The Jack Tales

Chase, R. (1943).  The Jack tales.  New York:  Houghton Mifflin.

The Jack Tales are considered part of the group of literature known as traditional literature.  According to our text, traditional literature is rooted in a deep oral tradition.  Traditional literature has usually been passed down from one generation to the next through oral storytelling.  This describes The Jack Tales.  These tales are a compilation of tales rooted in the Appalachian culture.  


I remember having some of these tales read to me when I was in grade school.  After that, I never had an opportunity to read them again until now.  As a young child, I always thought they were just a good, funny story.  They are that...and so much more.  They contain your simple, short progressive plots.  They all have you standard beginning with some deviation of "Once upon a time" like "This here's a tale...".  Since they are from Appalachia, they tend to start off with a little more emphasis on dialect.  The dialect in these stories can only be described as rich.  To get the full idea, you really need to read these stories out loud and pronounce the words as they are written.  I found that so difficult!!!!  I caught myself on numerous occasions correcting the pronunciation as I read.  I would have to re-read parts if I did that.  It just didn't sound right.


The main character, Jack, is obviously a good character who encounters an evil character(s) in some fashion.  For example, in "Jack and the Robbers", Jack and a few friends he picks up along the way encounter a band of robbers.  Jack and his friends trick the robbers and run them out of the country.  How you might ask?  That is what you need to read and find out!  The tales also usually end with the narrator mentioning that the last he knew of Jack he was back home doing something else.  The settings for the tales are not that descriptive.  The themes usually tend to be the typical the good win over the bad or the weak overcome the stronger.


Big Question:  What stories have you heard in your family like these?