… unless you persevere. It's worth it. Soon you will get it. And the joy of the language will come through!
Brer Rabbit is a crafty character who gives hope to oppressed people everywhere — including that class of the particular downtrodden known as children — those who can only survive by their wiles. Of course, he arises out of the slave culture (with that uniquely American mixture of strains of Africa and the Cherokee). He figures things out for himself, and when we tell our children these stories, we are giving them tacit permission to use their wits to survive our mistakes (which we hope do not sink to the level of crimes against humanity, and believe me, I do not make light of those) as well.
Remember, we are not in the business of literature and culture in order to emerge from every interaction with a pat moral tucked under our arm. (If we must have that kind of thing, make it Aesop's Fables. And note that the ambiguities of Uncle Remus' tales are also smoothed over by recourse to the animal kingdom.) Life is complicated. Sometimes it's just about one-upping the power-hungry guy on top — as long as you are clever about it!
The best thing is to find your favorites and study them in this volume. Try committing them to memory and telling, rather than reading, them to your children at bedtime. This is a great activity for dads or even granddads. The art of storytelling ought to be revived in our homes, and if in the process we transmit a bit of our own cultural heritage in this country as well, that is all to the good. Auntie Leila worries that the PC police will eradicate certain stories altogether, on the grounds that irony is ultimately altogether too subversive to… themselves.
This particular volume has a glossary at the end, which will really help. Don't forget that the objectionable “N” word stems from a pronunciation of the word “Negro.” Thus, you can elide a bit in the telling. And elude the sad fate of uttering it. However, don't fear it to the point that your children have simply never thought about it, or the reasons for not using it. Don't forget that bimby is “Bye and bye” — (not bim-bee)– and “jowerin' and confabbin'” is jawing and confabbing — just standing around and talking to no particular purpose. Et cetera.
The stories (with the illustrations) are actually online as well.
Theresa @ My Jesse Tree says
I really like the idea of keeping alive the tradition of storytelling 🙂 I tend to rewrite some of our stories books at home to improve the story… especially if I’m not a huge fan of the story, but love the illustrations.
Melissa Diskin says
…And If you’re ever in Atlanta, you can also drop by JCH’s house (recently restored), the Wren’s Nest: http://www.wrensnest.org.
Ginger says
I will pick up the book again….bimbee it will probably be a family favorite. I didn’t think about telling the stories, just reading them to the kids.
Thanks,
Ginger