ABSTRACT Title of Dissertation: THE PHENOMENOLOGY OF ...

language is formal, pervaded with declamatory prefaces like “let us” (46). Hetrick set her
linguistically apart from Sambo, perhaps to distinguish between the ne’er do well brother
and the motherly sister. Indeed, it is Koko who saves her brother from the jungle beasts,
by finding a magical fruit that gives them power over the animals for a day.
As King and Queen, Koko and Sambo introduce a code of laws that civilize the
jungle, promising that “both people and animals are better for [living by rules]” (47).
The animals may not quarrel among themselves nor may they eat humans. The animals
agree to abide by the rules and further promise to always “live in peace” (47). Hetrick
decided to introduce an easy moral lesson to the play, undermining the threatening
mystery of the dark continent that is reflected in Little Black Sambo, by suggesting that
all the untamed jungle needs is the rule of law. And yet, her characters facilitate the rule
of law with native African magic, a surprising element of paganism. Hetrick’s play
shared little with the blackface stories that inspired her main characters. It seems that
Little Black Sambo and Little Brown Koko provided Hetrick simply with a vague context
for her African fantasy. She may have used the titles and character names to add touches
of familiarity. These signifiers would provide a comfortable frame, not to mention a
disingenous, but probably effective, advertising ploy, in which Hetrick could have
investigated some unusual themes for 1930s blackface puppet theatre.
One of the most enigmatic blackface puppet texts is Antonio deLeon
Richardson’s Uncle Tom. It starred a puppet construct of the title character Tom
Careless, from the novel The Life and Times of Tom Careless (1800). Richardson also
included a portrait puppet of African American actor Stepin Fetchit in the role of Uncle
201