American trickster tales are stories of a trickster who performs mischief and tricks someone else. In The Toad and the Donkey, Toad and the Donkey participate in a race, and the Donkey must howl every mile to know where everyone is. Toad’s family members lined up at every milepost, pretending that they were Toad, so Donkey lost his confidence and lost the race. In Doc Rabbit Bruh Fox and Tar Baby, Rabbit tricks the Fox so that he can steal the cream by making scary sounds. But Fox uses a Tar Baby to trap Rabbit, soon throwing him into the briars, not knowing that it was Rabbit’s old home.
In trickster tales, each character has weaknesses and strengths, no matter if it is the trickster or not. The trickster and the opponent both have advantages and disadvantages over the main goal. In The Toad and the Donkey, the trickster, the Toad, was slow but clever, had family support, and a strong will to win. On the other hand, the opponent, the Donkey, was fast but easily fooled, individual, and easily discouraged. Though the Donkey was a lot faster than the Toad, he still lost the race because the Toad’s strengths overcame all his weaknesses. In Doc Rabbit Bruh Fox and Tar Baby, the Fox lost the first round of the trick, because he was fooled by Rabbit’s scary sounds. However, in the second round, the Fox reacted quicker and used a Tar Baby to trap the Rabbit. In the third round, the Rabbit lies and Fox does the exact opposite, so Rabbit was back to his old home. Even outside of trickster tales, each of us has our weaknesses and strengths. However, we have to learn to take advantage of our strengths and learn from our weaknesses. The trickster and the opponent have strengths and weaknesses to use or defend in trickster tales.
Each trickster tale teaches us a lesson with examples of the strategies used in the trick. Using examples of how each character defeats or gets defeated by the opponent, we learn important morals. In The Toad and the Donkey, the Toad showed us how he defeated the Donkey, highlighting important themes in the story. The race seemed unfair at first since the Toad was so much slower than the Donkey. Nevertheless, the Toad used several strategies to defeat the Donkey: cleverness, perseverance, determination, and family support. In Doc Rabbit Bruh Fox and Tar Baby, though the Fox was very smart with his traps, Rabbit was still able to escape by understanding his weaknesses. Though Fox was clever and cunning, Rabbit knew his opponent’s weaknesses and thought out of the box. Between the two trickster tales, the trickster had different reasons for playing tricks: the Toad did it just for letting Donkey learn his lesson, while the Rabbit stole something that wasn’t his. In our daily lives, we always encounter problems, but we have to learn to overcome them, just like how Toad and the Rabbit did. The morals in trickster tales give us a deep message and show us the consequences of each.
The conflicts between the trickster and opponent create the wins and losses of the tricks. The conflicts of each trickster tale highlight the differences between the two main characters, the trickster and the opponent. In The Toad and the Donkey, the Toad was a lot slower than the Donkey, making it almost certain for the Donkey to win. On the other hand, the Toad had a strong will to win and a team, while Donkey easily loses confidence and is an individual in the race. The conflicts between the two characters showed that in the end, it is the Toad who would win the race. In Doc Rabbit Bruh Fox and Tar Baby, Fox was very clever, unlike the curious Rabbit, making it clear that Rabbit would fall for Fox’s trap. But making the scary sounds, having a quick reaction, and lying made Rabbit free again. The conflicts between Fox and Rabbit not only showed each of their weaknesses and strength but also the differences between them. Outside trickster tales, we still encounter conflicts between two or more people. However, the major conflict between the society is the strategy used to defeat the opponent. The trickster and the opponent have multiple conflicts between them that show the chances of winning and losing the trick.
American trickster tales are about tricks a trickster performs against an opponent. In the two trickster tales, a trickster who seems to be certainly defeated by the opponent plays tricks to rise above the other. In trickster tales, each character has their weaknesses and strengths, advantages and disadvantages. The balance and difference between these characters determine the final result of the trick. Each tale also shows an important moral, whether it is to be smart, have perseverance, or know other people’s weaknesses. The conflicts between each character not only make up the wins and losses but also compare each character’s actions.
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