The+Trickster




 * The Trickster**

The Trickster archetype in literature is anyone, a god, deity, animal or being who plays tricks or otherwise disobeys normal rules and norms of behavior. The trickster archetype can be found in many different cultures, crossing various cultural traditions.(http://www.crystalinks.com/trickster.html) The trickster can break the rules of the gods or nature, sometime maliciously (Loki) but usually with ultimately good results or postive effects. They are cunning or foolish or both, they are oftern very funny. Sadly the population of tricksters is sexist, with tricksters almost always male. Either way the trickster is found in folklore across the world and serves a special role in many of the world's cultures.

In Norse mythology, Loki is the main trickster. Loki is characterized as a god by many, although some sources say that he is actually a giant or demon. He is a member of Odin's family and for this reason he is one of the main gods. He is known as the "contriver of all fraud." Loki has the power to shape shift, he can change not only shape but gender. Although Loki caused much misfortune, such as killing a giant, lying and creating trouble for the other gods, he does eventually redeem himself. Loki manages to retrieve Mjolnir (Thor's hammer) from the giant Prymr who stold it to use the sword as leverage so as to make a goddess his wife. Even though Loki may have been a liability to the gods (i.e. leading to the death of Baldr, the birth of Fenrir and other monsters), his pranks ultimately provided the gods with all their most precious items such as Thor's hammer.

Anansi the spider is a famous character from West African lore, but many other cultures have their own version of Anansi. Although there are some discrepancies regarding tales of Anansi throughout different cultures, the most well-known stories are about the same and tell of the same themes, morals, and events. These stories tell of Anansi trying to trick others into giving him food, money, or something else of value. Probably the most popular story of Anansi is how he became the King of All Stories. In this folktale, Anansi approaches the Sky God, Nyame, and requests to be called The King of All Stories. Nyame, who is used to these sort of requests, gives Anansi a series of seemingly impossible tasks in order to become the Story King. Nyame tells Anansi he must catch The Jaguar With Teeth Like Daggers, The Hornets That Sting Like Fire, and The Fairy Whom Men Never See. Anansi tricks the jaguar into playing a game that involves the jaguar being tied up, tricks the hornets into thinking it is raining and taking shelter in Anansi's calabash, and catches the fairy by using a tar baby. Anansi returns to Nyame with the captured animals and is then named the King Of All Stories. (http://anansi-web.com/anansi.html)

One example of this archetype in modern film is Tyler Durden in the movie //Fight Club (1999).// Tyler Durden, the creator of Fight Club, begins to branch out from just an underground club designed for men to blow off steam during the late hours of the night. Tyler Durden recruits members of Fight Club into a larger, more political group called Project Mayhem. Under Tyler's direction, Project Mayhem designs late night acts of destructive anti-capitalist vandalism in the city. The people in this large group are the city's average gas station employees, waiters, chauffeurs, busboys, and other small-job workers throughout New York City. They control things from the inside, making the nighttime pranks run easily and smoothly. Such tricks involve changing messages on billboards, feeding a bunch of pigeons on the roof of a car dealership so they excrete waste all over the new cars, and destroying valuable window displays of electronics and expensive products. Probably the most extreme stunt in the movie carried out by Project Mayhem was the planting of bombs in several major credit card company buildings in order to cripple the financial networks.(http://www.imdb.com/find?s=all&q=Fight+club)

Bugs Bunny is another example of the trickster archetype in modern film.(http://www.answers.com/topic/bugs-bunny) He is notorious for tricking other characters such as Elmer Fudd by means of faking death, disguises, bombs, and other explosives. He outsmarts the rest of the Looney Tunes characters by using his wits to get out of situations where he is being targeted. Bugs Bunny represents the more positive side of the trickster spectrum because he often plays tricks that are harmless and result in no harm being done, such as avoiding being hunted or killed. Bugs Bunny's main objective as the trickster archetype is to disrupt the status quo represented by his environment.

Why is the Trickster important to us? What does it say about humans in general? In African culture the trickster archetype is used to show how it is possible to overcome a system of oppression from within. Their clever language to perform societal deconstruction. It also shows how we place great importance on intellectual skills and cunning. "Fragile body but deceptively strong mind." The trickster is also a physical personification of how humans like to separte themselves from the world around them, one way that we as humans do this is by placing emphasis on our ability to think. Finally the trickster represents our need to laugh. In some Native American cultures the worshippers had to laugh before the ritual could begin, it was necessary to separate themselves from the every day world to achieve spirtual connection. The trickster allows us to break free from the monotony of life and enjoy everything. For these reasons, the trickster archetype will continue to cycle through literature and film, it is an essential part of the human psyche.

Websites:

Trickster Information: http://www.crystalinks.com/trickster.html This site is very useful and has information about tricksters from nearly every world culture. Enjoy.

Anansi: [|The Story of Anansi]

Loki: [|Loki Picture 1] [|Loki Picture 2] [|Loki Picture 3] [|Loki Picture 4] [|Loki Picture 5]

Fight Club: [|Fight Club Picture 1] [|Fight Club Picture 2] [|Fight Club Picture 3] [club|Internet Movie Database's Explanation of Fight Club]

Bugs Bunny: [|A History of Bugs Bunny]