The importance of tricksters in mythology can be seen in their actions and how they relate to the human race. Tricksters are complex beings, and are direct representations of the human race. They define rules and ways to act, but they also test those rules and boundaries that are set in society. Commonly, tricksters are thought of as laughable figures that cause mischief, but each trickster also has a dark side and thinks selfishly. These dark sides are key elements to the foundations of societies and cultures because the selfish actions that tricksters take ultimately teach what humankind is capable of while simultaneously creating and changing culture. In order to understand how tricksters’ selfish deeds are a piece of the foundation of …show more content…
These actions are complex though, because they don’t just give something to the trickster, they also can give something to the culture. Coyote, the trickster character in many Native American myths is a good example of this kind of trickery. In How Coyote Placed the Stars, Coyote is a creator, because he creates constellations. Coyote leaves the wolves, dog, and bears in the sky by trapping them up their with the mindset that stories will be told about him (How Coyote Placed the Stars). In this myth, what defines coyote as a trickster rather than just a creator is because he is placing the stars for his own benefit. Another example of a selfish trickster is Anansi the spider from Africa, who tricks multiple species for the sole purpose of stories being told about him (Why We Tell Stories About Spider). While Anansi doesn’t create anything like Coyote, he does demonstrate humans’ ability to be cunning, manipulative, and selfish. This shows that though they are both tricksters and both act selfishly for their own benefit, the outcomes are different. But they both accomplish being models for the human capacity to be a trickster by demonstrating traits that all humans experience in varying ways at some point in their …show more content…
They are the teachers of immorality and by testing boundaries, they are actually showing where exactly the boundaries are in society. Tricksters “often do things backward, out of order, or in reverse order” (Christen 8). By acting on impulse and for selfish reasons, they are testing boundaries while simultaneously creating them. Boundaries don’t exist until someone tests them and reveals them. Without tricksters who are opportunists and hunger driven manipulators, society would have no bounds. Tricksters and their relationship with social boundaries is like the question of which came first; the chicken or the egg? Boundaries exist for tricksters to test them, and tricksters exist to test boundaries, thus making tricksters selfish actions necessary for the foundation of
Often, the trickster finds his antics to come back and hurt him, due to greedy, conceited, or boastful behavior. These tales are told in a humorous manner, meant to entertain the reader, but are specifically designed to teach a lesson about human behavior or morals. One trickster tale, “The Coyote and the Buffalo,” is the quintessential trickster story, and uses a coyote as a main character, very popular for early Native American literature. It tells of a coyote that has gotten himself into trouble with Buffalo Bull, his enemy, and has made a deal to give the Buffalo new horns. To express his gratitude, Buffalo Bull gives Coyote a young cow on the condition that he does not kill it, but only cuts off the fat. Soon Coyote gets greedy, and kills the cow for the better meat. However, he is quickly outsmarted by a woman who offered to cook the bones. She ends up stealing them, and the coyote is left with nothing. He pleads to the buffalo for another, but the buffalo will not give it to him, “and that is why there are no buffalo along the Swah-netk’-qhu.”(Allen et. al. 52) The moral of this story is that having too much greed can leave you hungry, instead of full of the riches of life you can gain by listening and following the
Claudia Card begins by questioning the difference between wrong and evil. How do we know when something crosses the line between being just wrong, to being an evil act? How does hatred and motive play a part in this? How can people psychologically maintain a sense of who they are when they have been the victims of evil? Card attempts to explain these fundamental questions using her theory of evil; the Atrocity Paradigm (Card, pg.3).
All of these types of stories survived by being “performed in Africa, the West Indies, and the American South.” These tricksters cause disharmony, which is part of the audience’s enjoyment. The main characteristic of the trickster in these tales is “signifying,” the “ability to use cunning words to turn the powerful into dupes.” Usually, a trickster makes a contract with a dupe, but betrays him. He does this because he gets his strength by violating social boundaries. Other times, the trickster plays tricks and is caught, which leads to humiliation. Some of the stories in this section are “Why the Hare Runs Away,” “The Ant’s Burden,” and “Tricking All the Kings” In “Why the Hare Runs Away,” we know the trickster makes a contract when “it was decided” was said, and we know the trickster breaks that contract when we see “he refused.” The trickster is punished for breaking the contract by being captured by the other animals. In the story “The Ant’s Burden,” we see Anansi trying to make Kweku his dupe when “he wondered how he could fix the blame on someone else.” This tale also takes on the characteristic of a trickster’s contest because Anansi loses and, in return, is made the dupe, for which he “was condemned.” “Tricking All the Kings” is about outwitting a plantation master. Although the king seems to dominate at the beginning of the story, he is later made to be the dupe. We see him becoming the tricksters first dupe when Buh Nansi says “oh, Massa King, you mean to pitch me in that blue, blue sea…,” and we see the contract being made when the king says, “No, I wouldn’t, I’ll have you drowned.” In this story the trickster beats the dupe because the king couldn’t have done him a “better favor”
Manipulation is a very powerful word. People use this tactic everyday to get what they want in life. By deceiving people or tricking them into seeing a certain point of view, people gain power. To skillfully use the power of manipulation a person must use another person's weaknesses. By using a person's emotions against them, they can be manipulated with ease. In Shakespeare's Othello, the character of Iago uses these tactics almost to perfection to achieve his goals.
As mentioned previously, he stole fire in the Southeast Native American mythology. In African Mythology, Ture, the Azandi trickster is a cultural hero since he provided man with the food we eat, water and fire. In Michael P Carroll’s “The Trickster as Selfish-Buffoon and Culture Hero” , he states that “The Trickster might be the individual responsible for stealing fire and giving it to human beings, for instructing human beings in useful activities ( like agriculture, boat building, etc.) for clearing the land of obstacles and monsters and so on.” (Carroll, 1984) In the book “The Trickster in West Africa: A Study of Mythic Irony and Sacred Delight” by Robert D. Pelton, it is stated by the reviewer M. F. C. Bourdillon, the role of the trickster tales in society is "the combination of analogy and irony to express aspects of human life which cannot be expressed any other way." The trickster tales are clearly told by many different cultures as a way to explain the world around them and to make sense of it. Freud in his book "Civilization and its Discontents" states the “Trickster represents an absence of culture” and “The dilemma is all human beings want to indulge in their sexual appetites and have the benefit of culture, but this indulgence would lead to the destruction of culture.” (Freud, 1962) In these folklores the Trickster while behaving in a selfish way ends up doing something that benefits mankind. An unexpected benefit to his selfish behavior. This is what makes the trickster a culture
The extraordinary archetype, the trickster figure, appears in folklore and mythology around the world. In cultures, where a trickster god, or creature, is present, it is ‘the other gods who have made the various forms of perfection’ (Atwood 2). Trickster is the one who is seen as responsible for the changes, the mistakes (2). Trickster has been credited for a score of positive developments, such as bringing sunshine, life and food to Earth (Hyde 25), and has been blamed for the just as many negative, such as the reason why people need food to survive (23), and why they cannot return from the dead (86). Because trickster is ‘at one and the same time creator and destroyer, giver and negator, he who dupes others and who is always duped himself’
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 Native American communities is still powerful today quite possibly because of their context, the lessons they reap, and the concerns they address. As the tales are told, the stories unravel showing the importance of a trickster and the eye-opening experiences they bring.
The word manipulation is most commonly defined as exerting shrewd or devious influence especially for one’s own advantage. The most common manipulation used to influence human behaviour is known as psychological manipulation. Psychological manipulation is a type of social influence that aims to change the perception or behaviour of others through underhanded deception. In the tragic play, Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, the author demonstrates the use of manipulation through the two main characters Prince Hamlet and King Claudius. The character fulfill their needs through dishonesty and learn that the effects of manipulating other has serious consequences that is able to manifest into a powerful force that consumes all aspects of one’s self. Just like how Hamlet uses his actions to manipulate the people around him to avenge his father’s death and how Claudius uses his words, actions, as well as his power as king of Denmark to manipulate people into fulfilling his needs. Through these characters the readers learn that by putting up a false mask of deception one loses their self as the lies take over.
...d leads to the deaths of many innocent characters and strips away each person’s individuality and trust, all for attaining power and recognition. Othello is not only a tragedy, but also an important reminder of how people are easily deceived to gain power and recognition. Shakespeare’s Othello stands as a warning to all generations. Some historians agree that William Shakespeare may have been one of the first psychologists in human history, since it enabled him to create a devious and Machiavellian character like Iago. Today, we study about psychopathic historic people like Adolf Hitler who annihilated millions of Jews in the name of revenge. It is in human nature to be vengeful and to attain what one desires. As said by Ghandi “An eye for an eye would make the world blind.”
Mike, the con man in The House of Games, was extremely talented at this concept and continued to perfect it. He once told the woman who was intrigued by his line of "work" that in order to get someone else's confidence, you had to give them yours. He tried twice to fool her out of her money, the first unsuccessful and the second hitting home. She had given him her complete and utmost trust and adoration which made her an easy target to be taken advantage of. Mike's experience of human nature helped him know exactly what to do to get what he wanted from other people. The way he conquered the minds of his unsuspecting victims was through the simple and popular tactic of deception.
Oftentimes a trickster, or a person who outwits or deceives their opponent, will hoax someone or something into believing something is not true or motivate them to do something that they had blatantly not wanted. A trickster will do this so that they can attain something that they desire. In the three Trickster Tales, “How Stories Came to Earth,” “Coyote Steals Fire,” and “Master Cat,” each main character displays anthropomorphism through the ways that they gain the things that they want, may or may not benefit society when they obtain their assets, and also may or may not use the same pattern to achieve their goals.
Many would perceive madness and corruption to play the most influential role in Hamlet. However, it could be argued that the central theme in the tragedy is Shakespeare's presentation of actors and acting and the way it acts as a framework on which madness and corruption are built. Shakespeare manifests the theme of actors and acting in the disassembly of his characters, the façades that the individuals assume and the presentation of the `play within a play'. This intertwined pretence allows certain characters to manipulate the actions and thoughts of others. For this reason, it could be perceived that Shakespeare views the `Elsinorean' tragedy as one great puppet show, "I could see the puppets dallying".
The role of a trickster is to create mischief for others, he is willing to do anything in order to gain something for themselves, and is a disaster to natural order everywhere. In different cultures the trickster can exhibit different characteristics and break out of the mold of the archetypal role. The trickster does not only serve a purpose of providing humorous situations or troubles for others while playing the part of a villain. At other times, the trickster can play the part of a hero and play a crucial part in establishing world order. The tales the Native American people have woven are something they believe have effects in the real world. In Native American trickster tales, there are numerous contradictions that are rampant in the
The passage below is found in the opening act of one of Shakespeare's most illusive plays of control and manipulation. The word "deception" is defined as "the act of misleading" or "to trick, cheat, lie, and mislead". From this definition, it is obvious that deception is normally perceived to be evil and results in the harm of others mentally and physically. It leads to broken hearts, untold truths, or even unpunished murder. However, in Shakespeare's The Tempest, deception is used as a virtuous art to manipulate an unjust situation and rectify it.
supported by their words, by being honest. In Othello, Shakespeare exhibits how dishonesty can be used as a form of manipulation on honest people, but also leads to self-destruction on the person using it.