Chesnutt thrived, like Poe, in a journalistic era, one where excellence in short stories and essays could win one a precarious place in the public eye. And, in his "conjure" stories, he actively reclaimed African-American traditions, folklore, and humor, from a time when they had been largely re-appropriated by white writers. Prominent among these was Joel Chandler Harris, who collected genuine Black folktales featuring such recurrent characters as "B'rer Rabbit," "B'rer Bear," and "B'rer Fox," and then re-cast them through the imagined voice of an older Black man he created and called "Uncle Remus." In that guise, told to a young white boy, tales that might otherwise have been deprecated became iconic -- for decades, Uncle Remus was the bestselling children's book in America; Theodore Roosevelt read it to groups of children and invited Harris to join them at the White House.
But of course this was a problem, especially given that the tales were written in exaggerated "Black" dialect -- which is where Chesnutt came in. Well-aware of Harris's tales and their popularity, he decided to work to "signify" upon them, creating an alternate interlocutor -- one "Uncle Julius" -- who, though seemingly aiming to please his presumptively white listeners, was in fact taking them all for a ride -- by turning his seemingly "quaint" tales against their white hearers. It was an effect greatly appreciated by his readers, and which led eventually to a collection of tales that rivaled Harris's own. Chesnutt very ably mimicked Harris's mimicry -- in almost a sort of "SNL" spirit -- and showed how, in a very essential way, all stories are about power -- that of the speaker as well as that of the listener.
In 1946, twelve years after Chesnutt's death, the Walt Disney Company decided to turn Joel Chandler Harris's versions of these folktales into a feature film, Song of the South. It was an unrepentant version, full of the sort of magical Black figurations that, while seemingly celebrating that tradition, turned it into a muted and cartoonish version of itself. It's now kept securely under lock and key, though bootleg versions exist, and Disney's own "Splash Mountain" attraction retained the characters -- though this is soon to be replaced by "Tiana's Bayou Adventure."
The Goophered Grapevine is about a white Northerner and his wife who travel to the south to investigate a vineyard that he is interested in purchasing. It had been neglected for some time, since the Civil War, but the soil is good and the prospective buyer, who is the narrator of the story, is hopeful about the land. When he and his wife visit, a former slave named Julius McAdoo, who advises them not to purchase the old plantation. Julius claims that the vineyard is "goophered, cunju'd, bewitch." The old master McAdoo has realized that slaves were eating a bunch of his crops, so he hired a conjuring woman to curse those ate the grapes. She does so, and the curse seems to work. Any person who steals the grapes dies within twelve months of their theft. Currently, The master hires a new slave named Henry. Henry doesn’t know about the curse and eats the grapes, and since it was an honest mistake, the overseer takes him to the conjure woman for help. She tells him to rub the grapevine sap, and this saves his life. I think this story is a little not interesting, but I did like how the author used a witch as a cool way to curse something. as for Po' sandy, it is set in the fictional town of Patesville, North Carolina, about 25 years following the Civil War. The story begins with a first-person narrative by a Northerner named John who purchased the land in hopes of starting a vineyard and building a home in a location more suited to Annie’s (his wife's) medical condition. Sandy is an enslaved man belonging to Mars Marrabo McSwayne. Sandy is very talented, and his master frequently lends him out to work for family and friends. This requires much travel for Sandy, and during one such trip away from the plantation, Sandy’s master sells Sandy’s wife and replaces her with another enslaved woman named Tenie. Tenie has powers and can conjure.
ReplyDelete-Ava Perry
I find it interesting that in the Goophered Grapevine, Uncle Julius could potentially be lying about the story he tells the potential buyers of the plantation in order to ward them off of the purchase. He makes a bit of a living off of what is left of the grapevines and still lives on the property. Whether he was lying or not, the white couple purchases the property anyway, and hires him for his services. The story of Po’ Sandy is a sad one, as Sandy worked as a slave building a schoolhouse, and he is often sent to different properties for other work. Whilst working at another property, his owner sells his wife and replaces her with a woman named tenie. Tenie also has magical powers, and Sandy asks her to turn him into a tree, so he doesn’t have to travel. Being that he was a tree, the slave owner cut it down and used it to build the schoolhouse, trapping Sandy within the boards that built the school. This is a story told to potential buyers, and instead of knocking it down, they donate it to Uncle Julius so the soul of Sandy can live on and one day be freed.
ReplyDelete- Garet Reilly
Both stories by Charles Chestnutt involved storytelling revolving around magic and conjuring. I noticed that Uncle Julius in the Goophered grapevine story had a house near the vineyard and in the Po Sandy story he had been able to convince Annie to use the old school house because she was scared of Po Sandy's spirit being within the walls. Whether the conjure in both stories told by the men are true or not I found it interesting that both men might have had a plan to scare off the two couples into not purchasing the grapevine or not to use the wood from the old school house so that they could use it instead. I found it interesting because although the conjure stories they told might seem difficult to believe, the slightest bit of fear that they could be true is enough to scare them off or at least in the Goophered Grapevine story be more cautious.
ReplyDelete- Ashley Hernandez
In both stories, Charles Chesnutt finds a way to incorporate witchcraft to provide a mystical side to his stories. In Goopherd Grapevine, the slave master McAdoo had Aunt Peggy cast a spell on the grapevines in order to stop people from stealing his grapes. If they stole them, they would be presumed to die within the year. When a new slave, Henry, accidentally ate a grape, the only way to prevent his death was to rub the sap from the grapevine on his head each spring. Henry would be young and healthy in the summer, but by winter he was old and stiff. Eventually, when the crops died, Henry died with them. In the other story, Po’Sandy, Chesnutt tells a story of another slave who was “cursed”. A hard-working slave, Sandy, was so efficient that his owner sent him off to his friends and family for work, one time when Sandy came back, his owner sold Sandy’s wife and replaced her with Tenie. Tenie happened to know witchcraft, so Sandy asked her to transform him into a tree every now and then, so he didn’t have to travel. One day, Sandy (as a tree) got sawed down and built into a schoolhouse. The other slaves didn’t like to work in there because they claimed to hear groaning, like someone was in pain. It was rumored that Sandy’s spirit got trapped in the schoolhouse. By the end of the story, Julius convinced the new landowner to spare the schoolhouse and find new material to build his kitchen.
ReplyDelete- Hannah Parker
Charles Chesnutt was an African American author known for his major contributions to literature in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Both stories, “Po ‘Sandy” and “The Goodphered Grapevine” explore the themes of race, superstition, and the complexities of life during post-Civil war period. Both stories shed light on the complex relationships and experiences of African Americans during this time in post-Civil war, incorporating elements of magic to explore the challenges they faced in a racially divided society. I liked how these stories incorporated history along with a unique story of these people during that time.
ReplyDelete- Rebecca Fyrer
Charles Chesnutt’s stories combined witchcraft and truth which gave an insight into what was going on during the 19th and 20th centuries. For hundreds of years, people have been crafting stories dealing with the supernatural to teach others lessons to try and steer them in the right direction, or which what the storyteller believes is the right direction. Uncle Julius did not want the old schoolhouse torn down, so he told the owners the story of Po’ Sandy to convince them not to tear it down. It reminded me of how parents use the Sandman to make little kids fall asleep more quickly.
ReplyDelete-Sara Skadberg
John, a white northerner who buys a vineyard in the South, tells the narrative "The Goophered Grapevine" from his point of view. He encounters Julius McAdoo, an elderly African American who works in the vineyard and professes to be a conjurer. Julius describes the vineyard's past, including how Marse John previously held it and conned the slaves into working for him by telling them the grapes were "goophered" or cursed. He then instructs John on how to end the goopher's spell and gather an abundant harvest. In the story, "Po' Sandy," Sandy, a former slave, sells Mr. Ryder, a white man, a plot of land that includes a run-down cabin. Tildy, Sandy's wife, had been living there with him until she left because she was sick of the misery and poverty. Sandy feels helpless and wants to see her again. Sandy consents to sell his land in exchange for Mr. Ryder's pledge to assist him in finding his wife. Power and manipulation are major plot points in both works. Marse John uses superstition and dread to coerce the slaves into working on his vineyard in "The Goophered Grapevine." In "Po' Sandy," Mr. Ryder persuades Sandy to sell his land by luring him with the promise of help.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading a Chesnutt story I noticed a peculiar theme. Charles Chesnutt’s writings seem to be formed around magical qualities and witchcraft. For example, when McAdoo had his neighbor Aunt Peggy conjure something to protect his crops. At first I thought that the supposed “spell” on the crops would just scare people to keep them away, and then people who’d eaten the grapes without knowing about the spell had died. Later on in the reading, a man named Henry had eaten the grapes without knowing and went to Aunt Peggy for a solution. Since he did not know about the gopher she gave him a way to keep the spell from affecting him. The solution made the old man grow younger and healthier and his appearance would change with the seasons. The man changing ages and appearances as well as the spell on the grapes are only a few magical aspects in Chesnutt’s stories.
ReplyDeletePo Sandy was an interesting story about a slave named Sandy who gets turned into a tree because he wants to stay with Tenie, only to get cut down and turn into lumber. The story reminds me of those “be careful what you wish for” stories and that wishing for something and interfering with magic can lead to consequences. I think Sandy didn’t think about being turned into a tree all the way through and could have turned into an animal, and at least he will be able to move when there is danger. The Goophered Grapevine story and Po Sandy both have some similarities. They both feature magic, a conjurer, and someone buying property. The conjurer cursed the grapes to kill the people who eat them, and Henry falling victim to the curse without knowing and had to find a cure. This story also had the element of using magic and it having consequences, usually someone dealing with the negative effects. I think there is a kind of message to these stories, that meddling with magic and just wishing for something that you think will help might not actually be the solution you're hoping for.
ReplyDelete-Jessyca Iswanto
After reading both stories, I believe they both address the impact of slavery of the lives of African Americans. "The Goophered Grapevine", talks about the power dynamic on the plantation, which revealed how the slave owners conjure a plan to claim control within a system that systematically denies them autonomy. In "Po' Sandy", the story subtly suggests that the land and labor of enslaved people remain connected, even after their physical liberation.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the Goophered Grapevine story I found it interesting that after the owner of the plantation had Aunt Peggy come by and cast a spell on the grapes it actually did something to people who ate them. I would have thought it was just a way to scare people to not steal and eat the grapes but when we hear that someone who ate the grapes after the Goopher actually died we see this isn’t just a folk story to scare people off. Once Henry ate the grapes without knowing it’s like he became apart of the grape vines after Aunt Peggy had him rub the sap of the grape vines on his head. You could see the success of the grape vines on his head with the curls looking like grape bunches and in the fall once they harvested them his hair fell out. After Mr. McAdoo kept selling a rebuying Henry over and over for a profit cause he knew how to make him not sick it began to catch up with him and he got punished for abusing this for so long. Once the Northerner came to the farm and supposedly helped the growth of the grapes, it all was ruined after that. Either he cursed the farm or Aunt Peggy could have had enough of the farm owners abusing the power and could have cursed the whole farm itself. It could also be an analogy with the tensions between the Northerners and Southerners before the Civil War and this could have shown the relationship between them was destroyed.
ReplyDeleteChesnutt's story, the Goophered Grapevine, tells the history of a North Carolina plantation and the former slave of the plantation, Julius McAdoo. Northerners, John and his wife, come across Julius about interest in the vineyard. Julius then tells them he wouldn’t buy it because it’s “goophered”, meaning cursed. He continues by saying he was the plantation master before the war where he produced a lot of wine. African Americans and slaves in the area used to take grapes but McAdoo tried to keep them away. Aunt Peggy was then hired as the goophered to scare away the slaves. In comparison, Po Sandy tells a story about a slave named Sandy who wished to escape his life as a slave in order to be with his wife, Tenie. To accomplish this goal, Sandy decided he wanted to be turned into a tree. Both of these story’s were interesting reads, as they symbolize slavery and how it deeply impacted southern and African American culture.
ReplyDelete-Nicollette DeFusco ^
DeleteCharles Chestnutt's tales vividly describe the tales from the country including the weather, outfit, events occurring at that time, and transportation used. As a reader, I was able to use my imagination to understand every piece that included complex pieces of racism, slavery, and traditions from back in the day. A slave was able to influence his master, using marriage and love in the different tales. Using a narrator in his tales he captivated the African Americans dialect and the differences between the northern and southern life in idealistic terms.
ReplyDeleteOlolade Ojekunle
In both stories you kind of sense a horror and thriller style like in the past stories/poems. In these two Charles Chestnutt’s stories there is more of witchcraft and conjuring touch to the elements. In Goophered Grapevine, there were spells on the grapevines in order to protect them from being stolen. If a grape was stolen, the thief would die within the next year. In this story Mcadoo was a slave master and told aunt Peggy to cast this deadly spell. The slaves knew, until a new slave named Henry accidentally ate a grape. The only way to save him was to have rubbed in the grapevine on his head every spring. He was still not saved. He would be healthy in the brighter seasons and become ill in the darker ones. He eventually passed. This story gave more of a witchcraft touch.
ReplyDeleteIn the second story named Po’Sandy, it has another similar plot of another slave who was cursed like the grapevines were in the first story. Sandy was very hardworking, he was so hardworking that his owner allowed him to go be with his friends and family for work. The owner eventually sold Sandy’s wife and in came a new slave named Tenie. She happened to know witchcraft. When Sandy discovered this he asked Tenie to turn him into a tree. She only did it now and then until he got cut down and built into a schoolhouse. Sandy’s spirit got trapped in the school’s grounds, so the other slaves wouldn’t want to work there because they would hear things. Eventually the new landowner spared the schoolhouse and found new wood to build a kitchen.
I found it interesting that these conjuring and witchcraft touches were to scare people away from purchasing either the grapevine or the school.
-Emily Torrez
These stories often revolve around the theme of hoodoo, a form of folk magic and superstition practiced by African Americans in the South. Chesnutt's tales explore the complexities of race, power, and identity in the post-Civil War American South. They often feature characters who use conjure, or folk magic like witch craft which is seen in the poems, to navigate the challenges of their lives, and the stories blend elements of realism with supernatural elements. Both stories revolved around horror in a way. It was interesting to see how they used these poems to help them and scare people.
ReplyDeletegeneveve provencial
DeleteChestnut’s stories are responses to the difficult situation of the African Americans in the beginning go the 20th century. This is captured with the use of some sort of witchcraft. The curses underlies the tensions and inequalities between black and white individuals in the south. Chestnut reveals the limitations put on black individuals by the tie society both economical and culturally therefore their struggles and traumas were highlighted through his stories. Kaleigh Hopkins
ReplyDeleteAfter reading both articles, it's based around slavery and going into detail about that. But the theme is more of horror. Going into detail about salve plantations and their owners and then taking a step into what it actually meant and what it had entailed. Its an interesting read
ReplyDeleteChestnut's stories are known for addressing the impact that slavery had on the lives of African Americans, as well as how spiritual belief was a significant aspect of their culture at the time. The legitimate inequalities faced by slaves are prominent in his work, and are handled with a level of honesty that others at the time may have shied away from. I believe this can be seen quite easily in both the stories read for class - Po Sandy and Goophered Grapevine. Both of them meaningfully addressed the difficulties faced by individuals at the start of the 20th Century and feature prominent 'curses' as plotpoints. Grapevine focuses on the power dynamics of a plantation and a bewitched grapevine. A former slave master tells the story of a supposedly cursed vineyard to two white Northerners. Those who stole and ate the grapes in the past would eventually succumb to the effects of this curse and die. Horror elements such as this make the story feel reminiscent of a cautionary tale, which could also be said regarding the second story. Po Sandy focuses on the perspective of a slave named Sandy who requests that he be turned into a tree by a fellow slave named Tenie, who is familiar with witchcraft. She complies with the request, resulting in Sandy eventually being chopped down and turned into a schoolhouse, which his spirit then haunts. This story had a message akin to the old saying "be careful what you wish for", and executed it quite well. There are consequences at the end of these stories that make the author's intentions all the more apparent.
ReplyDelete--Jaymes Raymond
DeleteBoth stories fall into the themes of racial discrimination and the complexities and struggles of African American life during the time period Charles Chestnut was alive. Chesnutt was able to portray the society of the south before and after the civil war, as well as the dialect of the African Americans.
ReplyDelete-Elena Ruggieri
I enjoyed reading both of Charles Chesnutt’s Conjure Tales, but I was particularly drawn to Po’ Sandy initially pulled in by its haunting nature. The story was set up as this potential ghost story as the narrator, Uncle Julius, tells the tale of his unsettled nature in regards to the sound of cutting down a tree. Upon telling his story it became more apparent to me that this story was less about creating fear, but more so about instilling morals. It is a deeper look on slavery, and while I have grown up understanding how awful slavery is, I am sure I am not the only one who struggles to grasp all the intense details and the pure individuality of it all. By looking at the story of one person it becomes harder to generalize and it really forces the reader to connect to these few people whose life story is being presented to the reader. This tale tells us that even after death Sandy is forever known and immortalized as a Slave, and he will always have that legacy attached to his name.
ReplyDeleteThe way African American culture was represented truly drew my attention. The stories of Chesnutt offer insight into African American society in the years following the Civil War. They are significant historically and culturally because they are among the first works of African American literature that depict the life and traditions of African Americans at that time.
ReplyDeleteI thoroughly enjoyed both of these stories. "Po' Sandy" left me with a mix of emotions—poignant and intriguing. It's captivating to consider how Chesnutt likely spun a fictional tale but managed to persuade Annie to utilize the old schoolhouse despite her apprehensions about the presence of Po Sandy's spirit. The twist in this story, where the house constructed from Po Sandy's transformed form is eventually donated, adds an extra layer of fascination, making me ponder the enduring legacy of the character.
ReplyDeleteIn the other story, Chesnutt continues to demonstrate his storytelling prowess as a means to achieve a specific objective. In my view, he wove that narrative with a purpose – to dissuade potential buyers from acquiring the vineyard. It's a testament to the power of storytelling and how it can influence the decisions and actions of those who hear it. Chesnutt's ability to blend the supernatural with the everyday world showcases the complexities of his characters' motivations, whether it's the desire to preserve the past or protect their interests.
These stories are a testament to Chesnutt's storytelling acumen, providing a fascinating glimpse into the nuances of race, identity, and the enduring impact of history on individuals' lives. They remind us of the power of storytelling in shaping perceptions and influencing outcomes.
This story really shows very good description of the African American way or culture within them. It provides insight into the experiences and beliefs of African Americans in the post-Civil War South, reflecting on issues of race, identity, and societal attitudes.
ReplyDelete