Who Is The Trickster In 'Passing'?

Page 9-13: He first starts how he was privileged as a white by talking about how he his family was able to easily gain an apartment with the help of his grandfather, who was established way before because he was white. Also the complex was segregated at first and so even after the end of the “apartheid” it was still hard for the people of color to come in. He then talks about how he was able to gain a sweet job which would lead to his stardom as an antiracist activist. But the only way he ever got this job was because he knew two people. Two people he met a Tulane, his college. And the fact that he was able to go to Tulane was in itself because of white privilege. It was because he was white that his mother was able to easily gain a loan. And this loan was only gained because his mother’s family being white was able to have a house to use for collateral for the loan.

Thus, he is convinced “passing” for a member of the white society would safeguard him from a life of uncertainty and violence. He is ashamed to be “indentified with a people [the black race] that would with impunity be treated worse than animals,” affirming his want to be treated as a white person to omit any violence being inflicted onto himself (Johnson 101). This observation coerces the narrator to ultimately decide to “pass” to the white society. While he declares he will neither “disclaim the black race nor claim the white race” but he would change (Johnson 101). He will “let the world take [him] for what it would,” because he refuses to go about life amidst a “label of inferiority pasted across [his] forehead,” which would occur should he claim the black race (Johnson 101). He recognizes that by intentionally “passing” he will keep himself out of harm’s way and safe from having such treatment being inflicted upon himself.

In the play, The Taming of the Shrew, by William Shakespeare, there is a recurring theme of people hiding their real identity. First, there are cases of deception, such as Tranio pretending to be Lucentio, Lucentio pretending to be a Latin tutor, Hortensio pretending to be a music tutor. More complex than these obvious examples of deception are Shakespeare’s clever uses of psychological masks. Several characters in the play take on roles that do not agree with their personalities. The psychological masks that they wear are not immediately apparent to the audience, or even to the characters themselves, until they are unmasked through the course of the play. Shakespeare mostly uses this device with the characters of Katherina, Bianca,

2016: Many works of literature contain a character who intentionally deceives others. The character’s dishonesty may be intended either to help or to hurt. Such a character, for example, may choose to mislead others for personal safety, to spare someone’s feelings, or to carry out a crime. Choose a novel or play in which a character deceives others. Then, in a well-written essay, analyze the motives for that character’s deception and discuss how the deception contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole.

"Each trick crumples in the end as a result of the mental probability that the individuals who are superlatively sharp at beguiling others turn out to be similarly astute at misdirecting themselves. Disinformation eats the individuals who make it."

One must always be weary of the truth because it is quite often manipulated to serve the needs of any person who requires that the truth be on their side. Quite often, the only way to discern the truth from the fiction is by way of a deceptive act, because an act of deception always exposes both its self and the truth to be two quite different things. Nowhere is this more true than in William Shakespeare's, Hamlet. One of the major themes in the play is in fact, deception. This central theme is expressed throughout the play in three major forms: the fear of being deceived, the act of deception, and the ultimate result of the deceptive act. The first facet of the deceptive

The protagonist holds to his immature beliefs that by looking, acting and maintaining a false façade as a “dangerous character” (Boyle,114) it would bestow on him an the badness he desires.

Within one’s lifetime, the mark to finding oneself is being able to overcome hardships and difficulties in order to unravel the full potential concealed within them. From being manipulated and deceived, this manages to bring about an ability hidden within oneself that can only be triggered by experiencing what it is like to be a victim of deception. In A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen and As You Like It by William Shakespeare, each author entraps their protagonists with the role of being manipulative or the victim of being manipulated to further enhance the author’s purpose of revealing or unlocking the hidden potential that arose within the characters.

Racial identity is an important concept that everyone must deal with in their life. It is an individual’s sense of having their identity be defined by belonging to a race and or ethnic group. How strong the identity is depending on how much the individual has processed and internalized the sociological, political, and other factors within the group. In some instances, people do not identify with their race and they will “pass” as another. Nella Larsen, an African American writer and prominent member of the Harlem Renaissance movement, she explores the consequences of “passing”. Larsen’s Passing is a novel that challenges the concept of ethnicity, race and gender while revolutionizing the idea of what we describe as identity. The novel explores the issue of race through vivid plotting that depicts a mentally touching story of affecting boundaries in the early American society. The novel also explores the effects of racial construction on a person through multiple levels. Through Larsen’s characterization and setting she is able to bring out the social construction of race in an enjoyable and educated format in which race, class distinction and identity themes are intertwined. Larsen herself often struggles with identity, as she grew up being raised by an all-white household after her father, a black West Indian, disappeared from her life. Larsen depicts the theme of racial identity by using two women characters, both of which are attractive, and are “light” enough to be able

What is a trickster? A trickster typically breaks the creeds of the divine or nature, most of the time this is doomed maliciously, but sometimes with positive results. More frequently than not, the rule-breaking will capture the pattern of tricks, or thievery. Tricksters are generally cunning, foolish, or perhaps both. They are usually very funny even when they are scared. In diverse cultures the trickster and humanizing hero are often merged in one. Tricksters are particular to their own cultures. However, tricksters are naturally bound by undeniable attributes no matter what their religion is or what culture they have come from. It is thought that all of us have some type of trickster within us, whether it may be conscious or

Prejudice is a cancer that spreads hate among its perpetrators and victims alike. In 1930 Langston Hughes penned the novel, Not Without Laughter. This powerful story, written from the perspective of an African-American boy named James “Sandy” Rodgers, begins in the early 1900’s in the small town of Stanton, Kansas. Through the eyes of young Sandy, we see the devastating impact of racism on his family and those they are close to. We also see how the generations of abuse by whites caused a divide within the black community. Among, and even within, black families there were several social classes that seemed to hinge on seeking equality through gaining the approval of whites. The class someone belonged to was determined by the color

L. Hughes’ short story ‘Passing’ is driven by the conflict between the morals of having to behave like a white man and being African American by birth. The main character has a conflicting identity. ‘William Faulkner reminds us that in addition to a conflict of wills, fiction also shows “the heart in conflict with itself”’ (Burroway, J. 2011 pg. 249). This is particularly evident when the narrator, Jack says, ‘that’s the kind of thing that makes passing hard, having to deny your own family when you see them…you and I both realise it is all for the best, but anyhow it’s terrible’ (Hughes 1971 pg. 51). The main character is seen to although understand the privilege he has, also feel guilty about ignoring who he is by birth. David Lodge describes ‘…The beginning of a novel is a threshold, separating the real world we inhabit from the world the novelist has imagined. It should therefore… “Draw

In society, deception, cunningness, and other uses of trickery are quite common. Whether these themes are seen easily or are placed more discreetly, they are found in society often. Simply take a look at any political ad, certain sexual assault cases, or any form of social media, especially dating apps such as Tinder and Bumble. More often than not, political advertisements, sexual assault cases, and social media involve extraordinary amounts of deception, cunning words, and lies to call someone to a certain action. Political advertisements contain propaganda to push a political view. Sexual assault cases frequently begin with cunning, seductive words used to draw someone into an act they do not desire to commit. Social media is possibly the most common form of deception as countless amounts of people edit their photos to attain a desired body image or skin tone, essentially cat-fishing anyone who follows them. Furthermore, deception and cunningness are not only common in society, but is also present in literature in several ways. In Geoffrey Chaucer’s epic poem, “The Canterbury Tales,” Chaucer uses seduction, craftiness, and trickery as a form of persuasion, revenge, and to prove tricks do not come without consequences.

The Native American Trickster is usually described as a character that “is a wandering, bawdy, gluttonous, and obscene” (72). The Trickster is “usually male but able to alter his sex at will,” he “may copulate with his daughter or daughter–in-law or send his penis swimming across rivers in search of sexual adventure” (72). He is often characterized as being “selfish, amoral, foolish, destructive, and as his name indicates, given to duping others in his own interest” (72). However, the trickster “is also a culture hero, someone often with godlike power who long, long ago helped to establish the order of the world that we know today” (72). Though, his folly caused him to forget his purpose of ridding the earth of evil entities, he is still a staple in Native American tales. Every tribe has their own version of the trickster!

In The Lion King, the tricksters are Timon and Pumba. These tricksters, however, are not evil tricksters but helpful tricksters who help remind Simba that he is destined to be king and not live in the jungle eating bugs for the rest of his life (Jackson). An example of how the trickster is shown in “The Two Brothers” is of how the witch tells the older brother to touch his animals on the back with the wand that she throws down to him; “She, however, was a witch, and said, I will throw down a wand from the tree, and if you strike them on the back with it, they will do me no harm.” This shows that the witch is tricking the older brother to trust her to warm herself up by his fire when she is just getting him to turn his animals into stone so they do not kill her. This is portraying how she is tricking the older brother like the archetype defines. Another example is when the brother does not trust the witch and asks her to come down by the fire. “When the huntsman heard that, he had no confidence in the old woman, and said, I will not strike my animals. Come down, or I will fetch you.” This proves that even though the brother doubted her, she still got the best of him. This therefore implements the characteristic of disobeying normal rules. Lastly, is when the witch has already turned the brother’s animals into stone and turns the brother into stone as well. “And when the witch was safe from the animals, she leapt down and touched him also with a wand, and