A trickster tale (As it suggests from the name) is a fictional story where a character, typically weaker, defeats another stronger character. In most cases trickster tales are told for entertainment, but sometimes they can also be to influence others or express something. Trickster tales can come from anywhere, and they can be told in any way. The Toad and the Donkey is a trickster tale where the donkey, the fastest animal on the island, races the toad, the slowest. The toad knows he will lose so he creates a plan. So, after the donkey fell for the plan, the toad won the race. Doc Rabbit Bruh Fox and Tar baby is a trickster tale about a rabbit and a fox who were building a house together. Every time he gets thirsty and drinks from the charred bottle of cream, he makes a noise so that it seems like someone is calling for him. Eventually, he leaves after drinking all the cream, and when the Fox found out, he made a tar baby and trapped the Rabbit. Finally, he was thrown into the thorn briars, where he said was where he was born.
A lot of trickster tales are different in some aspects, but they all have one common and obvious theme, which is where the weaker character outsmarts the stronger one. Trickster tales also have another common feature where they have one to trick another into believing something that is not the reality. In The Donkey and Toad, the toad was the underdog, he was much slower than the donkey. But, the toad still outsmarted the donkey in thinking that he was ahead but in reality he wasn’t. The book had both features, where the weaker defeats the stronger in a way where they trick them into believing something that’s not the reality. Trickster tales can have more than one of the features, having both the weaker overpower the stronger and having one tricked into believing something fake. In Doc Rabbit Bruh Fox and Tar Baby, the rabbit overpowers the fox first by making scary and strange noises to scare the fox and make him think that someone is calling, but in reality he was just trying to prevent the fox from knowing he is drinking cream. Because of the effect in trickster tales that the weaker always where the weaker defeats the stronger, they all teach important lessons like about not underestimating or being boastful. No matter the plot or what happens in the story, all trickster tales have a time where the weaker character overpowers the stronger.
Although all trickster tales have one specific theme they all share, they also have individual themes from individual stories. No two trickster tales are the same, so they all have different individual themes which teach important lessons. In The Toad and the Donkey, the main theme is that physical strength doesn’t guarantee success. The donkey was physically stronger than the toad, but still lost the race despite his advantage. Being overconfident can lead to unexpected results and negative change.The donkey was overconfident and too sure that he was going to win, which caused him to be tricked and lose. Being physically stronger can bring success but it isn’t guaranteed, while being overconfident in most cases causes one to fail. In Doc Rabbit Bruh Fox and Tar Baby, the themes are to not be greedy and selfish, and not to lie because lies will always catch up with one. The rabbit was very selfish and greedy, and drank all the cream before the fox could even touch it. When the rabbit lied, he also got bad results. In making it seem like he is being called many times in a row seemed unrealistic, and caused the fox to be suspicious. Being greedy and selfish connects closely to lying. Being greedy causes one to give themselves everything, which also gives them a chance to distract others and lie. All stories have different individual themes even if they have a common theme all the stories share.
Although some trickster tales are very simple, there are many famous authors that write them and take them seriously. It may seem silly for a renowned author to write simple trickster tales with must-know themes, but sometimes they just want to express something strongly. The story ‘The Donkey and the Toad” was written by Toni Cade Bambara. She was a well known African American author who is most known for her book “Blues Ain't No Mockin Bird” and “The Salt Eaters”. While her writing is advanced, she still wrote trickster tales and took it seriously, to show the reputation of African Americans. Many African Americans authors used trickster tales that had specific themes to show things about them. The story ‘Doc Rabbit Bruh Fox and Tar Baby’ written by Virginia Hamilton, a famous African American author who wrote 41 books, including “M. C. Higgins, the Great”. She won various awards, like the 1975 Newbery Medal, Hans Christian Andersen Award, and Laura Ingalls Award. Many books are written not only to be entertaining but also for the author to inspire others. Most tricksters have simple ports and themes, but the meaning behind it can be given by anyone, even famous writers who take the trickster tales just like how they take their novels.
Trickster tales, or stories where a character overpowers another by tricking them can be told with multiple meanings. Trickster tales all have a scene where the trickster (weaker) character outsmarts the stronger. In the Toad and the Donkey, the toad, who is physically weaker, overpowers the donkey by tricking him. In Doc Rabbit Bruh Fox and Tar Baby, even though there is not necessarily a weaker or stronger character, the rabbit still tricked the fox by making weird noises. All trickster tales also have individual themes. In the Toad and the Donkey, the themes are that being physically stronger doesn’t guarantee success and that being overconfident often causes negative effects. In Doc Rabbit Bruh Fox and tar baby, the themes are to not be selfish, greedy, and dishonest. Although most trickster tales are simple, they can still be written by famous authors. The Toad and the Donkey was written by Toni Cade Bambara, a famous African American Author most known for her novel ‘Blues Ain’t No Mockin Bird’. Doc Rabbit Bruh Fox and Tar Baby was written by Virginia Hamilton, also a renowned African American author, most known for her book ‘M. C. Higgins, the Great’.
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