The Story of Aaron (1896) by Joel Chandler Harris

Editorial Reviews - The Story of Aaron, So Named, The Son of Ben Ali From the Publisher 1895. American author and journalist, Harris is famous, or infamous as the case may be, for his humorous adaptations of black folk legends in the Uncle Remus Stories. The Uncle Remus folk tales, told by a Negro to a little boy, feature a variety of animals with the rabbit as hero and the fox next in importance, and often stress the importance of brains over brawn. Harris fell out of favor with black critics and scholars in the '60s due to what they consider is arguably the worst kind of racist stereotyping-the depiction of ex-slaves identifying with the plantation system of the Old South. But in recent years these same critics are beginning to believe that Harris might have saved an important legacy.