A trickster tale is a story focusing on a protagonist who has magical powers and who is characterized as a compendium of opposites. Usually, the protagonist wins by tricking the opponent into believing or doing something. The Donkey and the Toad, and Doc Rabbit Bruh Fox and Tar Baby demonstrate this. In the story The Donkey and the Toad, the toad and the donkey decide to race to see who is faster. It seems that the donkey will easily win, however, the toad isn't backing down with a fight, eventually also getting his family to help him win. In Doc Rabbit Bruh Fox and Tar Baby, Doc Rabbit and Bruh Fox are building a house. However, Doc Rabbit is continuously thirsty and drinks the cream that Bruh Fox is preserving, and eventually Bruh Fox figures out and gets revenge on Doc Rabbit by making a tar baby. In both of these tales, the protagonist uses some type of trick to outsmart their opponent and win. A trickster tale can teach us many smart life lessons to do and to avoid.
Personalities and characteristics contribute to one’s actions/thinking. Different people have different personalities and that can contribute to one’s thinking to a situation and how they behave towards it. In The Donkey and the Toad, the toad is the trickster, tricking the stupid donkey during the race. The donkey has a bad personality, being both arrogant and stupid, whilst the toad is smart, and clever, and also has much family support. This gives the toad an advantage and allows him to outsmart the stupid donkey. In Doc Rabbit Bruh Fox and Tar Baby, both the Doc Rabbit and Bruh Fox have some smarts, trading off who is the trickster. Doc Rabbit uses his cleverness to trick Bruh Fox into thinking there is an injured animal somewhere so he can go drink the cream. Bruh Fox uses his cleverness to trap Doc Rabbit and get revenge. In life, people who are smarter than you like can easily trick you into doing something. So next time, before we act, we should observe the other person and their personalities to predict how they might act. In both stories, the one with the smarter brain wins. Personality traits can play a big part in your daily life and can shape your thoughts and actions.
Conflicts can happen between people/characters or between two really different things/topics. Conflicts are strong disagreements or incompatible things. In The Toad and the Donkey, conflicts include fast vs slow, having confidence vs losing confidence, and team vs individual. A minor conflict would be toad vs donkey. In all these conflicts, the two sides are always really different from one another. Fast vs slow is talking about the speed difference between the toad and donkey and how it can shift the perspective of the race. Having confidence is a trait of toads’ while losing confidence is what donkey has. Team vs individual talks about toad having a team while the donkey races single-handedly. In Doc Rabbit Bruh Fox and Tar Baby, conflicts include greediness vs honesty, curiosity vs trap, and lastly rabbit vs fox. Similarly, all the conflicts mentioned are one of the traits of either side, being either a trait of Doc Rabbit or Bruh Fox. Conflicts don’t have to be a scene, it can be comparing two incompatible things. Conflicts are viewed in different perspectives by different people.
Similar things/books can have similar themes that overlap one another, and majority of them are developed from conflicts. Trickster tales are usually focused on a couple of main themes that are mentioned in all trickster tales. In both stories, the strategy of winning is also mentioned. Both the toad and the fox are able to trick their opponent into losing. However, there are also different themes. In The Toad and the Donkey, an unique theme is family support. The Toad receives family support, giving him a bigger chance of winning. In Doc Rabbit Bruh Fox and Tar Baby, a unique theme that does appear in trickster tales is the fact that the trickster and the one being tricked can change positions. In the beginning, Doc Rabbit was the trickster, however, when Bruh Fox got revenge, he became the trickster. In both stories, the opponent who is least likely to win, wins in the end. The weaker opponent is also usually the trickster, tricking the opposing side into losing. Themes can vary depending on the book. Trickster tales have general themes, however, different stories can have their own themes.
The Toad and the Donkey and Doc Rabbit Bruh Fox and Tar Baby are both trickster tales that teach us lessons throughout the story. Both stories teach us to be smart and live smart. However, from both of these stories, we see the good side of being smart and how playing dirty-smart is bad. From both stories, we see the different personalities and traits of the characters and how that can determine how they act and behave. Conflicts are also an important part of a trickster tale. Conflicts play an important part in developing the theme of the trickster tale. In The Toad and the Donkey, the trick played by the toad, is his trick to winning. In Doc Rabbit Bruh Fox and Tar Baby, Doc Rabbit pulls many smart tricks to get away while Bruh Fox pulls a trick to get revenge. Trickster tales are portrayed in many different ways and can teach us lots.
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