Please note, these reviews are written in the vernacular and with the implicit biases of their era. Such practices! In Florida she documented some seventy folktales, while in New Orleans, she documented voodoo traditions and other stories. With a financial backer and an idea of where she wants to travel, she sets out to do just that. . View Wikipedia Entries for Mules and Men…. She was not wholly satisfied with Dr. Melville J. Herskovits’ report in “Life in a Haitian Valley,” especially in its incomplete treatment of voodoo. Miss Hurston went to sources for her hoodoo material. Mules and Men is partly an anthology of folktales and the common theme of the "Stranger" in a community is seen throughout. . Mules and Men. Through these two folktales, the reader can determine some of the characteristics of the typical folktale hero. . Although the other men joke with Julius because he is so young, Julius responds with an excellent tale, “Ah’ll Beatcher Makin’ Money,” which is applauded by everyone. She received funding for her to conduct this research in person, so she started visiting places. Mules and Men study guide contains a biography of Zora Neale Hurston, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. You need to become an accepted member of the group. Sites like SparkNotes with a Mules and Men study guide or cliff notes. What themes are in the story about the man's daughter writing a letter? . But very few of us, because we are white, really break through the crust and learn what it all is about. 109, No. You can help us out by revising, improving and updating Zora Neale Hurston, whose Jonah’s Gourd Vine is a book among hundreds, is a Negro and apparently lacks the sad feeling of contempt which seizes a good many of her race when confronted with Negroes who have had fewer “advantages” than herself. . © 2020 eNotes.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The first half of this book is amassed in Florida. Underscoring the traditional subversive role of African American folklore, she highlights the continuing role folktales play in Black people’s struggles with economic and racial oppression. In this quote, Hurston suggests that African Americans have to always be aware of how much of themselves they reveal to the white man. If she had brought to her accounts of the folk mysteries, the same degree of specification she employed in her chapter on curry goat, the preparation of young girls for marriage, Miss Hurston would probably have said the last word on voodoo. Also includes sites with a short overview, synopsis, book report, or summary of Zora Neale Hurston’s Mules and Men. In her inimitable style, Zora described how she delved into the field of ethnography: “When I pitched headforemost into the world I landed in the crib of negroism. They “know quite well and acknowledge privately,” she says, “that voodoo is a harmless pagan cult that sacrifices domestic animals at its worst. She has seen what she describes — unlike certain returned “adventures” from Haiti and such places. You might also like: Every Tongue Got to Confess . . Hurston has already mentioned this folk-hero in her introduction when she reminisces about her own childhood. Hurston also details the function of folklore in conflicts between Black men and Black women, showing both how men use folktales to reinforce and legitimate oppression of women and how women use them to fight against a subservient role and to assert their power.”. And she seems to have added a subtitle, “Voodoo and Life in Haiti and Jamaica,” to embrace those chapters where she departs widely from her primary subject. The real charm of this collection is in Hurston's reverence for the culture. It is notable that the only zombie she ever saw happened to be non-typical in that it could speak. The focus of the chapter are the tales “How Jack Beat the Devil” and “Ah’ll Beatcher Makin’ Money,” which has a protagonist named John who is essentially the same type of character as Jack in African-American folklore. . ), Conflict and Resistance in Zora Neale Hurston’s Mules and Men, Multiple Mediations in Zora Neale Hurston’s Mules and Men, How Alice Walker Rediscovered Zora Neale Hurston, Dust Tracks on a Road by Zora Neale Hurston (1942), The Gilded Six-Bits by Zora Neale Hurston (1933) – Full Text, Books by Zora Neale Hurston: Fiction, Folklore, and More, “Spunk” by Zora Neale Hurston (1925)- full text, Jonah’s Gourd Vine by Zora Neale Hurston (1934), Literary Ladies Guide to the Writing Life. It is the great merit of Miss Hurston’s work that she entered into the homely life of the southern Negro as one of them and was fully accepted as such by the companions of her childhood … Miss Hurston has been equally successful in gaining the confidence of the voodoo doctors and she gives us much that throws a new light upon the much discussed voodoo beliefs and practices. . AUTHOR HAS WRITTEN MULES AND MEN FROM HER OWN KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE. She had advantages for research in this field enjoyed by neither of those authors. John French then announces that he wants to tell a tale but lets Zora know that he wants the recognition as the teller of “How Jack Beat the Devil.”. The story of the song (found in the glossary) “...is of John Henry, who is a great steel-driver [a man who... Start your 48-hour free trial to unlock this Mules and Men study guide and get instant access to the following: You'll also get access to more than 30,000 additional guides and 300,000 Homework Help questions answered by our experts. … To the student of cultural history the material presented is valuable not only by giving the Negro’s reaction to everyday events, to his emotional life, his humor and passions, but it throws into relief also the peculiar amalgamation of African and European tradition which is so important for understanding historically the character of American Negro life, with its strong African background in the West Indies, the importance of which diminishes with increasing distance from the South.”. Marie Leveau of New Orleans is dead, but Turner, her nephew, is alive and practicing. Yet with all its literary faults, Tell My Horse does some real delving, whether solemn anthropologists accept its findings or not. The Question and Answer section for Mules and Men is a great Zora as a student at Barnard College More about Zora Neale Hurston . Our summaries and analyses are written by experts, and your questions are answered by real teachers. . It’s well known that Zora was an incredible storyteller, evidenced by novels like Their Eyes Were Watching God, and short stories, but she was an accomplished anthropologist as well. Hurston did a great service in recording African American folklore traditions at a particular … Studying voodoo and recalling folk stories through personal adventures and dialogue among practicing community members, Zora presents traditions that white people are rarely exposed to. She pays practically no attention to grammar or sentence structure. See also: Tell My Horse by Zora Neale Hurston . . . John displays intelligence and cunning in the face of a more powerful adversary and succeeds. GradeSaver, 7 August 2019 Web. She remembers hearing tales of “...how that over-noble hero Jack or John...outsmarted the devil.” Although a story in the first chapter also had a protagonist named John, this is the first time the reader meets the archetype for the hero in these folktales. New Characters: Mules and Men is a 1935 ethnographical collection by Zora Neale Hurston, one of the most celebrated of Harlem Renaissance authors.It’s well known that Zora was an incredible storyteller, evidenced by novels like Their Eyes Were Watching God, and short stories, but she was an accomplished anthropologist as well.. Zora was the first black student at Barnard College, the women’s college connected with Columbia. . Throwing herself into the project, she actually becomes a hoodoo apprentice to several practitioners. Whites often have the odd idea that the opposite is the case. will review the submission and either publish your submission or provide feedback. As it is, there should still be an opening for another Guggenheim fellowship in that field. . The story is a grand one; nobody can pretend to understand the United States without knowing it. Anonymous "Mules and Men Study Guide: Analysis". The sheriff was thinking of calling on her and scolding her severely.” (from Folklore, Chapter 4). Copyright © 2019 All Rights ReservedPrivacy Policy, Film & Stage Adaptations of Classic Novels, Zora was the first black student at Barnard College, the women’s college connected with Columbia. Many of them are slave narratives, some of which repeat with variation. Then I had to have the spy-glass of Anthropology to look through at that.”. John French: a storyteller who wants recognition for his tale. For the next two days Zora collects more stories and songs, and learns a few verses of the famous folk song, “John Henry.” Zora is told that she should go to Polk County, where the best folktales can be heard. . Summary By the second half, Hurston has arrived in Louisiana. Every time Ole Massa attempts to defeat John with violence, John is able to get his revenge by being able to spot a flaw in his opponent (in this case, Ole Massa’s greed), and use that flaw to his advantage. Hurston runs all around collecting folktales. The folk hero John/Jack is also described in the glossary of Mules and Men. . Mules and Men Summary. Hurston had been wholly dissatisfied with Seabury’s Magic Island yarns, as sensationalized and written for dilettantes of the esoteric. . Zora Neal Hurston says that she is relieved when someone tells her that she should go collect folk stories of the blacks of the Deep South. “Intro & Chapter One” Mules and Men, Pg. I know that nothing is destructible; things merely change forms. But it was fitting me like a tight chemise. Death-simulating drugs are her explanation of the zombies. If the product is purchased by linking through, Literary Ladies Guide receives a modest commission, which helps maintain our site and helps it to continue growing! Includes some folktales . John and the Frog; John and Noah; Also (and maybe more importantly) includes the “toe party” scene of Hurston partying and ending up passed-out drunk and waking up to waffles; ALSO ( and also important) written in thick … 62) Mules and Men is a collection of black stories and hoodoo (voodoo), published by Zora Neale Hurston in 1935.
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