The Development of the Trickster in Children's Narrative

Bibliographic Data

ID2800639
AuthorsDavid M Abrams (0000-0003-2432-2058), Brian Sutton‐smith, Brian Sutton-Smith
Year1977
Volume90
Issue355
Pages29
Publication date1977-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of American Folklore (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0021-8715 • E-ISSN: 1535-1882
PublisherUniversity of Illinois Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.2307/539019
OpenAlexW2320402924
LanguageEN
Citations received14

THE RIBALD, ANTI-SOCIAL ACTIVITIES OF TRICKSTERS and the presence of these tales in cultures without heroic legends have led to the general interpretation of the trickster as reflecting the rudimentary, undifferentiated consciousness of less complex societies.' The classic illustration of this viewpoint is the Winnebago trickster Wakdjunkago, whose actions include his right arm fighting with his left; telling his anus to watch over roasting ducks as he sleeps; awakening with an erection holding up his blanket and mistaking it for the chief's banner; scattering villagers by breaking wind; and wading through his own excrement.2 The prevalence of so many obscene episodes has contributed not only to viewing the trickster as a product of a more primitive literary imagination, but also to the view of such content as indicative of disordered thought processes.3 A comparison of the Winnebago trickster

Art · Literature · Narrative · Sociology · Trickster · Folklore, Mythology, and Literature Studies · History · Psychology · Themes in Literature Analysis

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