Trickster Tales
Since when do spiders tell stories and animals want fire? Never, unless it's taking place in a folktale; a story parents pass on to their children through speech, which often includes many characteristics of a myth. Folktales like How Stories Came to Earth, and Coyote Steals Fire, are just two of thousands of folktales that have the acute ability to take one's mind on a journey. In stories like these, there are no bounds and no limits except for the author's own imagination. How Stories Came to Earth is about two spiders who want a god's stories. The god agrees to share them but only if they complete a near impossible task, a task no one else dare to complete. On the other end of the spectrum, Coyote Steals Fire is also about …show more content…
The first and possibly biggest similarity between the two stories is the use of anthropomorphism. For instance in How Stories Came to Earth, the main character Anansi has the unusual ability to shapeshift into an old man, talk, and show emotion. Likewise in Coyote Steals Fire, Coyote can shapeshift out of his fur, talk, and play formulated games with rules. The second similarity between the two stories is how both have a power figure. The power figure in How Stories Came to Earth is the sky god, he holds the stories that Anansi and Aso long for. In Coyote Steals Fire, the power figure is Thunder who possesses fire. The third similarity between the two tales is how both Coyote and Anansi and Aso must use cunning strategies to get what they want. Aso uses her wit to come up with ideas on how to complete the sky god´s tasks. Same with Coyote who uses his cunning to deceive and outsmart Thunder to receive fire. The final similarity between the two stories is the outcome, and how it benefits not only the tricksters but also society. In How Stories Came to Earth, Anansi and his wife Aso acquire the storied they longed for. Instead of keeping them to themselves, they shared the stories by depicting them in their webs. In Coyote Steals Fire, the trickster entices the god to throw fire at what he thinks is Coyote. When it hits the coat of fur that …show more content…
One important and symbolic difference that is often overlooked this day and age is the role of women. The two stories differ because in Coyote Steals Fire, women are looked at as less in comparison to men. In How Stories Came to Earth women are seen as equal because Anansi's wife Aso plays a key role in acquiring the sky god's stories. An example from Coyote Steals Fire that highlights this difference is ¨if male teeth came up, they counted two points… if female teeth came up, they counted one¨. Another difference between the two stories was how the tricksters talked to and treated the gods. Coyote was arrogant and deceiving towards his god. He did not show honor and act passively, unlike Anansi who was respectful and truthful. Anansi also didn't have have to betray his god in order to get what he wants. The third key difference in the two trickster tales was the personality and actions of the gods themselves. In How Stories Came to Earth, the god is true to his word. He is very arrogant throughout the story but he never thought about deceiving Anansi. A quote from the god in Coyote Steals Fire says, ¨Where is he so I can kill him?¨ After Coyote wins the game, the god has no intention of giving Coyote fire and would rather just kill him. The final difference between the trickster tales is the means used, or tasks the tricksters used to complete the tasks. Coyote deceived his god, and cheated in the
Since when do spiders tell stories and animals want fire? Never, unless it's taking place in a folktale; a story parents pass on to their children through speech, which often includes many characteristics of a myth. Folktales like How Stories Came to Earth, and Coyote Steals Fire, are just two of thousands of folktales that have the acute ability to take one's mind on a journey. In stories like these, there are no bounds and no limits except for the author's own imagination. How Stories Came to Earth is about two spiders who want a god's stories. The god agrees to share them but only if they complete a near impossible task, a task no one else dare to complete. On the other end of the spectrum, Coyote Steals Fire is also about …show more content…
The first and possibly biggest similarity between the two stories is the use of anthropomorphism. For instance in How Stories Came to Earth, the main character Anansi has the unusual ability to shapeshift into an old man, talk, and show emotion. Likewise in Coyote Steals Fire, Coyote can shapeshift out of his fur, talk, and play formulated games with rules. The second similarity between the two stories is how both have a power figure. The power figure in How Stories Came to Earth is the sky god, he holds the stories that Anansi and Aso long for. In Coyote Steals Fire, the power figure is Thunder who possesses fire. The third similarity between the two tales is how both Coyote and Anansi and Aso must use cunning strategies to get what they want. Aso uses her wit to come up with ideas on how to complete the sky god´s tasks. Same with Coyote who uses his cunning to deceive and outsmart Thunder to receive fire. The final similarity between the two stories is the outcome, and how it benefits not only the tricksters but also society. In How Stories Came to Earth, Anansi and his wife Aso acquire the storied they longed for. Instead of keeping them to themselves, they shared the stories by depicting them in their webs. In Coyote Steals Fire, the trickster entices the god to throw fire at what he thinks is Coyote. When it hits the coat of fur that …show more content…
One important and symbolic difference that is often overlooked this day and age is the role of women. The two stories differ because in Coyote Steals Fire, women are looked at as less in comparison to men. In How Stories Came to Earth women are seen as equal because Anansi's wife Aso plays a key role in acquiring the sky god's stories. An example from Coyote Steals Fire that highlights this difference is ¨if male teeth came up, they counted two points… if female teeth came up, they counted one¨. Another difference between the two stories was how the tricksters talked to and treated the gods. Coyote was arrogant and deceiving towards his god. He did not show honor and act passively, unlike Anansi who was respectful and truthful. Anansi also didn't have have to betray his god in order to get what he wants. The third key difference in the two trickster tales was the personality and actions of the gods themselves. In How Stories Came to Earth, the god is true to his word. He is very arrogant throughout the story but he never thought about deceiving Anansi. A quote from the god in Coyote Steals Fire says, ¨Where is he so I can kill him?¨ After Coyote wins the game, the god has no intention of giving Coyote fire and would rather just kill him. The final difference between the trickster tales is the means used, or tasks the tricksters used to complete the tasks. Coyote deceived his god, and cheated in the