![]() Still, even with this moral ambiguity they’re still very popular and their archetype is making a comeback in literature. Ever more fascinating is sometimes they succeed, and sometimes they don’t, which lead many of us to wonder what the point of each story is. Tricksters deeply offend this sensibility because they’re not always good or always bad, they are the embodiment of nuance. In modern Western society we like everything clear cut, a good guy, a bad guy, a conflict, and a very solid resolution based on the good guy doing good things. They are neither good nor evil and each story they may be being used to highlight the deeper thinking in each saga. They can be celebrated as the creative spirit that drives change. Trickster gods can also be used to add the element of humor, humanity, or critical thinking. This has led a lot of modern observers to believe they’re villains or bringers of chaos, a plot device in each story that shows in the end it’s probably better just to keep up the status quo, but it’s my belief this is a vast oversimplification of a far more interesting trend. Their motivations are complex and they can show up just about anywhere doing anything. ![]() In most of these stories the trickster god is highly intelligent, partially or totally self-absorbed, morally ambiguous, rebellious towards societal conventions, and are the hardest of all the gods to understand because they’re ultimately unknowable. Trickster gods are a slippery sort of character that show up in traditional tales where they use their greater intellect to manipulate others into doing what they want. Most cultures around the world have their own varying forms of trickster gods, especially the more ancient oral and written traditions.
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