The+Trickster

=THE TRICKSTER= Who is a god, a cartoon character, a spirit, a cat, a bunny, and a folklore hero? Who is hated yet loved or admired? He (or she) can be found in almost every literary work, movie, and oral story. Cannot figure out my riddle? Read on to find out.

The Trickster usually acts as one of the most lively characters in any story they appear in. They take advantage of their cleverness and powers of deception to get what they want, whether it is good or bad. The Trickster goes back to the earliest forms of folklore, and still is common in stories today. These characters often mock those around them, especially authority, and cause distress to those around them. No story would be as entertaining without the Trickster!

The Trickster, an important and prevalent archetype, brings life and interest into a story by either creating an obstacle for the protagonist or using deception to perform good deeds.


 * Hermes**

Hermes, the messenger of the gods and the god of merchants, land travel, and theives, is well known for his cunning and shrewdness. On the night of his birth, Hermes ran to Thessaly and stole Apollo's cattle, cleverly attaching a brush to the ends of the cattle's tails to cover their own tracks. However, Hermes has another side to him. He is also the god of literature, athletics, hospitality, language, and astronomy. He created the lyre, the syrinx, and some believe the flute. In this sense, although he uses trickery to get some of the things he wants, he also stands for great and beautiful things like literature and astronomy.


 * Coyote**

Coyote varies greatly from the Trickster in a number of ways. Although a Trickster, Coyote is also closely associated as "the creator" and culture hero. He created the human race as well as saved his friends by battling the monster. In addition, Coyote is known for killing other monsters like Thunderbird (the slayer of humans). He is also "the transformer", and is shown as a handsome young man, a coyote, and sometimes just a spirit or power. Although Coyote is sometimes depicted as a cruel, tricking animal, he is most frequently depicted as "the noble trickster", meaning that he helps others through trickery. Because of these things, Coyote is very different from most Tricksters.
 *  The Coyote, a popular Trickster, is known by the Native Americans to have created all of the Indian tribes. It is said that before people inhabited the earth, a monster terrorized the land and eventually ate all animals except the Coyote. Coyote tied himself to tallest mountain and challenged the monster to eat him. Unable to reach him, the monster decided to trick him by inviting Coyote to stay at his home. Before coming to the monster's house, Coyote asked to visit his friends in the monster's stomach because he missed them. Coyote then cut out the monster's heart and set his friends free. Deciding to create a new animal, Coyote threw the monster in all directions of the Earth and everywhere the monster fell, a new Indian tribe was created.



**


 * Prometheus**



//Cat//
 * BUGS BUNNY**

Bugs Bunny is the American interpretation of the Trickster archetype. His cartoon series--//Bugs Bunny//--is a renowned symbol of national pop culture, first airing in 1940. The devious, authority-defying, quick-minded, and lovable Bugs Bunny is always in some sort of feud with one of the show's other characters, frequently the animal hunter Elmer Fudd, and if the antagonist pushes things too far, Bugs Bunny says one of his tag-lines: "Of course, you know this means war" and concocts a plan to trick his enemy. Often times his plans include the mischievous use of cross-dressing, or at least dressing up as something else to fool the antagonist. Whatever his plan is, Bugs always achieves entertaining success, which makes him a bit different than most Tricksters, who sometimes have error in their tricks and learn important lessons consequently.



//Cat
 * PUSS IN BOOTS**

Puss in Boots is the trickster cat from 17th-century French folklore. He recently reprised his role as the deceitful cat in the Shrek Movie series. //


 * Fred And George Weasley**

Megan from //Drake and Josh// is one of the newest Tricksters to emerge. She plays the role of Drake and Josh's sister on the show, and she is defined as the one who always causes trouble around the house. Every episode of the show includes at least one nasty trick by Megan, whose only goal is to sabotage her siblings' lives. Although she is the youngest of the siblings, she is clearly the smartest; she even has her own secret lair inside her room. Megan serves as a prime example of the Trickster archetype because she fits perfectly into how the archetype is most often portrayed: She's clever, very smart, and always takes advantage of it. Even though she is an antagonist to Drake and Josh, her funny, clever ways still win over the audience.
 * Megan[[image:miranda_cosgrove.jpg width="128" height="190" align="right"]]**


 * Ashton Kutcher**



Ashton Kutcher is most definitely a real-life trickster, as his show //Punk'd// proves. //Punk'd// is basically a television show about pranks pulled on celebrities and catching all of it on film. Guess who's behind all the pranks? Ashton Kutcher; always thinking of tricky ways to get his celebrity friends next. He is a prankster extraordinaire; especially because he knows where to get all the right resources to fool his friends completely--whether that's setting up a fake arrest, creating fake house fires to freak out the victim, just whatever strikes his mood. Ashton's motive for tricking everyone is not personal gain, as typical Tricksters' motives usually are, but the only reason why he pulls pranks on others is for the sole purpose of entertainment.


 * Bart Simpson**




 * Nathan Hale**

Nathan Hale was a farmer and eventually lieutenant who posed as a solder to get information for the US during the revolutionary war. After gaining much information for the Americans, Nathan was caught, and sentenced to death. After three months of waiting in a cell, Nathan was sent to be hung, where he said the famous words: “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country”. And to this day, him and his story remain an American Legend. Nathan, although a spy, didn't fit the ideals of one, or even the ideals of a Trickster. He was deceitful, but loved, revered, trusted, and considered a hero.

Citations:

//Hermes//. N.d. canvas.

Amario, Manny. "puss_in_boots_new_shrek.JPG 389x378 pixels." // Manny the Movie Guy //. N.p., 30 Jan. 2009. Web. 17 Sept. 2009. . 

Nicholas, K L. "Native american trickster titles ." //Nicholas tales//. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2009 . . Surtherland, JJ. "Bugs Bunny the Trickster: American Style." // Odeo //. N.p., 6 Jan. 2008. Web. 20 Sept. 2009. .

 //Moon coyote//. N.d. //Eagle Serpent Stuidos//. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2009. 

"Bug's Bunny." Cartoon. //tumblr//. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2009. . "Sur La Lune Fairy Tales: The Annotated Puss in Boots." // SurLaLune Fairy Tales //. N.p., 2 Sept. 2007. Web. 17 Sept. 2009. .

 //Bart simpson//. Oct. 1999. //Simson Crazy//. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2009. .

//Nathan Hale//. 1773. canvas.