Reading Notes: Jamaican Anansi Stories Part B

 I was so grateful to continue reading these Jamaican tales.  I love hearing new fairy tales from different cultures--it is really neat to see how people from other places told children's stories.  Some of the characters in these stories have been pretty fun, particularly Anansi.  One of the stories I really enjoyed today was "Anansi in Monkey Country." It was cool to see him in a new setting with a new character.  It also seems to me like the narrator may differ from story to story.  It is awesome that all of these classic stories are all compiled in one place.  This story also seemed off because Anansi was in trouble when normally he is the trickster that puts others into predicaments.  It seems like his reputation must have preceded him, for the Monkey seemed intent on boiling and killing him.  I was surprised how so dark some of these stories can seem, but then I remember that a lot of other old fairy tales are actually based on some darker stories.  I found this one interesting though because it was short and sweet, but it doesn't go much into the motivations behind Monkey boiling Anansi.  To eat or kill, I presume? I guess it just goes to show that you can never be too careful if you are in monkey country!  Just as I mentioned, in a subsequent story that I enjoyed called The Fishes, Anansi fools three fish into handing their mother over to be healed.  In reality, he just cooked their mother.  Somehow, a mule is convinced that Anansi is worthy of help and helps him.  I like Anansi as a character--things normally seem to work out for him.  Even though he isn't always a good guy, a trickster would be a really fun character to write about!

Bibliography: Anansi in Monkey Country by Martha Warren Beckwith 

A cute squirrel monkey.

source: commons