The People Could Fly

Personal Response

Folklore is a genre that I have had limited exposure to and therefore I wasn't sure what to expect upon reading this book. What I found the most fascinating in The People Could Fly was the introduction that provided the background of how African American folktales originated. I read the introduction again after I finished the book and it seemed to clarify my understanding more. For example, knowing that, “To the slaves, the rabbit came to be identified with themselves…,” allowed me to interpret these folktales more precisely. Additionally, understanding that “John” represented a slave character who tricked his Master to win his freedom created a deeper understanding of the significance of these tales.

Hamilton captures the essence of the oral reading tradition with her use of dialect that “reflects the expressiveness of the original slave teller.” As a reader, I initially struggled with this dialect. I found it the most difficult in the animal tales. For example, in the folktale “Tappin, the Land Turtle” she writes, “Tappin commence fallin in the water. He fallin fast when Eagle go catch him and put him under his wing.” This dialect with its short, choppy sentence structure and misuse of pronouns made for a slow read at the beginning. However, as the book continued my pace seemed to pick up as I started to get use to this writing style.

As a classroom teacher, I began to think that this collection of folktales would be a great introduction to a historical fiction novel that took place during the time of slavery. I think that reading these stories aloud as choral reading would benefit the students, allowing them to hear the voices of the past. As Hamilton states in her introduction when she is referring to her stories, “For they are told in my own voice, echoing the voices of slaves and fugitives, some of whom are my ancestors.”

Critical Response

Hamilton’s folktales follow the typical folktale criteria very closely. Her stories all contain precise language, a simple plot, flat characters, as well as reflecting the values and customs of the culture. They all contain an initial conflict which, in several instances, seems to be resolved in a horrible, yet very matter-of-fact manner. For example, in “The Beautiful Girl of the Moon Tower,” Anton very matter-of-factly kills the hog stating, “As soon as he began to fight, the father of the girl became sick” and “Finally, Anton killed the hog….and the father died.” He then returns to the girl and marries her. Additionally, in “Wolf and Birds and the Fish-Horse” the Fish-Horse finds revenge to the death after the wolf steals her milk.

Throughout the stories, a trickster character is regularly present as the antagonist of the story. For example, in “Bruh Alligator Meets Trouble,” Bruh Rabbit tricks Bruh Alligator into coming to the broom field to meet Trouble. Also, in “Doc Rabbit, Bruh Fox, and Tar Baby,” Doc Rabbit keeps sneaking off to drink the crock of cream. Eventually, when Bruh Fox realizes what he was doing, he constructs a baby bunny out a tar. When Doc Rabbit returns, he is intrigued by the presence of this “Tar Baby.” Bruh Fox later finds Doc Rabbit trapped in the tar.

Another motif in this collection of folktales is the repeated reference to the number three. In “Manual Had a Riddle,” the king gave Manual three rabbits to take into the woods and “fatten up.” He then sent three people to try and sway Manual from his task. Similarly, in “Wiley, His Mama, and the Hairy Man,” Wiley fooled the Hairy Man three times, so he would now be safe.

The repeated elements of magic and supernatural events are woven throughout these folktales as well. In “The Beautiful Girl of the Moon” Anton is able to transform himself into various different creatures to accomplish his task. Similarly, Jim finds his freedom by revealing the hidden talents of the “talking cooter” in the folktale “The Talking Cooter.” Lastly, Toby releases Sarah, so she can fly away to freedom in “The People Can Fly.”

All these folktales provide a rich understanding of our history and of the hardships that African American slaves were faced with throughout their lives. These folktales provided them with hope and dreams of their freedom. The addition of this book of folktales will enrich my current curriculum and I plan to use it as a teaching tool in the future.