Dora the Explorer is one of many of the new shows for the next generation. This is a cartoon with various settings, depending on the adventure of the day. Dora is a girl that is bilingual and has a magic backpack and a monkey named Boots as a friend. She is always helping someone get home and/or out of a jam. Dora and Boots have traveled in time and to far away lands to help. Like most kids shows of today, it is an educational show that teaches Spanish words and counting. There are also the lessons on comparison, sharing, and compromise. The lessons are hidden within the show and not jammed down the viewer’s throats. Interactivity is strongly promoted. Swiper is used to help teach the morals of right from wrong.
In Dora, Swiper plays the role of the trickster. Swiper is a fox that wears a mask and gloves, like a common thief would wear. Swiper is a traditional trickster in several ways.
Swiper displays several characteristics of a trickster as defined by Hynes. He is a fox, which is a common animal to be a trickster. He is very selfish as he disrupts what Dora is trying to accomplish for no reason than to annoy her. Swiper is always seen alone and doesn’t join in with others. Most of the time the tricks he plays on Dora and Boots backfire on him.
In the episode Three Little Piggies, Swiper tries to steal the blue ribbons that the three pigs have won. He is stopped by Dora and her friend Boots, saying ‘Swiper, no swiping” three times, but he scares the three piggies and they run away causing problems. While trying to round up the three piggies, Swiper keeps throwing Dora off the trail of them by disguising the way to go.
According to Hynes “his lying, cheating, tricking, and deceiving may derive from the trickster being simply an unconscious numbskull, or at other times, from the trickster being a malicious spoiler” (35). Swiper is a malicious spoiler as he tries to interrupt whatever Dora is doing for no good reason other than to amuse himself. Dora and her friends, saying “Swiper, no swiping”, foil him. Swiper always responds to the “Swiper, no swiping” with an Oh, man! He hangs his head while saying this. In one episode that he tries to delay Dora crossing a bridge but falls in the river himself.
Piggy is also very intimidated by boys like Jack and Roger. For example, when Jack tells Piggy to shut up “Piggy [wilts]”and this shows that his confidence always seems to go down whenever boys like Jack are
Sceledrus, a slave, is like Barney, the deputy of Mayberry, they mean well but they might be easily tricked into believing something is not what it seems. Palaestrio tricked Sceledrus into believing that he was seeing two girls rather than one. When Sceledrus found the truth in the end and told his boss, Pyrgopolynices, Sceledrus did not seem surprised he acted like the truth had been obvious to everyone. Andy often tricks Barney, because he wants to help him solve a problem and think that he has discovered the solution on his own.
Strayed’s brother Leif plays the role of a trickster because he does not care about the health of her mother. Strayed states, “ I’ll come back with leif. When she hear his name she opened her eyes: blue and blazing, the same as they’d always been. How can you not be mad at him? I asked bitterly for perhaps the tenth time” (Strayed 24-25). It caused a problem tot Cheryl because they ended up not seeing her mother for the last time alive. That is why he plays a role of a trickster because he brought trouble to Cheryl especially when she wanted to hear her mother say she was the best. If she never encountered the trickster she wouldn't be able to. . .
Ralph’s attitude toward piggy is somewhat rude because of the way he laughs sarcastically to piggy's idea.For example when Ralph asks Piggy “are you going to swim” and piggly replies “no, i wasn't allowed to because of my asthma.” and Ralph says “well that sucks for you.” I myself thought that was really rude because it’s not his fault that Piggy has asthma. Also when he tend to call Piggy fat, which is all the time.
Utilizing his wits to outmaneuver the wolf, then scaring the wolf and ultimately eating the wolf portrays the third pig using survival tactics. As Carrie Ryan says in her novel The Dark and Hollow Places, “Survivors aren't always the strongest; sometimes they're the smartest, but more often simply the luckiest.”
On one hand, Squeaky is described as a show-off. When she wins a race, she does nothing but to brag about it. “There is no track meet that I don’t win first place medal,”(39).states Squeaky. The big kids call her Mercury because she is the swiftest thing in the neighborhood (39). Mercury was a god that was known to be very swift. He had wings on his sandals. Squeaky is obviously a fast person and likes to admit that she is.
The people used to get mad but they never could catch him.” (62) Coon Taylor is a trickster because he is a petty thief but one who can not get caught. Other Tricksters in the novel are Sweet Back and Jelly from Story in Harlem Slang. While they are not thieves like Coon Taylor they are still Tricksters because they are liars, only lying to one up and impress the other person. “Put your money where your mouth is”, he challenged, as he mock-struggled to haul out a huge roll.” (129) “Jelly slammed his hand in his bosom as if to draw a gun. Sweet Back did the same.” (131) When these characters are arguing they begin trying to be better than the other person as shown in these quotes.
Squealer uses propaganda such as rhetorical questions, lies and threats to convince the animals to believe the pigs. Unfortunately for the animals, they are easily led. If it were not for their blind devotion, trust and naivety, they could easily see how the pigs gradually gained power. The pigs also use the dogs as force to keep the animals ‘in line’, discouraging them from trying to rebel.
At one point, Pete gets so angry at Sucker that he starts to yell at him. After that happens, Pete notices a change in Sucker and says, “There had never been such a look on him before. It was like every second he was getting older,”(30). Carson depicts Sucker as losing his innocence. Sucker’s new “look” reflects his new behavior. After this scene, Sucker’s behavior changes completely. He becomes more independent and distances himself from Pete. In one scene, Sucker talks with his new group of friends when Pete comes in. Pete hears one of Sucker’s friends talk about him and looks at Sucker and says, “For a minute Sucker looked surprised and his face was almost like it used to be. Then he got hard and tough again…They didn’t notice me,” (31). In the end, Carson portrays Sucker as someone who has lost his innocence. Sucker realizes that Pete has not appreciated him throughout the years, and ultimately chooses to ignore him. Innocence is a human aspect that cannot be reclaimed. Sucker’s innocence explains why a relationship between Pete and him even existed at the
It is hard to find a perfect match for Piggy. He is full of sensible, bright ideas, but because he is fat, a nerd and wears glasses, no one will listen to him except for Ralph. He was also kind of irritating. For example, he followed the rules too much. If something wasn’t done the way he knew was right, he would get all irate. Then, of course, when it went wrong, Piggy had no hesitation in telling people that he could’ve done it better.
...s” that can be displayed by ones creativity, vulnerability and hopelessness, as well as aspirations and inherent genius represent the divine child (Adams). A doctor, father, teacher or any authority figure that may provide you guidance or words of wisdom with gifts like magical healing powers are represented as the wise old man/women. The great mother appears as a female who helps, protects and nurtures, and provides positive reassurances. She may also be the opposite and negatively affect one in their dreams by becoming one associated with death or dominating loved ones. The trickster can be the model of illusions, deceptions, or misjudgments. The trickster symbolizes all that cannot be tamed or civilized and can be found in dreams during uncertain situation where choices are being made. The trickster often embarrasses or mocks one and can sometimes be diabolical.
...er mock Piggy, when he “made a move toward Piggy…[and] mimicked the whine and scramble by saying, ‘Jus’ you wait-yah!’” By doing this, Jack causes all of the younger hunters to laugh, giving him even more power over them all because of the new power that the mask gave him, by allowing him to be cruel and unkind.
“As we speak of Trickster today, you must try to blow life into the image, to imagine Trickster as life energy, to allow Trickster to step out of the verbal photograph we create . . . . Because trickster stories still have power: the power to bring us to laughter, the power to baffle us, the power to make us wonder and think and, like Trickster, just keep going on” (Bright).
For my example of a trickster I am using The Joker from the popular movie franchise by Christopher Noland “Batman Begins”. I will be using the second movie in the franchise “The Dark Knight” for my example of The Joker portrayed by actor Heath Ledger. The Joker is part of the criminal element that is part of the chief city represented in the world of Batman. Although he takes part in criminal acts within this city he was once a soldier in the armed forces and suffers from PTSD as well as other mental health problems stemming from his service. Through this dichotomy we can see that he was once an agent of justice and now acts as though he is a criminal but states himself within the movie that he is only “an agent of chaos”.
had ever encountered in his world. In the middle the trickster, Mr. Richie, in his red