CLASS 17 EWRT 1B

AGENDA

Exam 3: Terms

Discussion:

QHQ M Butterfly

QHQ Film

―Defining the Trickster‖ and ―Transformations of the

Trickster‖

Introduction to Essay #4

Lecture:

Tricksters and Trickster Tales

In-class writing:

Evaluating Song as a Trickster Character

EXAM 3: VOCAB AND TERMS

Answer all 25 questions; there are questions

on the back.

Extra credit to anyone who can identify one or

both of the authors of these two examples that

I used to demonstrate figurative language.

―All the world’s a stage‖

The apparition of these faces in the crowd;

Petals on a wet, black bough.

M BUTTERFLY

QHQ

GALLIMARDQ: What is it about Madame Butterfly that catches Gallimard’s

eye?

Q. Why would Gallimard keep going back to Song even though

he knew it could never really work out?

Did Gallimard really not know Song was a man for 20 years?

Q: Why is Gallimard so insecure?

Q: What does Gallimard’s interpretation of Madame Butterfly

say about him?

Q: If Song were a real woman, would Gallimard’s masculinity

really show?

Q: Why did Gallimard dream of his class mate Marc after

meeting Song at the Chinese Opera House?

SONG

Q: Did Song have feelings for M. Gallimard?

Q: Why is Gallimard having an affair with Song and how did she get pregnant?

Why would Mr. Song go through all the trouble just to retrieve information for his country?

How did Song establish a reputation for herself as singer, and how did she target Mr. Gallimard?

Does Comrade Chin believe Song’s behavior is just to get information?

Q: Why did Song tell Gallimard that ―we are revolted by the things hidden within us?‖ (Hwang 47)

AND THEN?

Q: What do you think shocked Gallimard the most

about Song actually being a man?

Why wasn’t Song more upfront with Gallimard?

Q: Why did Hwang choose the title ―M Butterfly‖, but

not ―Madame Butterfly‖?

Q: What is the significance of Gallimard choosing

fantasy over reality in the end?

Q: Who is the butterfly?

QHQ: THE FILM: OSAMA

Q: Why does Espandi have a change of heart after he extorts

Osama for money?

Q: Why does Osama’s mom force her to pass as a boy? And how

does Osama react to being a boy?

Why couldn’t Osama jump off of the wagon to escape?

Q: What do think happened to the girl’s mother?

QHQ: THE FILM: OSAMA

Q: What does the little girl symbolize while she is jumping the jump

rope?

Q: What was so significant about the night time story her grandma

would tell her?

Q: What was the meaning behind the story with the rainbow? Did the

rainbow have anything to do with how we identify sexual orientation

today?

Q: Women play a small role in Afghanistan. How does that influence

them to take the risk to pass as men to work and put food on the

table?

Q: Why do boys pass as girls when living in a society where women

are oppressed?

INTRODUCTION TO ESSAY #4:

THE RESEARCH ESSAY.

INTRODUCTION TO ESSAY #4:

THE RESEARCH ESSAY.

Trickster characters have existed in stories

from most cultures since the earliest times.

The long-lasting appeal of this archetype (a

recurring symbol of a recurring model)

emphasizes the cultural need to acknowledge

that all is not what it seems to be, that we need

to be on the lookout for those who would fool

us. It is not hard to account for the appeal of

tricksters—they are fun in their radical assault

on the status quo, yet their trickery also strikes

a deeper chord for most people.

As societies have evolved, the cultural function of the trickster

has been reinvented: who or what are they in a modern society?

When and why do they appear?

Helen Lock, in her essay ―Transformations of the Trickster,‖

writes, Contentious issues include the status of the archaic archetypal

tricksters (were they mortal or divine? can a god be a trickster?), the

relation of tricksters to gender and to ethnicity, and the vexed question

of whether modern tricksters exist at all. In one sense it does seem

entirely appropriate that these embodiments of ambiguity (no dispute

there, at least) should remain so elusive. However, it is still important to

address these tricky questions, because the trickster performs such

fundamental cultural work: in understanding the trickster better,

we better understand ourselves, and the perhaps subconscious

aspects of ourselves that respond to the trickster’s unsettling and

transformative behavior.

TOPIC: For this essay, consider trickster tales and trickster or

trickster-like characters from our reading. Do they meet the

criteria to be categorized as “tricksters”? Which measuring

stick do we use to determine if they are or not? Who or what

are they in a modern society? When and why do they

appear? Is there a relationship between tricksters and

gender and ethnicity? Do these modern tricksters, as Lock

asserts, help us “better understand ourselves, and the

perhaps subconscious aspects of ourselves that respond to

the trickster’s unsettling and transformative behavior”?

How? Or, do these trickster tales and trickster or trickster-

like characters serve another purpose? Which?

ABOUT TRICKSTERS

Southern slave trickster tales focus on outwitting the

plantation masters; in this way, they deviously

attacked the very system to which they were

condemned: ―They learned what justice was, and

they learned, as slaves, they had none. But they

were able to make up stories and even laugh in the

face of their tragic predicament‖

(Hamilton, A Ring of Tricksters 9).

JEAN HARDY PROVIDES THIS

DEFINITION OF THIS ARCHETYPE:

The archetype of the Trickster…is the existence of the

unexpected as it appears in every human society,

sometimes fully acknowledged, sometimes feared and

hidden. He is the opposite of order – but then he is

opposite of everything: he can turn into a she…He is the

Green Man, the Jester, the clown, the witch or the

wizard, Mercury, a shape shifter … the Fool with the

potential at times for becoming a Savior. He upsets

normality and hierarchic order…He can change the

expected world, and therefore be an agent of

transformation. (1)

POSSIBLE TRAITS OF THE

TRICKSTER • Deceitful: The trickster uses trickery to bring about

change.

• Self-Serving: The trickster often feels that he or she

has been wronged and is therefore justified in taking

action to bring about change and/or to defeat ―the

enemy.‖

• Shape Shifter: The trickster may change forms, sex,

and so forth as an element of surprise to his victim.

The change may also be psychological instead of (or

in addition to) a visual change.

Cultural Hero:

The trickster may be idealized as a cultural hero when, as the

agent of transformation, he or she overturns a cruel or unfair

leader or political/social system or reverses the fortunes of the

more powerful party. According to Helen Lock, this characteristic

separates the fool from the trickster. ―The true trickster’s trickery

calls into question fundamental assumptions about the way the

world is organized, and reveals the possibility of transforming

them (even if for ignoble [shameful] ends)‖ (Lock 6). Michael J.

Carroll includes cultural hero as an attribute as well; he

characterizes the trickster as ―a transformer who makes the world

habitable for humans by ridding it of monsters or who provides

those things [such as fire] that make human society possible

(―Levi-Strauss, Freud, and the Trickster‖ 305). Hardy

characterizes the trickster as the source of unexpected changes in

a world where change is not always comfortable and as a symbol

of the uncertain world in which we live.

• Solitary creature: Many tricksters are solitary animals (or

humans), working alone rather than with a partner or within a

group – to undertake change. Michael P. Carroll notes that

―Ravens are usually sighted singly or at most in pairs; coyotes

forage independently…; hares have long been noted for their

solitariness…Spiders generally associate with members of their

own species on only two occasions: when they are born and

when they mate‖ (―Trickster as Selfish Buffoon‖ 115).

• Physically, intellectually, or socially weak creature: The

trickster is often portrayed as a much weaker character than his

prey, and yet through cleverness and trickery, he is able to

overcome all obstacles and prevail. In some cases the trickster

may appear to be weaker physically in order to confuse his prey

(false frailty).

• Special tools: The trickster may have special tools or

abilities that enable him to perform his acts. Often these

tools include magic and/or supernatural powers. An

example would be the Chinese Monkey who keeps a

needle behind his ear; when he removes the needle and

recites a request, the needle may turn into any tool or

implement that is required for a particular story.

• Teacher: The trickster is a purveyor of life lessons

through the stories, from manners to ethics. The teacher

often forces the reader to examine the status quo and

often, ―to break out of old stereotypes, whether they’ve

been imposed by ourselves, our families, our culture, or

circumstances (―The Trickster‖ 3).

DEFINING THE

TRICKSTER

IN CLASS WRITING: SONG AS A

TRICKSTER CHARACTER:

How can we envision Song as a Trickster character?

Which of the definitions does she fit?

What are her goals as a trickster?

How many people and how many ways is she fooling people?

What is her motivation?

What are the outcomes?

Does Song help us ―better understand ourselves, and the

perhaps subconscious aspects of ourselves that respond to

the trickster’s unsettling and transformative behavior‖? How?

Or does she/he serve another purpose? Which?

• Which, from our reading, are trickster or trickster-like

characters? Which are trickster tales? What characteristics

make them tricksters? How do we know?

• We have a sense of the what a trickster tale/character is from

the reading we have done in the last couple of days, but to get

a better idea of both that and ways to approach a paper on the

topic, we will visit the library to start our research. There, we will

be looking for information about conventional definitions that we

can connect to (or disconnect from) the passing characters we

have been reading about. Then, you can do some research to

find an interesting angle to use: outlaw tricksters, gender

tricksters, female tricksters.

HOMEWORK

Reading: Review primary texts you might use in your essay.

Post #24: Discuss one character in terms of one of the traits we discussed in class today. For example, Jess Goldberg as a “shape shifter” or “cultural hero”; Grandison as “intellectually weak”; or Song as “physically weak”; maybe even the Iowans as “teachers.” Any of them might be discussed as “agents of change.” Or discuss “Grandison,” “Recitatif,” and “Who’s Passing as Who” as Trickster tales in the African American tradition.

Next Class: We will meet in Library Lobby for a library orientation and an opportunity to do research for your paper.

EWRT 1B: Tuesday, March 11, 11:00am-1:15pmEWRT 1B: Wednesday, March 12, 8:30-10:45