OK, the first task was to track down the provenance of the remark, and to assess it. As to the trope, yes, certainly. Prevalent, and both white & black Southerners are righty seen as enjoying the taste of a good watermelon. They are pretty wonderful things. As to the "thieving" side of the trope: A hungry and oppressed people sometimes breaks the rules (the rules being set and enforced by the dominant group). I'd also lift a chicken that wasn't roosting comfortably, myself, if I were hungry. Javert <https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000128/?ref_=tt_trv_qu>: Now Prisoner 24601, your time is up and your parole's begun. You know what that means? Jean Valjean <https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0413168/?ref_=tt_trv_qu>: Yes, it means I'm free. Javert <https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000128/?ref_=tt_trv_qu>: No. [hands him a yellow paper] Javert <https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000128/?ref_=tt_trv_qu>: Follow to the letter your itinerary, this badge of shame you wear until you die. It warns that you're a dangerous man. Jean Valjean <https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0413168/?ref_=tt_trv_qu>: I stole a loaf of bread. My sisters child was close to death, and we were starving... Javert <https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000128/?ref_=tt_trv_qu>: And you will starve again unless you learn the meaning of the law! Jean Valjean <https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0413168/?ref_=tt_trv_qu>: I've learnt the meaning of those nineteen years; a slave of the law. Javert <https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000128/?ref_=tt_trv_qu>: Five years for what you did. The rest because you tried to run, yes 24601... Jean Valjean <https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0413168/?ref_=tt_trv_qu>: My name is Jean Valjean! Javert <https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000128/?ref_=tt_trv_qu>: And I'm Javert! Do not forget my name. Do not forget me, 24601. -- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1707386/quotes On Sun, Nov 25, 2018 at 11:46 AM William Robison <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > I am happy to report that among my students both racism and homophobia are > disappearing. But when I was growing up, both the watermelon trope and the > racist notion that African-Americans are thieves were alive and well. Damn > near everyone in the South eats watermelon, regardless of gender, > ethnicity, political persuasion, religious ideology, or sexual orientation. > So where the trope came from is a mystery to me. But then so is the one > about thievery. > > On Sun, Nov 25, 2018 at 10:26 AM Hal Bush <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > > > I'd mention that it's interesting that Huck Finn "borrowed" melons too; > > and that the cultural history of the watermelon trope is associated with > > Jim Crow long before 1901: > > > > > > > > > https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/12/how-watermelons-became-a-racist-trope/383529/ > > > > [ > > > https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/mt/2018/01/lead_large-4/facebook.jpg?1522683760 > > ]< > > > https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/12/how-watermelons-became-a-racist-trope/383529/ > > > > > > > How Watermelons Became a Racist Trope - The Atlantic< > > > https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/12/how-watermelons-became-a-racist-trope/383529/ > > > > > www.theatlantic.com > > While mainstream-media figures deride these instances of racism, or at > > least racial insensitivity, another conversation takes place on Twitter > > feeds and comment boards: What, many ask, does a ... > > > > > > > > > > Dr. Hal Bush > > > > Dept. of English > > > > Saint Louis University > > > > [log in to unmask] > > > > 314-977-3616 > > > > http://halbush.com > > > > author website: halbush.com > > > > ________________________________ > > From: Mark Twain Forum <[log in to unmask]> on behalf of James N. Powell < > > [log in to unmask]> > > Sent: Sunday, November 25, 2018 10:11:37 AM > > To: [log in to unmask] > > Subject: Re: Clemens and persistent racism? > > > > 我園の真桑も盗むこころ哉 > > wagasono no makuwa mo nusumu kokoro kana > > > > Even in my own field, > > I pick a melon > > As if stealing. > > > > ~ Buson > > > > Tr. Shoji Kumano > > > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: Mark Twain Forum <[log in to unmask]> On Behalf Of Dave Davis > > Sent: Sunday, November 25, 2018 7:08 AM > > To: [log in to unmask] > > Subject: Re: Clemens and persistent racism? > > > > Wiser heads will know more, but that sounds to me more like the voice of > > Paine than the voice of Twain. Are the narratives quoted found in the > > Autobiography (the full dictations, which have recently been published)? > > > > DDD > > > > > > > https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__ebooks.adelaide.edu.au_t_twain_mark_paine_chapter214.html&d=DwIFaQ&c=Pk_HpaIpE_jAoEC9PLIWoQ&r=f7i-Uq4rMQU8-TBe45qVLg&m=O_q9Ul57LFXCfZatvQF5i636yefdbwZVbEeDnYRjwKI&s=iWIHIGKB2n7u8ZpXmsJ12yGKqCfSHnjHKZA48VN6WzQ&e= > > > > > > On Sat, Nov 24, 2018 at 6:14 PM John Greenman <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > > > > > from “the watermelons” (which Paine quotes in chapter CCXIV. MARK > > > TWAIN AND THE MISSIONARIES in his Biography) Clemens says: > > > “...This was down South, in the slavery days. It was the nature of the > > > negro then, as now, to steal watermelons…." > > > > > > Question: have y’all concluded that this 1901 concept accurately > > > reflects Clemens’ racial feelings are was there some other reason for > > his wording?? > > > > > > thanks, > > > > > > -j > > > > > > +++++++++++++++ > > > Coincidence is a messenger > > > sent by Truth > > > > > > [log in to unmask] > > > > > > Mark Twain Audiobooks from Librivox > > > > > > My Mark Twain audio recordings at Archive.org > > > > > > > > -- > William B. Robison, PhD > Department Head / Professor of History > Department of History and Political Science > Southeastern Louisiana University > SLU 10895 > Hammond LA 70402 > 985-549-2109 phone > 985-549-2012 fax > [log in to unmask] > http://www.selu.edu/acad_research/depts/hist_ps/index.html > http://www.tudorsonfilm.com/ > http://www.impairedfaculties.com/ > > History teaches students to read intelligently, think analytically, write > clearly, accurately assess past trends, rationally predict future > developments, and understand the real world. Now *that* is workforce-ready! > > History does offer us very real lessons, but they are seldom simple and > straightforward. To understand and benefit from them, you have to know your > history very well. That is why history matters as much as math, science, > technology, or any other subject. > > "A young horse is fast, but an old horse knows what's going on." – Muddy > Waters >