How Jack O’Lanterns Came to Be

Author: Zora Neale Hurston

Time Period: 1851 CE–1900 CE; 1901 CE–1950 CE

Country or Culture: North America

Genre: Folktale

PLOT SUMMARY

During the time of slavery, there is an incredibly strong and large slave named Big Sixteen, so called because of his shoe size. Big Sixteen’s slave master recognizes how powerful he is and assigns him the most arduous tasks around the plantation. One day, the slave master tells him to go retrieve heavy twelve-by-twelve sills that have been left in a swamp. This seems like an impossible task for one man, but Big Sixteen brings all of the sills back to the slave master’s house and stacks them himself.

After the chore with the sills is complete, the slave master instructs Big Sixteen to go and retrieve some mules that are out in the pasture. The mules are stubborn and uncooperative when Big Sixteen tries to lead them along by their bridles. The bridles snap, so he picks a mule up under each arm and brings them back to the slave master that way.

Surprised by Big Sixteen’s astonishing strength, the slave master says that if he is strong enough to carry mules under his arms, then he must be strong enough to catch the Devil. Big Sixteen agrees to the task, as long as he is supplied with a nine-pound hammer, a pick, and a shovel. The slave master gives Big Sixteen these tools, and the slave goes to work digging his way down to Hell. It takes him nearly a month of digging to reach the Devil’s house. Upon arriving, Big Sixteen knocks on the door. When the Devil pokes his head out, Big Sixteen smashes him over the head with the hammer, killing him. He carries the Devil back up to the slave master, who is shocked that Big Sixteen was actually able to catch him. Repulsed by the sight of the corpse, the slave master tells Big Sixteen to throw the Devil back down to Hell, which he does.

Big Sixteen lives for many years after this event. When he does die, Big Sixteen goes up to Heaven. Saint Peter looks at him and sees that he is too powerful to reside there. Fearing that Big Sixteen might cause trouble, Saint Peter tells him to leave. With nowhere else to go, Big Sixteen goes down to Hell.

The Devil’s children are playing near the gates of Hell when they spot Big Sixteen. They recognize him as the man who killed their father and begin to call for their mother. The Devil’s wife yells for the children to run inside the house. When Big Sixteen gets to the door, the wife says he is not allowed in Hell. She hands him a flaming hot coal and tells him to go start a hell of his own.

People who see a jack o’lantern in the woods at night know that it is Big Sixteen wandering around with his coal, looking for a place to rest for eternity.

SIGNIFICANCE

When enslaved Africans were brought over to the Americas, they brought their long tradition of storytelling with them. Since slaves were prohibited from learning how to read and write, it became essential for them to pass on their histories, morals, and folklore orally to preserve their cultural heritages. Generations of storytellers passed on traditional songs, legends, folktales, proverbs, and other orally transmitted traditions. This strong oral tradition helped enslaved Africans hold onto their cultural identity and values while adapting to their harsh new environment in America.

Many African American folktales provided exaggerated and sometimes humorous explanations for the creation of certain things. For example, there are stories about how snakes became poisonous and how possums lost the hair on their tail. These folktales are also colloquially referred to as “lies” and are similar to American tall tales. Other types of African American folktales include fables centered on animals and stories of trickster slaves who outsmart their masters. The tricksters in these stories are often named John or Jack. Oftentimes, perhaps because of their situation, many folktales created by slaves are concerned with escape and fantasy.

The folk hero of Big Sixteen is one such fantasy, as he possesses superhuman strength and stature. He is strong enough to kill the Devil, in fact. He can be compared to American tall-tale characters such as Paul Bunyan and John Henry, who is possibly the best-known African American tall-tale hero. Since any sign of verbal defiance or strength might be seen as a threat to the slave master, tall tales of superhuman characters such as Big Sixteen were rare in African American folklore until after emancipation.

“How Jack O’Lanterns Came to Be” is an example of an exaggeration story. The story explains the origins of jack o’lanterns, which, besides being a contemporary Halloween tradition, are prevalent in folktales around the globe. This African American version is similar in its conclusion to many of the other stories, particularly the Irish folktale “Stingy Jack.” In this tale, a man named Jack manages to trap the Devil. He later frees him under the condition that when he dies, the Devil will not claim Jack’s soul in Hell. The Devil agrees, but when Jack dies, he is refused entrance into Heaven. The Devil insultingly gives Jack a hot coal to light his way as he wanders the earth. Jack carves out a turnip, into which he puts the burning coal, and is thereafter known as Jack of the Lantern or Jack O’Lantern.

It is commonly believed that jack o’lantern stories evolved from will-o’-the-wisp stories, which can also be found in folk traditions around the globe. The will-o’-the-wisps refer to ghostly lights or orbs that have frequently been seen at night, typically around swamps and marshes. In many folktales, these lights draw travelers off their path. “How Jack O’Lanterns Came to Be” can be read as the African American version of these various tales.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Abrahams, Roger. African American Folk Tales: Stories from Black Traditions in the New World. New York: Pantheon, 1999. Print.

Andrews, William L. “How Jack O’Lanterns Came to Be.” African American Literature: Voices in a Tradition. Austin: Holt, 1992. 182–84. Print.

Brownlee, Catherine Thornton. Recurring Themes of African American Folktales. Philadelphia: Teachers Inst. of Philadelphia, U of Pennsylvania, 5 July 2004. PDF file.

Courlander, Harold. A Treasury of Afro-American Folklore: The Oral Literature, Traditions, Recollections, Legends, Tales, Songs, Religious Beliefs, Customs, Sayings and Humor of Peoples of African American Descent in the Americas. Boston: De Capo, 2002. Print.

Hurston, Zora Neale. Mules and Men. New York: Harper, 2008. Print.

“The Legend of Stingy Jack.” History of the Jack O’Lantern. History.com, 2013. Web. 28 May 2013.

Roberts, John. From Trickster to Badman: The Black Folk Hero in Slavery and Freedom. Philadelphia: U of Pennsylvania P, 1990. Print.