The Conjure Woman stories
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The collection of stories in Charles W. ChesnuttÆs The Conjure Woman embody a view of the post-bellum South that depicts concepts of slave and master, free and owned, economics and humanity, and the exploitation of capitalism versus the natural land. The truth of the matter is that the position of the freed slave in the post-bellum South was still one of bondage. Uneducated, poor, and without political or economic power, many freed slaves were forced into work that represented entrapment nearly to the degree of slavery in the antebellum South. We see that in both the post-bellum as with the antebellum South, institutionalized racism directly influenced the economic, political, and geographical landscape. Most often this influence represented an exploitation of both African Americans and the land. The tales of Uncle Julius are filled with stories of how black families and black love relationships were destroyed by slavery. They are also filled with tales of conjure women and conjure men. Conjuring is used in a number of ways in the stories by Chesnutt. On the surface, conjuring often represents a tool used by slaves to ward off the total domination and abuse of slavery. More deeply, conjuring is often used as a way of showing the connection between African Americans and the land, a relationship that is natural in contrast to the exploitation of the land and African Americans by white owners. In The Goophered Grapevine and PoÆ Sand
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ite owners and capitalism on both African Americans and the land. JuliusÆ connection to the land is a natural one, of creeks and swamps and hills and trees. People like John and Annie and other capitalist see a connection to the land in its capacity and potential for development and exploitation. We see this when John tells us he comes to the South in order to escape Ohio winters that are not good for AnnieÆs health. In The Goophered Grapevine, John mentions grape growing as a ôbusinessö, he discusses the ôturpentine businessö, and the townÆs ôbusiness activityö (Chesnutt 2000, 2-4). For Uncle Julius, the town and the land represent natural connection and freedom.
Chesnutt uses the character of Uncle Julius and these stories to illustrate this difference. We see the difference in the connection between the land to Julius and John most clearly exhibited in The Gray WolfÆs HaÆnt and other stories. John always misunderstands JuliusÆ connection to the land. Julius explains that he knew the neighborhood well, including its road and watercourses, ôknew the qualities of the various soils and what they would produce, and where the best hunting and fishing ere to be hadö (Chesnutt 2000, 64). John cannot understand the deeper me
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1249
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page)
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