Tales of Juha

Tales of Juha is based on classic Arab folk humor and is focused on the central character Juha. Juha takes on a variety of forms, but one characteristic stands out throughout this section, which is his unbelievable wit. He is never fazed and instead he always manages to respond brilliantly, which made this reading quite pleasurable.

            Juha’s seemed to have a response for everything, and all of Juha’s responses were unexpected; therefore, the tales were enjoyable on account of this quick wit. When monks ask Juha how many stars are in the sky, Juha does not miss a beat and replies that there are as many stars as there are hairs on his donkey, and he challenges the monks to “count the stars and then the number of hairs on [his] donkey” if they do not believe him (28). When they ask how one could count how many hairs are on Juha’s donkey, Juha questions the monks by asking how “can you count the number of stars in the sky” (28). This is one of my favorite tales in the whole section because the normal person would have just guessed how many stars there were or simply said that he or she did not know, but not Juha. Juha is very bold and thinks in ways different than the average person, which causes me to admire him.

            Juha’s quick wit also allowed him to be able to successfully criticize people, but instead of being offended, they just laugh. When Juha is asked to count the mad men in the town, Juha claims that this is impossible, but he could count the sane people because “there aren’t too many of them” (32). Juha also refuses to lend someone his donkey because the donkey “told” Juha that it refuses to go. The man then tells Juha the donkeys cannot speak, and Juha says that there are any number of [two-legged] donkeys who talk” (41). Although some people might view Juha as an arrogant character because of these insults, I personally perceive him as being brilliant. He has the ability to outsmart and outthink anyone, and his ability to create incredible comebacks. These are truly abilities that I wish I possessed.

            When I first started reading Tales of Juha I was slightly hesitant because I was unsure about how much I would enjoy it. However, I found myself thoroughly enjoying the book when I got into the tales. In fact, I found myself admiring Juha for his clever and bold ways and even envying him a little bit. Overall, I really am enjoying Tales of Juha so far.