[Author’s Name]
[Institution’s Name]
Essay on Br'er Fox and Br'er Rabbit
How Mr. Rabbit Was Too Sharp For Mr. Fox" follows from "The Wonderful Tar-Baby Story" with Brer Rabbit trapped in the sticky substance of the Tar-Baby. With Brer Rabbit trapped, Brer Fox recounts the history of his affronts to the animal community. He recalls Brer Rabbit's impertinence, proud nature, and meddling curiosity:
"You bin runnin' roun' here sassin' atter me a mighty long time,
but I speck you done come ter de een' er de row. You bin cuttin' up yo' capers en bouncin' 'roun' in dis naberhood ontwel you come ter b'lieve yo'se'f de boss er de whole gang."
This passage identifies the fundamental dynamic of Brer Fox's relationship with Brer Rabbit--a struggle for dominance and oppressed. Although Harris insisted that his documentation of these plantation narratives was solely for the purpose of preserving this tradition of the Old South for future generations, there is an element of social commentary in the tales themselves. The struggle for dominance in the animal kingdom neatly parallels the struggle for social superiority in the antebellum and Reconstruction-era South (Julius, 1999).
The most obvious evidence is the contrast between Brier Rabbit and Br’er Bear. Br’er Bear can be best equated to a slave who has been raised to the position of an overseer, and Br’er Rabbit is the one slave that stands out above the rest.
Their "relationship” is that of Bear trying to enforce his 'power' on the other smaller animals. Being that Br’er Bear is dumber than the other animals, he is easily confused and outwitted by the same tactic. Br’er Rabbit on the other hand is the "cunning slave". Br’er Rabbit constantly outwits Bear with the same plea, which is the same as the slave asking for the easiest punishment not to be rendered, knowing that it will be given because it seems to be the hardest to the punishers......
