Joel Chandler Harris: Biography and Creativity

Joel Chandler Harris is a famous American writer who became famous as the author of the famous fairy tales for children based on folklore material. This work includes several collections, which enjoyed tremendous popularity among readers. In addition, the author was actively engaged in the study of oral folk art and journalism, thus making a great contribution to the development of American literature of the 19th century.

early years

Joel Chandler Harris was born in 1848. His mother was an emigrant, and the origin of his father remained unknown. From an early age, the boy became addicted to literature largely thanks to his mother, who often read to her son out loud. At the Academy, the future famous writer discovered extraordinary abilities for writing. In addition, he had an excellent memory.

Subsequently, he went to work in the newspaper. Here Joel Chandler Harris showed himself as a good writer. He published in the newspaper some of his sketches, which differed in the original language and critical approach. He also listened attentively to the stories of the plantation slaves, who later formed the basis of his African American tales of animals. This invaluable experience later formed the basis of his famous stories, united in the image of Uncle Rimus.

Writing career

Joel Chandler Harris continued his literary studies after moving to another newspaper, to which he was forced by the events of the Civil War. His humorous sketches about rural life in the state of Georgia brought him popularity and fame. He also became famous as a writer of rather clever puns.

In addition to purely literary activities, he was engaged in writing articles on topical topics, exposing corruption, bribery, the struggle of parties. In 1876, the writer moved with his family to Atlanta, where he continued to work as a journalist. By that time he was already a recognized chronicler of the history of the South.

Fairy tales

After a while he became an assistant editor. Then he began to think about the plan of his own artwork. The author came up with a charming black narrator who amused the people with his humorous stories about the life of the postwar Atlanta. So came to light "Tales of Uncle Remus." Joel Chandler Harris wrote 185 miniatures that were extremely popular among the reading public.

The first collection was published in 1880 and was a great success. In total, the author issued five parts, three more unfinished collections were published after his death. These works brought him world fame. Contemporary critics noted his professional work with folklore of blacks and skillful reproduction of the color of their culture in a fairy-tale form.

Influence and Feedback

Joel Chandler Harris, whose books enjoyed the readers' love along with the best works of other American writers, immediately became famous for his original stories about the life of animals on the plantation.

The narrative is conducted on behalf of Uncle Remus, who tells the son of the planter various comic experiences from the life of Brother Rabbit and his friends and enemies. Collections of fairy tales immediately attracted the attention of other writers. M. Twain very much praised the author for the colorful recreation of the life of the South and the colorful reproduction of the features of the culture of black people. Especially he liked the dialectic speech, which his heroes are saying.

Joel Chandler Harris, whose biography has since been inextricably linked with the writing of fairy tales, compiled the stories of Uncle Remus for the rest of his life. His works influenced the works of R. Kipling, W. Faulkner and many others. In our country these tales were published in the translation of M. Gershenzon and have since been repeatedly reprinted.

Other works

In addition to these books, the author wrote short stories and novels, in which he covered many of the most urgent problems of his contemporary society: racial conflicts, class contradictions, gender inequalities. Thanks to his work, readers learned about many bright and dark sides of the life of the American South. The first collection of such stories was published in 1884, followed by other publications in which the author widely covered the life of the southern states during the period of slavery and reconstruction. His works on smugglers, politicians, former slaves were most popular.

New tales and articles

The stories of Uncle Remus are intended not only for children, but also for adults. However, the author's pen belongs to fairy tales exclusively for children's reading. His charismatic animals completely overturned the idea of creating a small prose with animated beasts. All subsequent works with a similar plot (for example, the famous "Winnie the Pooh") were created under the direct influence of Harris.

He did not leave his journalistic activities. The author continued to expose racial conflicts, religious intolerance, the practice of lynching, restricting access to education and many other burning issues. However, in 1900, the writer resigned from the newspaper due to the fact that many of his articles did not like him. Nevertheless, he founded the magazine and did not leave journalistic practice, sometimes sending his articles to the press.

His activities attracted the attention of the general public. He was a member of the Academy of Arts and was in high esteem with President Roosevelt. In 1908, Joel Chandler Harris died of jade. The photo of the writer presented in this article is known, probably, to every schoolboy, as his works are known all over the world.