The Br'er Rabbit Stories
The Br'er Rabbit stories are the fictional creations of the plantation
slaves in the south. They were told and passed down orally, in secret,
by the elder slaves to the younger slaves not only for entertainment
value, but also to keep the vitality of the slave community and culture
alive. The stories had hidden meanings about how slaves were
really smarter and trickier than their owners, and that even though
the owners had physical power over the slaves, the slaves were able
to survive because of their cunning and cleverness. Many of the
stories were also linked to the slaves' background in Africa and
Europe, and to religion, which represented a common culture. They
helped to provide a link between the illiterate slaves of the south, a
link which constituted an important part of slave culture in that it
provided a kind of mental support.
Br'er Rabbit represented something for the slaves to identify with -
he was an animal who was on the lower level of the animal
hierarchy of strength, and therefore relied on his own wit and
cunning to survive, rather than on physical strength and force. The
stories display Br'er Rabbit's intelligence over other animals such as
Br'er Fox and Br'er Bear, who are higher up on the animal totem-
pole. The stories represented slave life on the plantation, and
created a way for the slaves to make fun of their masters and other
white people in secrecy. They represented a large part of slave
culture.
These six stories are part of a broad cultural set of stories,
songs, and traditions that the slaves created for themselves. Because
the slaves were so far from home, with no way to return, they had to
fashion a society for themselves on the plantations. Thus they
created their own music, stories, dance, poetry, and mythology.
These stories represent part of this collective culture. Their meaning
and playfulness are also a chance for the slaves to subvert their
masters and to find fun in their depressing existence. They are
important to us in that we can appreciate the thinking of slaves from
that period and gain insight into the way people were thinking at
that time.
Perhaps the best known of the Br'er Rabbit stories is "The
Wonderful Tar Baby Story." In this story, Br'er Fox comes up with
the plan of making a tar baby to try to trap Br'er Rabbit. He places
the tar baby in the middle of the road, and hides behind some bushes
to wait for Br'er Rabbit to come. When Br'er Rabbit comes, he tries
to talk to the tar baby, but the tar baby does not respond. Br'er
Rabbit starts to get angry, accuses the tar baby of not being
"respectable" towards him, and warns to use force if the tar baby
does not take off his hat and greet him appropriately. Of course, the
tar baby does not respond, so Br'er Rabbit proceeds to hit and kick
the tar baby until he himself is entangled in the tar, and thus at the
mercy of Br'er Fox.
This story suggests that Br'er Rabbit has dual sides as both the
victim and the aggressor. He also has a prideful nature as is shown
when he refers to himself as "respectable" in comparison towards the
tar baby. As racial and moral characterization is a big part of the
Br'er Rabbit stories, the relationship between Br'er Rabbit and the
tar baby may represent the subtleties of race relations, in which the
tar baby is like a Sambo - an uneducated slave who is mentally bound
to slavery as well as physically bound - the ideal creation of Br'er
Fox, who represents the slave owner. This also poses the question of
who is the dominant and who is the subordinate. Although Br'er
Rabbit thought himself higher in the social order than the tar baby,
when he gets stuck in the tar, he is at the mercy of the tar baby and its
creator, Br'er Fox. This represents a warning for what happens
when a position of authority is assumed by a slave in a society where
it is not permitted. This tale functions as a commentary of plantation
culture in regards to the conflicts between the slave and the master,
and between the slaves themselves.
The sequel of the tar baby story is "How Mr. Rabbit Was Too
Sharp for Mr. Fox." With Br'er Rabbit entangled in the tar baby, it
would seem that he is at the complete mercy of Br'er Fox. Br'er Fox
wants to kill Br'er Rabbit in the way which would be most painful
and fearful, and suggests barbecuing, hanging, drowning, or even
skinning Br'er Rabbit. But Br'er Rabbit insists that nothing would be
worse than to be thrown into the brier-patch, so Br'er Fox throws
him into the brier-patch, only to realize too late that the brier-patch
is Br'er Rabbit's home. "Bred en bawn in a brier-patch!" he yells
tauntingly at Br'er Fox.
The combination of these two stories displays Br'er Rabbit's
impudence, proud nature, curiosity, and cunning. Br'er Rabbit is
ultimately portrayed as smarter and trickier than Br'er Fox - even
though Br'er Fox thinks that he himself is smarter - because Br'er
Rabbit gets away unharmed. This represents the struggle between
dominance and subordination, which is a parallel between the
animals in the stories, and the slaves and masters in real life.
Keeping in mind that these stories were told during the pre-war era,
they also displayed a rising social instability in that whites were now
worried about rebellions and the decline of the Sambo. The slaves
were aware of the changing times, so this story represented
something for the slaves to look forward to for their own lives.
"Bred en bawn in a brier-patch," means that Br'er Rabbit is from
there and is more comfortable there than anywhere else, much to
Br'er Fox's dismay. It symbolizes his escape to sanctuary, and
represents the slaves' hopes of the future.
In "How Miss Cow Fell Victim to Mr. Rabbit," Br'er Rabbit is
weak with thirst, and would like to get some milk from Sis Cow, but
knows that she won't give it to him. So he flatters her and coaxes
her into butting a tree with her horns to get the fruit to fall down.
When she gets her horns stuck in the tree - just as Br'er Rabbit
planned - instead of taking just enough milk to quench his thirst,
Br'er Rabbit gets his entire family to come with pails and to milk Sis
Cow dry. When Sis Cow finally breaks free from the tree, she asks
her husband Br'er Bull to help her catch Br'er Rabbit, but he fools
them and escapes once again.
In this story, Sis Cow represents a white woman, of sorts, who
does not have to work very hard, yet still has enough food to sustain
herself and her family. In contrast, Br'er Rabbit works hard, yet still
has difficulties in providing for his large family. This comparison
creates the issue between the material wealth of the whites and the
economic oppression of the blacks. This story also shows how Br'er
Rabbit represents the universal black, in that he is sometimes
depicted as a slave, and sometimes as a free man - the latter of which
he is in this story. And again, Br'er Rabbit is given multiple traits,
such as being needy, tricky, greedy, sly, caring, tough, and feeble,
because he has trouble supporting his family, cares about his family,
tricks Sis Cow for purely self-concerned reasons, and then gets away
with it unharmed. This story represents the frustrations and
struggles blacks underwent constantly in their daily lives, and the
common way to deal with such things as hunger, which was simply
to steal from underneath the white people's noses. Depicting their
needy situation in an entertaining sort of manner enabled the slaves
to relieve some of their daily pressures.
In, "Old Mr. Rabbit, He's a Good Fisherman," Br'er Rabbit,
Br'er Fox, Br'er Coon, and Br'er Bear are all working in the fields,
when Br'er Rabbit decides that he's tired and wants to take a rest.
He makes an excuse and finds a well with a very inviting bucket
hanging from it. He jumps in, and the bucket drops straight down
into the dark water below. Br'er Rabbit is scared, and it seems there
is no way out, so he resorts to praying to God. Meanwhile, Br'er
Fox has been following Br'er Rabbit and assumes that Br'er Rabbit is
stashing money or gold in the well. When Br'er Fox calls down the
well to Br'er Rabbit, Br'er Rabbit tells Br'er Fox that he's fishing for
dinner, and that Br'er Fox should come down and have look. When
Br'er Fox climbs into the bucket up top, his greater weight causes
Br'er Rabbits bucket to go back up as Br'er Fox goes down, and thus,
Br'er Rabbit tricks Br'er Fox yet again.
This story creates a moral lesson to children about what comes
of being lazy or being too interested in other people's business. This
lesson is taught by showing the interaction between the animals,
which directly relates to the interaction between the slave and the
master in the field. It stands as a lesson for those who are lazy and
do not want to work, but it also mocks the stereotype that slaves are
lazy, because Br'er Fox is the one who ultimately gets in trouble.
Br'er fox is the nosy master who is excessively concerned with the
daily affairs of his slaves, and so his foolishness is what gets him in
trouble. In trying not to be outsmarted by Br'er Rabbit, he ultimately
is. Religion is also introduced in this story, as Br'er Rabbit prays to
God when he is stuck in the well, which represents how the slaves
embraced Christianity and God as a hope for salvation. This is also
in mockery of the masters, because they get in trouble when they
meddle in the slaves' affairs. This tale represents how the slaves
thought themselves smarter and more cunning than their masters,
but were forced to use these characteristics in a submissive manner,
meaning discreet and behind their masters' backs. It also displays the
strength of their faith in God to save them, because directly after
Br'er Rabbit gets stuck in the well and prays to God for help, Br'er
Fox comes to the well so that Br'er Rabbit can trick him and save
himself.
In, "A Story About the Little Rabbits," the little rabbits are home
alone one day, when Br'er Fox gets into the house. He decides that
before he kills them, he's going to give them a "chance" to save
themselves and earn their freedom, by giving them tasks to complete
which are nearly impossible. The little rabbits solve and complete
each task with the help of a little bird who sings the answers to them,
and thus hold off their deaths until Br'er Rabbit returns home and is
able to protect them.
This story encourages the young to respect and obey their
superiors, meaning their elders and God. Yet although it promotes
good behavior, it is mainly the representation of the generational
struggle which exists as a part of the overall conflicts between blacks
and whites. This generational struggle is displayed by the conflict
between Br'er Fox and the little rabbits. Br'er Fox tries to demean
the little rabbits, to "break" them in a sense, so that they are not quite
so vivacious and carefree. He wants solely to use them for his
benefit, whether it be entertainment or work, and thus turn them into
the stereotypical Sambo. This story also includes religion in that the
little bird probably represents an angel of God because it has wings
and is free, or even God himself. The little bird is what saves the
little rabbits because they listen to it, which represents the slave
embrace of Christianity and the belief that God will save them from
danger. When Br'er Rabbit returns home, he represents the
importance of the unity of the family, in marking the point at which
the little rabbits are free from danger. This tale displays how adults
were not the only victims of the abusiveness of slavery; children were
as well. But faith in God enabled them to believe that they would be
saved.
"Why the Negro is Black" is a slightly different type of story, in
that it does not include any of the Br'er Rabbit characters. It suggests
that once upon a time, all people were black, but then some people
found a magical pond, which turned the people who went in it white.
The explanation for mulattos and Asian people was that they only
dipped parts of their bodies into the pond. But the pond ran dry
before everyone could use it, leaving some people black, and thus
creating many different races among the once similarly colored
people.
This story goes against the traditional theory of origin and
belief in the existence of biological inferiority, and makes fun of the
Christian belief that everyone was created white and evolved from
there. It suggests a hope that because all people were once unified,
one day they might be again, and shows that the slaves would not
just accept subordination and believe the white people's theories.
The slaves believed that their race was the original and dominant
race, and would one day return to that status.
These stories provided the slaves with a way to vent their
frustrations with their lives and create happy endings to solve their
problems. Their belief that they were actually smarter than their
masters created a more positive outlook on their situations. The
slaves embraced Christianity and God because their own religions
from back home did not seem to have the power to save them from
slavery. They believed that their children would be saved by the help
of God and by their own natural intelligence. They looked to the
children to mark the beginning of the end of bondage. Unity of the
family was of key importance to the slaves, because they understood
that they would accomplish nothing in their fight for freedom if they
did not work together. Even so, they were still able to create their
own social hierarchy within their plantation communities, by
differentiating between the slave who was only physically bound,
and the Sambo, who was mentally bound as well. In all of these
stories though, the master never has the upper-hand for long, before
the slave gets away with minimal harm. This recurring event in the
stories suggests that the slaves will keep tricking their masters and
escaping from harm until eventually, they will get away for good.