Three Trickster Tales

How the Three Trickster Tales are Similar but Still Differentiate

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. In “How Stories Came to Earth,” retold by Kaleki, Kwaku

In “How Stories Came to Earth,” Anansi wins the sky-god’s stories by outsmarting all four animals that the sky-God requested. After he gets the stories, it is said how Anansi and Aso, “...spin their webs for all to see”(Kaleki 42). This proves that by Anansi winning the stories from the sky-god, not only Anansi got to know what they are. He shares them with everyone, therefore, everyone now knows the sky-god’s stories and not just himself which shows how Anansi benefited society by winning the stories. In “Coyote Steals Fire,” Coyote beats Thunder at a game of dice by cheating. Thunder knows Coyote cheated, so he angrily throws a large Boulder that contains fire, and it shatters into many pieces. This was Coyote’s plan the entire time. When it shatters, it is said how, “Every animal took a little piece of the fire… bringing fire to every tribe on earth”(Erdoes and Ortiz 45). This shows that Coyote’s winnings benefit the entire earth. Coyote cheats in order to win the game because he knows that Thunder will lose control and throw the fire. Because each animal gets a piece of the fire, Coyote’s plan benefits society. In both “How Stories Came to Earth” and “Coyote Steals Fire,” the tricksters’ accomplishments are beneficial to

Anansi in “How Stories Came to Earth” must capture each animal before he is able to get the stories from the sky-god. He does this in a chronological-like order. He captures each animal in steps. In his first step his wife “[tells] him a plan” (Kaleki 40), then he tricks the animal, next he captures it, then lastly he brings the animal to the sky-god. He repeats this order of events every time until he captures all the animals and is able to get his stories. In “Master Cat,” the cat uses steps as well in order to get what he wants. The cat is trying to convince the king that his master is actually a rich gentleman. Not only does the cat impress the king, but also the princess who becomes interested in the cat’s master. The cat does this by starting small. He first brings the king gifts. He then threatens people by saying that they will “...be cut into little pieces until [they] look like chopped meat” (Perrault 49), so that they will tell the king that his master owns a lot of land. Finally, he lastly impresses the king with the ogre’s giant castle by saying it is his master’s. This concludes the king’s decision that the cat’s master is actually someone important. In these two trickster tales, a similar pattern in the way that they accomplish their goals can be seen because