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Reading Notes: Brer Rabbit Part B

For the second half of this week's reading, the adventures of Brer Rabbit continued. In this part more Brer animals were introduced and the storyline continued following their lives and the situations they got themselves into.

After reading this section, it made me think about the representation of the trickster, or the character that outsmarts the others, within the African-American culture. Basically, Brer Rabbit just plays upon the gullibility of Brer Fox, and uses this to his advantage. I think Brer Rabbit is representative of how the African-Americans believed they could outsmart the larger, and though to be more powerful white people, represented by Brer Fox. I think by telling these stories and by passing them down by word of mouth it gave hope and joy to the children and gave them the mindset of wanting to be powerful even though they were oppressed.

I really enjoyed the story where Brer Rabbit tricks Brer Fox into getting him out of the well. Beer Rabbit finds himself in a tricky situation and he doesn't know how to get out. He realizes that he needs help but then realizes how he can outsmart Brer Fox into getting him out. He knew that if he directly asked for help, Brer Fox would deny it, so he thinks of a way to use the larger weight of the fox's body to allow his smaller body to rise back out of the well.

The very last section was also interesting, the Plantation Proverbs. I think this is the best direct representation of what the African Americans thought about their world, again using animals as the representation of others in their lives. I think that this line "Watch out w'en you'er gittin all you want. Fattenin' hogs ain't in luck" is representative of how the people who oppressed them got all that they wanted, but that they should watch out because they are really just becoming fat hogs and their luck will eventually run out.

Bibliography: African-America Folklore, Brer Rabbit, Joel Chandler Harris


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