Les transformations d’un conte : de Leuk-le lièvre à Brer Rabbit

This chapter examines African American folktales that teach the importance of strategic thinking and argues that they informed the tactics of the 1960s civil rights movement. It analyzes a number of stories where characters who do not think strategically are mocked and punished by events while revered figures skillfully anticipate others' future actions. It starts with the tale of a new slave who asks his master why he does nothing while the slave has to work all the time, even as he demonstrates his own strategic understanding. It then considers the tale of Brer Rabbit and the Tar Baby, along with “Malitis,” which tackles the problem of how the slaves could keep the meat and eat it openly. These and other folktales teach how inferiors can exploit the cluelessness of status-obsessed superiors, a strategy that can come in handy. The chapter also discusses the real-world applications of these folktales' insights.

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Brer Rabbit

Encyclopedia of Deception ◽

10.4135/9781483306902.n40 ◽

2014 ◽

Author(s):

Robert Westerfelhaus

Keyword(s):

Brer Rabbit

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A Brer Rabbit Story

Journal of American Folklore ◽

10.2307/535083 ◽

1919 ◽

Vol 32 (125) ◽

pp. 443

Author(s):

Emily N. Harvey

Keyword(s):

Brer Rabbit

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Book Review: American Myths, Legends, and Tall Tales: An Encyclopedia of American Folklore

Reference & User Services Quarterly ◽

10.5860/rusq.56n3.215a ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 56 (3) ◽

pp. 215

Author(s):

Jennifer A. Bartlett

Keyword(s):

Mass Media ◽

Science Fiction ◽

American Culture ◽

Historical Events ◽

Conspiracy Theories ◽

American Myths ◽

John Lennon ◽

American Folklore ◽

Brer Rabbit

Compilations of American folklore are constantly being rewritten to reflect the increasing diversity and variety of American culture. Many readers grew up with Benjamin Botkin’s classic collection A Treasury of American Folklore (Crown 1944), which featured a foreword written by Carl Sandburg and stories about Pecos Bill, Johnny Appleseed, Brer Rabbit and other popular myths, legends, and tall tales. Today, new legends are entering the folklore lexicon to reflect the influence of urban myths, historical events, science fiction, conspiracy theories, and mass media. This three-volume set offers a fascinating look at both traditional and newer folklore, including “Internet Hoaxes,” the “John Lennon shooting,” “Roswell,” and “Slender Man.”

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