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Allegory
Definition of Allusion
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to other literary works, famous individuals, historical events, or philosophical ideas... read full definition
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to other literary works, famous individuals... read full definition
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to... read full definition
Allusions
Explanation and Analysis—Brer Rabbit:
In Morrison's Tar Baby, Morrison repeatedly alludes to the real Tar Baby folktale, utilizing its plot and broader messages as an allegory for the societal traps of racism, colonialism, and misogynoir. The title Tar Baby refers broadly to the folktale of the same name, popularized within African American cultures since the late 19th century. The story's central character, Brer Rabbit, is a trickster figure who serves as an antagonist towards Brer Fox and other characters whom he encounters and traps within both literal and metaphorical confines. Tar Baby has a complex history in Black traditions, as White journalists (such as Joel Chandler Harris in the 1880s) have repeatedly profited from appropriating Tar Baby and other Black stories.
The Tar Baby story plays an important role in Morrison's Tar Baby for multiple reasons. In a broad sense, the Brer Rabbit tale symbolizes how characters in Tar Baby become stuck in traps or cycles of colonialism, racial prejudice, and enslavement of both the mind and body. For example, Sydney and Ondine—Valerian and Margaret's Black servants—become trapped in cycles of racism and exploitative labor on the Isle de Chevaliers. In addition, throughout the novel Jadine finds herself in an abusive relationship with Son, who orates the Brer Rabbit story while he sexually assaults Jadine. Jadine falls into a trap of a relationship, which echoes the complex bond between Brer Rabbit and the figure of Tar Baby.
In Morrison's Foreword to the novel Tar Baby, she explains that the Brer Rabbit folktale—and perhaps the novel itself—may be "A love story, then. Difficult, unresponsive, but seducing woman and clever, anarchic male, each with definitions of independence and domesticity, of safety and danger in that clash." Morrison explores these themes heavily in Tar Baby, using the folktale as a vehicle through which to connect history and narrative fiction.
Additionally, in a more specific sense, the Brer Rabbit allegory carries hidden meaning in terms of its own history with racial appropriation. As noted above, numerous White artists turned the character of Tar Baby (once commonly used as a racial slur to describe Black people) into a caricature of Black identity: much like the White settlers colonize the fictional Isle de Chevaliers in Tar Baby. Overall, Morrison utilizes the Brer Rabbit figure to create a complex, multi-faceted allegory that flows through Tar Baby from the beginning of the novel to its end.
Related Themes:
