Free Joe and Other Georgian Sketches

Free Joe and Other Georgian Sketches

I grew up about twenty miles from where Mr. Harris did, in adjoining Jasper County, Georgia. It was about one hundred years later. The language was still about the same, and that’s one reason for my love of his writing. He captured the zing and the flutter of it so well.

Growing up, I knew little of his work except for Uncle Remus and his fabulous stories of Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox, Brer Bear, and the rest. One of my best memories is of Mamma coming by my school in Monticello to take us to Eatonton (Mr. Harris’ home town) to see an early release of the movie, “Song of the South.” It was based on a book that included a full range of Uncle Remus’ tales told to a young plantation boy.

The movie has since fallen out of favor because of its favorable treatment of plantation life and the plight of slaves. That flew over my third-grade mind in the 1940’s, however. And so it did over most of the nation at the time. The cartoons absorbed my mind, and entertained the public.

Mr. Harris lived in the time and place of slavery. He worked for a time on a plantation, and might have seen the the practice closely. My limited exposure, so far, to his writings indicate an understanding of the evil of the practice and sympathy for the slaves. He worked for organizations bent on a proper reconstruction of the nation after the war.

I look forward to reading more of Joel Chandler Harris’ writings, especially for his rendering of the language of the people around him, both black and white. It’s almost like hearing it, but not quite.

I’ve had the pleasure of living in several regions of these United States, and I’ve especially enjoyed hearing the several versions of our English language. From rural
Jasper County, GA; to Atlanta; to New Jersey/New York/Brooklyn; to Dallas, TX; to Chicago, IL; to Abilene, TX.