Interestingly, however, he follows the people, flying "behind them takin care of them" (27). He doesn't fly away until everyone who can fly has already left.Īs you can see, Toby is a Moses-like figure, leading his people from slavery into freedom. He approaches every slave who collapses, one by one, giving them the power to float "in the air" and ride "hot breezes" (22).He helps a man who "fell from the heat" (21) by reciting the magic words.He rescues Sarah and her child after they've been beaten so badly that they "couldn't get up" (14).Let's go ahead and list the guy's accomplishments, shall we? You don't have to do much digging to understand him, but that doesn't have to be a bad thing. Toby represents a strong leader, selfless and completely dedicated to the good of his people. This is because they're the result of a bunch of people sharing a single story, each shaping it in their own way before passing it along to the next storyteller who, in turn, adds their own take on the tale.Īll of this is to say that you have to take old man Toby at face value. This has to do with the way they're created: Instead of having only one author, like a novel, folk tales have tons of authors. Like most folk tales, "The People Could Fly" treats its characters as symbols rather than individuals. We have to be honest: "The People Could Fly" isn't all that focused on its characters.
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