The Nature of Trickster Figure - Essay Example

Trickster Figures Trickster Figures Trickster characters can appear in human or animals nature. They are mostly male and pleasure in boasting. In addition, they sometimes possess remarkable power of survival. Trickster characters can be defined as boundary crossers. This means that they cross both social and physical boundaries. Trickster characters are often travelers who break social rules, cross lines of blur distinctions and connections between right and wrong, profane and sacred, dirty and clean, living and dead, male and female, old and young. Trickster characters are sometimes shape-shifter, changing from human form to animals. It is tremendously hard to identify the trickster to any fixed set of forms. Culturally people catch glimmers of trickster characters. The most popular animals that form trickster characters are monkeys, fox, spider, turtle, hare, coyote, and raven. Trickster characters play tricks and sometimes fall victims of tricks. The trickery extends to symbolic plays regarding cultural worldview, rules and forms (Martin 2010). A trickster characters has a tendency of disobeying conventional behavior and rules. The trickster seeks out fresh ideas and experiences .Besides, they plainly mocks and questions authority. They also encourage eagerness and desire, promote unrest and chaos, and destroy complacency and convention. Moreover, trickster characters bring fresh wisdom and knowledge. When a punishment is horribly imposed for confidence, the unconquerable spirit makes them come back for more. Trickster characters can be anything starting from bedeviling heroes for slight laughter, gods of chaos and master manipulators who use sadistic choices and cruel ploys. They also are either anti-heroes or heroes who make up for lack of bravery and strength with plain cheating, planning or manipulation. Trickster characters are usually masters of disguise and may have super-natural or magical powers. A trickster may come to remorseful closing stages in one story but then, after being extraordinarily brought back to life, rematerialize in other form of tales. In anthropology and religion, trickster characters divinity maliciously and although unintentionally breaks the rule of nature of gods with ultimately positive effects. Usually the breaking of the rule of nature takes different forms including thievery or tricks and their dealings regularly end up altering the set of laws in the process of breaching them. Trickster characters have the characteristics of being foolish or cunning or both. They have funny characteristics even though they are considered performing important cultural tasks. Besides, Trickster characters are considered sacred. In spite of their nuanced characterization, trickster characters are prone to being hijacked by Satan in the current adaptations. In modern literature, the trickster characters acts as a character archetype. In many stories, they are distinct and act as sort of catalyst by letting their antics cause some other characters’ discomfiture but they are left untouched. Trickster characters are usually portrayed as uppity, harmful, impudent and friendlier to human than the gods are. Trickster characters have neither absolute nor definite characteristics. Precisely, they viewed as essentially ambiguous and inconsistent deceiver, trick-player, situation-inverter, messenger and imitator of the gods and shape-shifter. Trickster characters can be foolish and clever simultaneously and sometimes callous that is, being mean –spirited. Besides, they can be footloose by having little responsibility and have strong appetite for both food and sex. They can be sexually over active and led by appetite. In some circumstances, trickster characters are often lovable, humorous, culture hero and irrepressibly sympathetic. Trickster characters wishes occasionally land him in many troubles. They can also be described one and at the same time destroyer or creator.They absolutely do nothing deliberately. Trickster characters are constrained by impulses over which they have no power. They also know neither evil nor good yet they are held accountable for both. Some people portray trickster characters to possess neither social nor moral values. Even if trickster characters’ personality and action may seem extreme or ridiculous, they serve important purpose in contemporary and traditional narratives. They may serve the purpose of acting as outlets for strong emotions in which human beings cannot involve. These actions are at the margins of normal behaviors and social morality. This enables human beings to feel and express things through the trickster characters that would be perilous if experienced or expressed out of the stories. Sensibly, trickster acts as an escape valve in the modern society. In spite of the intended purpose, trickster characters can be used as agents of introducing desirable things into the society. For example, trickster characters are used to bring cultural changes in terms of clothing, food, medicine, knowledge, marriage customs and other good things. Trickster characters are used to lift peoples’ spirits. They are the most entertaining characters in world mythology. Trickster characters are very humorous (Ginsberg & Hyde 2004). Humor is revealed from their tendency to do things that are actually wrong or acts in obviously foolish or stupid manners. This makes people laugh at or with their silly antics. Such laughter has an effect of lifting people’s spirits and reinforces correct behavior and social morals. Trickster characters’ silly actions and humorous situations may heal or free listeners through laughter. Trickster tales are told mainly because they are entertaining. The trickster characters play the role of messenger of gods as they can cross between worlds. They can serve the purpose of a messenger between the human beings and divine worlds. Trickster characters are used to invent new cultural goods such as musical instruments and making fire. Moreover, they are they are depicted as creators or makers of the world. The actions of the trickster characters end up being accountable for the manner in which the world operates. Moreover, they are used to represent flexibility of the spirit and mind. They have a willingness to challenge the people in power and formulate knowledgeable solutions that keep cultures from becoming constant and irrelevant to the modern world. They also play a vital role by getting the plot started and entangled. Some trickster characters can be associated with commerce, communication or miscommunication and travel. They create quarrels between people and gods or among people. For example, a trickster character can be used to show conflict between a man and his two wives. Apart from that, trickster characters can act as an agent of maintaining social order (Hyde 2012). They act out many human desires and urges that people in the society learn to control. For instance, if trickster characters deeds’ backfire against them in some way, may be used to teach moral lessons about the penalties of misbehavior. If the trickster characters is small that emerges victorious at the end, then this shows that a seemingly helpless creature can conquer a mighty one. Satan is the prince of darkness suggesting his opposition to Christ and the nature of domain he rules. The devil hates peace and loves conflict. In Christian culture, the Satan is seen as an agent of sin, immorality and wickedness. Like trickster characters, Satan cause bad things to happen to others, employ tricks and do devious things. Besides, like trickster characters, Satan has supernatural powers. There are various similarities between the Satan and trickster characters in terms of the evil deeds, treachery and supernatural status. Trickster is often depicted as mischievous and immoral. Like trickster characters, Satan has the tendency of telling lies, deceiving others and causing damage. Satan seems to use trickery that force people being tested to look for fresh ways by which to solve the conflict that has entered their lives. In most cases both those who benefit and the afflicted by trickery are lulled into complicity. Use of trickery by Satan enabled people to seek fresh alternative to the surrounding trials and discover opportunities previously unrecognized. Satan can be understood as a trickster character, used by God with an exclusive purpose of saving human beings from ruin. The trickster role can lead to either good deeds or destruction. Tribulations and trials can lead to group cheers with socially accepted characteristics .Christians believe that Christ who is with them overcomes the world (Hyde 2010). On the other hand, the world can be destroyed in case people refuse grace. This can be a reality if people believe that deception of Satan’s tricks can lead to devastation. In conclusion, Satan is portrayed as an antagonistic and autonomous entity that is anti-Christ and assailing God’s people in the quest of superiority. In the bible, Satan serves as a trickster character, which is basic for God’s critical purpose to be fulfilled. Satan is presented as a trickster-hero who acts as a scapegoat upon which humans can scheme their unrealized dream, fears, trials, failures aspirations thus lift their own awareness and self-knowledge. References Top of Form Hyde, L. (2012). Common as air: Revolution, art and ownership. London: Union Books. Bottom of Form Hyde, L. (2010). Trickster makes this world: Mischief, myth, and art. Top of Form Ginsberg, A., & Hyde, L. (2004). On the poetry of Allen Ginsberg. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. Bottom of Form Top of Form Martin, K. J. (2010). Indigenous symbols and practices in the Catholic Church: Visual culture, missionization, and appropriation. Farnham, Surrey, England: Ashgate Pub. Bottom of Form Read More