Paul Bunyan: Analysis of Major Characters
Paul Bunyan is a legendary figure in American folklore, known for his immense size and remarkable feats in the lumber industry. The stories surrounding him began around 1837, primarily along the Canadian border. Central to the tales is Babe, the Blue Ox, who is described as Bunyan's loyal companion, and the duo's adventures include the establishment of a lumber camp and the invention of various mathematical concepts to manage logging operations. Other notable characters in the narratives include Johnny Inkslinger, who transitions from surveyor to Bunyan's bookkeeper, and Hels Helsen, a giant who becomes a steadfast friend after a fierce battle. The character of Sourdough Sam, the camp cook, adds humor to the stories, especially with his mishaps involving exploding sourdough. Additionally, the folklore introduces King Bourbon of Kansas, whose antics are quashed when Bunyan turns the state upside down. These characters and their exaggerated exploits reflect themes of friendship, ingenuity, and the changing landscape of the logging industry, highlighting Bunyan's place in American cultural history.
Paul Bunyan: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: James Stevens
First published: 1925
Genre: Short fiction
Locale: North America
Plot: Folklore
Time: From the Winter of the Blue Snow to the Spring That the Rain Came Up from China
Paul Bunyan, the gigantic hero of exaggerated yarns first told along the Canadian border about 1837. Bunyan first saw Babe, the Blue Ox, the winter the blue snow fell. Together, they set up a lumber camp. Bunyan invents the multiplication table, the cube root system, and algebra so that he can keep the records until he meets Johnny Inkslinger and makes him his bookkeeper. When ordinary logging methods fail, he shoots the trees off the slopes of the Mountain That Stood On Its Head. He sweats so hard cutting the stonewood trees in Utah that he creates Salt Lake. With the coming of machinery, however, there is no place for him, and he and Babe disappear forever over the hills.
Babe, a huge Blue Ox, brought up by Bunyan from a calf. When whale milk will not cure his illness, whiskey does the trick.
Niagara, Paul's moosehound.
Hels Helsen, a giant who fights a savage battle with Bunyan and then becomes his friend for life.
Johnny Inkslinger, who loses his job as surveyor when Bunyan cuts down the trees he uses for stakes. He then becomes the camp bookkeeper.
Sourdough Sam, the camp cook, who loses an arm and a leg when some sourdough, put into Johnny's ink, explodes.
Hot Biscuit Slim, Sam's son and successor, who makes meals the high point of a logger's day.
Shanty Boy, whose tall stories amuse the loggers until he tells them of Jonah and the whale; then he is beaten for lying.
King Bourbon, of Kansas. He is overcome by a rebellious duke who gets everybody drunk. Bunyan hitches Babe to Kansas and turns it upside down to quiet things, leaving Kansas flat and rid of cigarette grass, beervines, and whiskey trees.