How+the+Lion+Met+the+King+of+the+World

"Sowing" William H. Johnson "Going to Church" by William H. Johnson 1940. See more pictures at [|William H Johnson Website]

Link to [|How the Lion Met the King of the World]

I chose to illustrate "How the Lion Met the King of the World" with two pictures by William Johnson. The story is about a man fighting a grizzly and a lion for the "King of the World" title. He wins both challenges, pulling out a razor on the bear and a gun on the lion. This tale demonstrates the dominance of man over animal through his intelligence and his ability to manipulate the natural world into his "tools."

The tale is connected to these two illustrations because they show that the black man is also capable of such knowledge of the human-animal relationship. In "Sowing," the couple is domesticating crops and using a donkey to assist their work. In "Going to Church," the family is pulled by a donkey -- same as the white man. This story and these illustrations point out that humankind's dominance over all animals is meant for ALL HUMANS-- including the darker skinned ones.

These illustrations are challenging a philosophy from slave days: black people just like animals, unintelligent and nonhuman: they don't deserve to have rights or to be treated better than livestock.

But as Johnson shows us, the black families are ALSO above animals, they're able to dominate them, just as the white man-- challenging the argument that black equals nonhuman and unintelligent.

The Banjo Lesson by Henry Ossawa Tanner (1859-1937)

The picture I chose is called „The Banjo Lesson“ by Henry Ossawa Tanner, and shows an old man sitting on a chair with a little boy (presumably his grandson) in what looks like a log cabin or house. The grandfather is teaching the boy how to play the banjo, and even though the face of the old man is very dark, one can sense the tender and loving expression on his face. Although the picture is overall pretty dark, it has a very soothing and calming atmosphere, which is exactly why it reminded me of a certain passage on page 138/139 in //Mules and Men//:

http://xroads.virginia.edu/~MA01/Grand-Jean/Hurston/Chapters/Chapter8.html

“The men were still coming into the quarters from various parts of the ‘job.’ The children played ‘Shoo-round,’ and ‘Chick-mah-Chick’ until Mrs. Williams called her four year old Frankie and put her to sleep by rocking her and singing ‘Mister Frog’.”

I am not exactly sure why, but that was my absolute favourite passage of the book so far. I think part of the reason is that Zora Neale Hurston manages to create a very intimate and unique atmosphere which engages the reader directly. To me, the sentence about the mother rocking her child was very emotional and striking, and had the exact same effect on me as when looking at the picture. Both scenes are filled with so much love, and more importantly, with tradition.

Obviously, //Mules and Men// is a book which aims at preserving the tradition and folklores of the African-American culture in the Southern US. As we have discussed in class, the author went on a trip down South to collect stories in order to bring the heritage of her people closer to the reader. Whereas this of course is a wonderful way to capture the traditions of a certain culture, and also makes it available to people outside of this culture, the passage to me highlights that the most important part is passing these customs from one generation onto the next. To me, //Mules and Men// is not only about the actual stories that are told in the book, but much more about the interaction between the people in the book – telling the stories is what connects them and creates a sense of unity and togetherness, and also serves as a bond between the different generations. Considering that Zora Neale Hurston primarily went on an academic research trip, it is visible to the reader that she is thoroughly enjoying being with people from her own culture and feels very at home.