Trickster Essay

One of the main elements of a trickster tale is the cleverness of the trickster. In a trickster tale the main character is the trickster, but tricksters can also be found in other stories as minor characters. The characteristic that define a trickster are the cleverness and intelligence they possess, and being generally the most inventive and smart character in the story. The three trickster tales that were assigned all show a trickster who is extremely clever and outsmarting others throughout the tale.

In the first tale, How Stories Came to Earth, the trickster character, Anansi shows his cleverness by devising a plan to make it look like it was raining in order to trap the hornets. Anansi was clever enough to create an illusion of rain, tricking the hornets. “He pours out some of the water and sprinkled it all over their nest. Cutting a leaf from a nearby banana tree, he held it up a covered his head. He then poured the rest of the water from the gourd all over himself” (41). He knew how to make it look like it was raining, outsmarting the hornets as they fell for his trap, showing the cleverness of a trickster character.

Cleverness of the trickster is also shown in the Native American trickster tale, Coyote Steals Fire.

Coyote displays cleverness when he first instigates a fight with Thunder who is described as being, “a fearful being.” Coyote knew Thunder could beat him physically but was clever enough to take control of the situation and made it into a game that he knew he could win, shown on page 45: “ ‘Let us play a game of dice. If you win, you can kill me. If I win you have to give me fire’ “ (45). Coyote shows his cleverness, by turning the tides in his favor, by playing a game of dice that he is able to cheat in, in order to get his prize. Coyote outsmarting Thunder is another example of the cleverness of a

trickster.
Finally, in the last story, Master Cat, the cleverness of the trickster is also displayed. Master Cat was shown as being incredibly clever, forming a plan to make his master seem more powerful while at the same time saving his own life. For example, one part of Master Cat’s plan was to hide his master’s clothes in order for him to be able to wear the king’s expensive suits. “In reality, the scoundrel had hidden the clothes under a rock. The king ordered the officers of the royal wardrobe to fetch one of his finest suits for the Marquis de Carabas” (49). By hiding his master’s clothes, his master got to wear some of the king’s clothing, making him look wealthy and powerful. The plan of Master Cat is an example of cleverness of the trickster.
Those were some examples of how cleverness of the trickster is portrayed in trickster tales. Anansi, Coyote and Master Cat were all tricksters who showed their cleverness throughout their stories by creating plans and outsmarting others.