“Coyote Steals Fire” also uses tricks to obtain the goal of the story, which in this case is fire. Primarily, Coyote tricks Thunder in their game of dice. Coyote makes a deal with Thunder that if he wins, then Thunder must hand over fire to the world. Cheating to win the game is no problem for Coyote because, “He is the master at cheating at all kinds of games”(Erdoes and Ortiz 45). Another tactic that Coyote uses to obtain his goals is hiding any evidence that can prove Coyote deserves to die. Although Coyote wins the game, “Thunder [knows] that Coyote ha[s] cheated but [can] not prove it”(Erdoes and Ortiz 46).
This ack of evidence allows Coyote to obtain the fire because Thunder does not have a reason to stop him. The third trick Coyote uses on Thunder is hiding himself from Thunder when he wants to kill him. Knowing that Thunder wants him killed, Coyote sheds his skin, “.. as if it were a blanket. ” and changes his voice to deceive Thunder (Erdoes and Ortiz 46). Thunder hurdlers the rock of fire at where he thinks Coyote lies and the rock breaks open. All of Coyote’s tricks and tactics help him to achieve his main goal of retrieving fire for the world.
Likewise, “Master Cat: Puss in Boots” displays actions of trickery to obtain he main character’s goal. In this case the main goal of Master Cat is to get the king and his daughter to love Marquis de Carabas, the catt’s owner, so that they can live happy lives. To start this journey, Master Cat must make Marquis de Carabas known in the eyes of the king. To do so, the cat makes his owner pretend he is drowning when the king drives by so that the king will stop to help him. The second trick Master Cat plays is getting the king to believe that Marquis de Carabas owns of many acres of land.
To do so, Master Cat threatens workers to say they work on Marquis de Carabas’ land. Once the king hears this he “[is] astonished at the vast amount of property owned by Marquis de Carabas”(Erdoes and Ortiz 49). This causes the king and his daughter to love the marquis even more. The final trick occurs when Master Cat tricks an ogre into becoming a mouse that the cat quickly devours. Master Cat misleads the ogre by saying that he hears the ogre can turn into a mouse but daring, “it seems utterly impossible to me”(Perrault 50).
Of course, the ogre proves the cat wrong by turning into a mouse, which Master Cat quickly eats. With the ogre out of the way, the cat tells the king he castle is Marquis de Carabas’ and the king immediately offers him the marriage of the king’s daughter. The cat’s tricks grant Marquis de Carabas a beautiful wife and both him and the cat live in riches for the continuation of their lives; which is the main goal of the story. In the short story, “How Stories Came to Earth,” Anansi bring about a development that benefits the society as whole.
For example, Anansi is curious about the stories and wants them “.. as many creatures ha[ve] before him”(Kaleki 40). Receiving the stories will allow all the creatures before Anansi to also have them in their possession at last. Also, there is evidence that a narrator is telling “How Stories Came to Earth. ” It is evident through the use of “child” in the beginning and end of the text(Kaleki 40). Without Anansi, the narrator would not have been able to tell this story, or any. This represents that Anansi’s change benefits the distant future.
Finally, Anansi’s retrieval of stories impacts the world in its entirety. After the sky-god grants access of the stories to Anansi, he take them home and him and his wife, Aso learn them allI. The narrator closes the story with, “Everywhere you look, they spin their webs for all to see”(Kaleki 42). Anansi bring about a beneficial change for all of society in “How Stories Came to Earth. ” In comparison to “How Stories Came to Earth,” “Coyote Steals Fire” also ends with an universally beneficial change.
First, before fire, people have a very different way of living. For instance, “They ha[ve] to eat their food raw”(Erdoes and Ortiz 44). Not only would this be disgusting, it would also cause many health problems. Fire enables people throughout the world to live a much safer, more sanitary way of life. Secondly, without Coyote, fire would not be given to the world on account that the rest of society is terrified of Thunder. Coyote, being fearless of the spirit, is able to easily trick him into losing a game that forces Thunder into distributing the fire.
Thirdly, Coyote brings every animal to where the fire is distributed so that all of the world can have fire. After the rock holding the fire inside breaks into many pieces, “Every animal [takes] a little piece of the fire.. and they [hurry] all over the world, bringing fire to every tribe on earth”(Erdoes and Ortiz 45). In “Coyote Steals Fire,” Coyote is able to retrieve fire from Thunder is distribute it throughout the world, thus benefiting all of society. Unlike “How Stories Came o Earth” and “Coyote Steals Fire,” “Master Cat: Puss in Boots” does not end in a change that benefits society.
The change that Master Cat brings is selfish. To begin with, Master Cat’s many tricks hurt more individuals than it helps. For instance, the cat kills the ogre so that Marquis de Carabas can claim that the castle as his own. A creature is now dead for the benefit of only two individuals. On the second hand, the cat leads the king and his daughter to believe that Marquis de Carabas is rich and successful. Master Cat falsely displays the land of Marquis de Carabas and the king exclaims, “You have a very substantial nheritance there”(Perrault 49).
It is unfair and selfish to allow %3D the king to believe that he is bringing a wealthy, suitable man into his life for his daughter to marry, but Master Cat does it regardless. Third and finally, the cat feels no remorse for the destruction he causes for his own benefit. At the conclusion of the story, his owner marries the beautiful princess and “the cat [becomes] a great lord and never again ha[s] to run after mice.. “(Perrault 50). The outcome of “Master Cat: Puss in Boots” is not universally beneficial like the other two stories but rather selfish.
There are a multitude of trickster tales present in society that relate to each other in different ways. Three trickster tales: “How Stories Came to Earth,” “Coyote Steals Fire,” and “Master Cat: Puss in Boots” all compare in their use of anthropomorphism. They also all acquire their goals using trickery. As far as dissimilarities go, however, “How Stories Came to Earth” and “Coyote Steals Fire” share the fact that their changes benefit all of society, while “Master Cat: Puss in Boots” only brings about a selfish change that benefits him and his owner. The main idea is that three stories compare and contrast in many separate ways.
