Joel Chandler Harris is a well-known American folklorist, writer and journalist. He published a number of collections of fairy tales and stories for children, which were based on Negro folklore. Harris's stories have become incredibly popular with both white and black readers. They were called the greatest American work of folklore.
History of writing "Tales of Uncle Remus"
Before becoming famous, Joel Harris went a hard way. As a teenager, he had to work for food and clothing on the Ternwold plantation, where he spent four years. There, the boy heard many stories about animals from black slaves, and they served as the basis for his tales. Joe listened carefully and recorded them, realizing how great their significance was. In 1879, The History of Mr. Rabbit and Mr. Fox was published, as Uncle Remus told her. She became the first fable from the plantation. The book of fairy tales was published in 1880. In total, 185 works about forest dwellers, which were told on behalf of Uncle Rimus to a little listener, Joel, were released from the writer's pen. Harris's tales are different from the traditional ones we are used to. For foreign and North American readers, his works became a real revelation, and they were intended not only for children, but also for adults.
Heroes of the stories of Joel Harris
The main character of Harris' tales is the trickster Brother Bunny, he uses his cunning mind and resourcefulness to overcome the troubles that his enemies create for him, of which there are plenty of them in the forest. This is Brother Wolf, and Brother Bear, and, of course, the treacherous Brother Fox. Also in the works there are also good characters, whom Brother Rabbit helps in difficult situations. Indeed, as in most of the stories of the world, in the tales of Joel Harris, good, friendship and mutual assistance defeat meanness and evil.