Those Naughty and Loveable Tricksters

There are many trickster characters in folklore.
 
This is the character that makes up for lack of strength or physical abilities with a great deal of wit and tenacity. This character shows the dual nature of most beings, being neither completely good nor completely bad. The trickster is sometimes kind and sometimes cruel. He is sometimes extremely clever and other times very gullible. Sometimes he deceives and sometimes he is the deceived. Tricksters are led by their appetites more than by an internal moral compass. The trickster breaks the rules of society and suffers the consequences. The trickster also demonstrates the values of the culture from which his story originates. So along with being entertaining, trickster stories are also valuable in the perpetuation and preservation of culture.

I have some favorite tricksters. You may remember Bre'r Rabbit from the traditional stories recorded by Joel Chandler Harris. He is a folk hero from the southern United States. Bre'r Rabbit gets into trouble sometimes an has to outsmart his adversary to get away. He makes bad decisions sometimes. He is an example of what to do and also of what not to do.

Puss in Boots is a magical cat who tricks a king into raising a low born miller to a nobleman. Anansi is a spider who tries to trick other characters into providing him with food. Reynard is a red fox who is summoned to the court of the King to answer charges brought against him by the wolf. He uses satire to show the flaws in noblemen and to excuse his own actions. Coyote is the central figure and trickster in many Native American stories.



In modern culture we have Bart Simpson, Bugs Bunny and Captain Jack Sparrow filling the role of trickster. They are comical, they misbehave, and they usually get out of trouble at the expense of other characters and with very little cost to themselves. They are neither completely bad nor entirely good. They sometimes show their redeeming traits, such as kindness and empathy for weaker characters.

Trickster characters reveal our flaws and our strengths.  We can emulate them and we can learn from them.  But mostly they provide us with a good laugh.