To be honest, I'm glad I stumbled upon a unit based in dialect. This week, I'm reading the Brer Rabbit I Unit.
Brer Rabbit and the Calamus Root: Wow, this is a greater challenge than I expected. The dialect is fantastic, and I'm already considering trying my hand at dialect with my Storytelling post this week. In any case, the narrator seems to delight in Brer Rabbit's cunning.
The Wonderful Tar-Baby Story: These stories seem to end very quickly, and I wonder if it reflects the storytelling culture back then in regard to narrative structure. Then again, maybe it reflects how the endings of some stories are forgotten.
How Mr. Rabbit Was Too Sharp for Mr. Fox: I enjoy the back-and-forth between Mr. Fox and Mr. Rabbit when it comes to who possesses the upper hand. These stories seem to have a way to allow the characters to save face. For Brer Rabbit, he was able to avoid death through his cleverness even though he put himself in that situation to begin with.
Mr. Wolf Makes a Failure: I think that Brer Rabbit's strategy to fool Brer Fox has been to beguile him into believing a lie. With the Tar-Baby, the lie was that Brer Rabbit's worst nightmare was the brier-patch. With Brer Fox's feigned death, Brer Rabbit made him believe that his act needed some extra pizzaz.
The Awful Fate of Mr. Wolf: This story is surprisingly morbid considering that Brer Rabbit kills Brer Wolf in front of his own children. Not to mention, death by scalding water doesn't seem to be a fun way to die. I must note, however, that Brer Rabbit's trickery comes in the form of lying once again in this story.
Old Mr. Rabbit, He's a Good Fisherman: I'm starting to feel bad for Brer Fox. He didn't necessarily do anything to Brer Rabbit in this story, but he still pays the price in order for Brer Rabbit to get out of a sticky situation. I wonder if it's destiny that Brer Rabbit will always regain the upper hand.
Mr. Rabbit Meets His Match Again: The pattern here in the series of stories seems to be one in which Brer Rabbit becomes prideful in a way and then is humbled by his own fault. I also notice how the farm labor in the story reflects sharecropping of the time.
Mr. Terrapin Shows His Strength: I get the sense that this story was intended to show children that they should have respect for their elders. In any case, it's clearly a situation of brain winning over brawn. Still, I love the dialogue. My favorite excerpt is: "bless grashus!"
Plantation Proverbs: What a cool way to end a unit! I think some of my favorites are "Possum's tail good as a paw," "Don't fling away the empty wallet," and "De howlin' dog know w'at he sees."
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