Gods, according to mythology, are troublemakers. What shines through from the lessons espoused within most mythological tales is that Gods are apt to get carried away. They represent the most basic of human desires, seeking self success, happiness and fame; and they are driven entirely by blind arrogance. Consistently throughout ancient mythology, tricksters cause trouble for the Gods and often side with the humans. While this isn't always apparent, at their core, tricksters are the great mediators in mythological stories. They help to shed light and perspective on situations where the personal interests of both the Gods and the humans has clouded their comparative judgment.
[...] For African mythology and the stories of the American south, mythological tales helped to deal with challenges of the period. The authors suggest that trickster tales were the attempt of the storyteller to cope with and provide explanation for moral dilemmas (Thury and Devinney 2009, 340). In the example “Crawling into the Elephant's Belly,” the reader is shown that order can be destroyed and rebuilt, that nothing is as static as it seems because we always hold the ability to influence change. [...]
[...] Tricksters for Myths and Legends Gods, in mythology, are troublemakers. What shines through from the lessons espoused within most mythological tales is that Gods are apt to get carried away. They represent the most basic of human desires, seeking self success, happiness and fame; and they are driven entirely by blind arrogance. Consistently throughout ancient mythology, tricksters cause trouble for the Gods and often side with the humans. While this isn't always apparent, at their core, tricksters are the great mediators in mythological stories. [...]
APA Style reference
For your bibliographyOnline reading
with our online readerContent validated
by our reading committee