Characteristics Of Trickster Tales

Tricksters have notoriously been known to ruin, not only their lives, but the lives of others. Although, they sometimes use their tricks to the aid of others by changing the ideas and ways of life of the people they trick. The trickster archetype can be traced back to nearly every mythological character. The trickster archetype is shown through Hermes, Loki, and the Joker in the way that their actions shape the ideas and ways of life in their cultures.

Kind and selfish, deep and shallow, male and female, and foolish and wise aren’t always words that are associated with each other, quite the opposite in fact. However, when it comes to the trickster tales of Native Americans, each word is associated with the other and describes more or less the same person or animal. To Native American people a trickster affects the world for an infinite number of reasons, including instruction and enjoyment. A trickster, like the name implies, is a cunning deception. A trickster can be a hero. However, at the same time he could introduce death. How is that heroic? Why would a group of people want to remember a person that brings punishments such as death? The function the trickster tales have/ had on

Some of his most well-known transformations are those of the “flea, fly, giantess, salmon, seal, and bird” (McLeish, par. 2). He uses these transformations for various reasons, such as “to benefit others”, “to trick them”, and “to save his own butt” (McLeish, par. 2).

Many people have sometimes found themselves in some really terrifying situations, only to wake up shortly after and realize that they were dreaming. In “The Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka, the main character Gregor Samsa is a traveling salesman who had devoted his life to taking care of his mother, father, and sister. That is, however, until he woke up one morning and found himself transformed into an insect. At that point, he became useless to his family and had to come to terms with his new identity as a bug. This, of course, was a totally different life to have then the one he previously held. Identity is an issue that most people encounter at some time or another, so the “metamorphosis” is somewhat a day-to-day occurrence for these individuals.

The two trickster tales, “How Stories Came to Earth”, and “Coyote Steals Fire”, both have things in common with each other. Both these stories have God's, main characters that are animals, and successful endings. In the both tales for example there are Gods. These gods,

Characters from one story to another may have different names, but their characteristics are often repeated. Applying Archetypal Theory to a text allows readers to recognize universal symbols, motifs, and patterns that appear in literature, myths, dreams, oral traditions, songs, and religions. Archetypal critics believe certain images, characters, and character types recur in literature, and all plots and characters are based on common myths, images, dreams, fairy tales, and legends (Davidson). Common character types are revealed when applying Archetypal Theory to Julia Alvarez’s novel, In the Time of the Butterflies, helping readers understand each character’s motivations. Particularly, common character types of the rebel, the ruler, and

Fraud, con-man, and hustler are all modern day terms to describe the age old character in African American literature known as the trickster. Today’s working definition of a trickster is one who swindles or plays tricks; often a mischievous figure in myth or folklore, who typically makes up for physical weakness through cunning and subversive humor. In African American literature the role of the trickster is a reoccurring theme, especially in the time period spanning from post Civil War to the Harlem Renaissance. During slavery and the years that followed the image of a trickster changed from a humorous amoral figure to a cunning and socially conscious icon. Charles W. Chesnutt is a primary example of an author, who faithful employs the

In the Shakespearian play: The Taming of the Shrew, deception is one of the major concepts. A tangled web is created in the play through deception of character behavior and the change between clothing and class. Most of the deception in the play have particular motives behind them and create dramatic irony. Shakespeare has used dramatic irony to create a comedic play.

Folk tales are stories that are most often passed down orally from generation to generation. These stories are often changed slightly due its old age and variety in versions. Details and dialogue may differ by a speck, but one thing that never changes is the archetypes in the stories, in other words, the common example of a character based on their role in the story. Washington Irving, an author associated to the Romantic Era with a gothic twist in the 1800’s, is a prime example of a folk tale with archetypical characters. “The Devil and Tom Walker,” published in 1824 illustrates a story of a greedy man who makes a covenant with the Devil selling his soul for wealth.

Across many cultural stories and myths clear character archetypes emerge. One such archetype is the trickster. They are often characterized by playing pranks and manipulating the people around him. Two specific examples of the trickster are Iago in Othello and Loki from Norse mythology. In their respective stories these two characters are astonishingly similar. There are of course some differences between two, but the similarities they have allow for clear correlations to be drawn. This could have implication of cultural sharing between England and Norse countries. Both Iago and Loki are strikingly similar in their roles as the trickster.

Coyote said “let's play a game of dice.” This is a quote taken from the trickster tale entitled Coyote Steals Fire. In this story Coyote asked this question to the Thunder God to play a game dice to trick him in playing to win the fire. My stories i choose to compare and contrast between “Coyote Steals Fire” and “Master Cat” these stories are trickster tales and their are many differences and similarities.

Many parents read fairy tales to their children. Young people are able to use their imaginations while listening to these fantastical stories. Filled with dragons, witches, damsels in distress, and heroes, these tales stay in the mind children for years to come. However, these young listeners are getting much more than a happy ending. Fairy tales such as "The Goose Girl", "The Three Little Pigs", "Cinderella", and "Snow White" one can find theories of psychology. Erik Erikson's theories of social development as well as Sigmund Freud's theory of the map of the mind and his controversial Oedipal complex can be found in many fairy tales. Within every fairy tale there lies a hidden lesson in

The trickster archetype is used in stories of various cultures from European to North American. With each story the trickster varies depending on the norms of the society the story originated from. In most trickster stories, the trickster and cultural hero are combined. The trickster can take any shape and is almost limitless in its abilities. They often go around the ordinary actions to prove a point or reach there goal. There are many different characteristics to the trickster archetype, they can be magical or break ordinary limits effortlessly, illogical, cleaver even in foolish manner, and have benign intentions, just to name a few however there are many more. In the Koasati trickster tale “The Bungling Host” has some of the more common traits such as causing unintentional harm, foolish, posses magic, and more common in NAtive American stories, the characters have definite shapes as animals. The less common ones this story possess is a creation story and death of the trickster. The Koasati Rabbit fits the trickster archetype because he is foolish, breaks the rules of nature, and the story involves silliness.

The myths and folklore that we encounter in many cultures appear to have at least one Trickster in the midst. The specific skills of each Trickster varies from cultures, but evidently are important in the creation and development of each culture, “In some... trickster myths, the side effect of its lawlessness is the creation of social order” (Giddens, 31). The Coyote of Native American traditions is often shown as aiding the “Great Spirit” in the world. In opposition to the culture, Greek mythology Hermes is a devious child who captures a tortoise with his lies and creates the first lyre from its shell, but eventually transitions to as the messenger of the gods that relates to Coyote and the “Great Spirit” as he aids the gods by relaying messages. Both Hermes and Coyote have many similarities and differences that make them unique to the culture that believe in them as they depict the theme of duty, the theme of morality as well as gender roles.

Archetypes are used in literature to portray a certain meaning, that helps create a better and more meaningful story. The archetypes used can be embedded in the characters, symbols, or even rituals involved in a story. These archetypes can help give deeper meaning to the story by giving a underlying reference to concepts that are used over and over again in literature throughout history. When an author uses an archetype in his or her writing, they link it to many other stories that use that same archetype. Some do this for a reason, to give an underlying meaning, to symbolized something of importance, or even just to make their story more interesting. Many readers may not notice the underlying archetype, but sometimes the author uses them because he or she knows that the reader will.