Theoretical concepts

defining the trickster

Abstract

The trickster is a figure that joins a model that has appeared in North American fictional works from its beginnings to contemporary times and has remarkable similarities with the Spanish picaro, with the Brazilian trickster, with the French upstart, with the German smartass, among others. Taking into account its importance for the study of anti-heroic figures, section 2 of Pieter Conradie's master's thesis is translated into Portuguese, in which he defines this figure and makes important observations about its constitution and evolution throughout its existence in the fictional texts. In the referred part, the author provides its definition and illustrates its relevance to North American natives and it extends to the present day, based on the studies by Radin (1972) and Jung (1969). The trickster is considered as a mythological entity originating from the indigenous tribe located in Nebraska, Winnebago, and which ended up establishing itself as a representation of the smart guy, who does everything to get along and get away from conflicting situations. Initially, he was a folkloric figure who ended up entering the literary field and there he remains as a wandering, ambitious, selfish being, who despises work and whose only intention is survival, through fraud and deceit to third parties, permeated by humor, and always emphasizing his cleverness and agility in the actions he experiences in the fictions of the past and also in those of the present.