Eshu, do not undo me, Do not falsify the words of my mouth, Do not misguide the movements of my feet, You who translates yesterday’s words, Into novel utterances, Do not undo me, I bear you sacrifice. 1 Introduction Thescopeofthisworkistopoint outat thewayhowIshmaelReed,asuccessfulAfro Americanwriter,rewritesthetropeofthetrickster.Threenovelswrittenbyhim werechosen toillustrate howineachofthesehechangesthe roleofthetrickster anduses himfor achievingdifferent purposes.Thethesisofthis workisthat,gradually,inthescope ofthese threenovels,theroleofthetrickster changesandthe powerheisabletoexert,upontheface ofthesocietyinwhichheoperates,rises.Thushiscapabilitytoaffectortrickpeopleisfar greaterinthethirdnovelthanitis inthefirst.Also,hisinterestshaschangedfromcaring solelyforhis personalneeds,asitis presentedinthefirstnovel,toenactingattemptsto positivelychangethewholesocietyof NorthAmerica,asit isdepictedinthethirdbook. Wherethefirstnovelcaptures thetrickster’ssole wishforrevengeandtheseconddescribes thetrickster’selusiveattempttofreetheAfroAmericancommunity,thelast portraitsthe tricksterdoinghis best inordertosavethewholeof NorthAmerica. InYellowBackRadioBroke-Down thetrickster characterhasashismaingoalthe enactmentofhisownpersonalvendettaandhethusfollowsonlythecourseofhisintentions, anddoesn’t takeheedofanyother person’sneeds.InMumboJumbo theroleofthe trickster haschangedandthetrickstercharacter,PapaLaBas,triestofindthetext ofa mysterious plague,calledJesGrew,whichifheweresuccessfulwouldfreetheAfroAmerican communityfromoppressionofthe white partoftheAmericansociety.IntheTheTerrible Twos wecanseethe tricksterasthe saviourofenvironmentandcorruptedsociety.Wherehis predecessorshadinmindeithertheir owngoodorthegoodoftheircommunity,BlackPeter, thetrickster characterof TheTerribleTwos ,isinhisactionsnotlimitedeither byachieving results pleasurableforhimorforhiscommunity:his jestsare capableofinfluencingthe wholesocietyof NorthAmerica,whichis atargetofsuchascale that isundreamedof byboth ofhis predecessors. 2 Aftertheintroductorychapter,three chaptersare includedinanattempttosumupthe theoreticalapproachconcerningthetricksterheld bysomeof themostinfluentialscholarsof the20 th century.Thesechapters presenttheopinionsonthetricksterofClaudeLévi-Strauss, CarlGustavJungandJosephCampbell,aswellassomeofthecriticalreactionstotheseideas byother prominentscholars.After thistheoretical part,anotherthreeliterarychapters are included;thesearemainlyconcernedwiththeattempttopointouthowhasthe trickster’s role changedduringthecourseofthethreenovels. Themainideaof mythesisis basedontheideas ofRobertGatesJr.that are presented inhis bookTheSignifyingMonkey .HeclaimsthatAfroAmericanwriters,inwritingtheir novels,arenotmainlyinterestedinproducingnew,unexpectedplots andsituations;rather, theybase theiroriginalityonnewandunexpectedrewritingofideas,orstories,already knowntothereader,“It isasifareceivedstructureorcrucialelements providesa basefor poeisis,andthenarrator’stechnique , his or her craft, is to be gauged by the creative (re)placeme ntoftheseexpectedoranticipatedformulaic phrasesandformulaic events, rendered anew in unexpected ways”(61)(Italicsadded). Thisideaof replacementofareceivedstructure isofgreatimportancetothiswork sinceIwill provethatReedtakesthealreadytoomuchconceptualizedandrigidideaofthe tricksterand,drawingonAfroAmericanliterarytradition,createsnewandunexpected possibilities withthe tropeofthemythical tricksterform.AsGatesfurthermorestates: Writers Signify upon each other’s texts by rewriting the received textual tradition. This can be accomplished by the revision of tropes. (…) The revising text is written in the language of the tradition, employing its tropes, its rhetorical strategies, and its ostensible subject matter , the so called Black Experience. This mode of revision, of Signifyin(g), is the most striking aspect of Afro- American literary history . If black writers read each other, they also revise each other’s texts. 3 Thereby they become fluent in the language of tradition. Signifyin(g) is the figure of Afro-American literary history, and revision proceeds by riffing upon tropes. (124) (Italics added) Inthis sense,thisstudyaimstoillustratehowReedrewritesthetropeofthetrickster ineachofthethreenovelsdifferently,andthat thereis a pattern,comprisinginthegrowing extentofinfluence that thetrickster hasonhisenvirons. Forthesakeof beingclosertoIshmaelReed’ssources,Iwrotetheintroductory chapterdrawingmoreonthesourcesdealingwiththetricksteramongvariousAfricantribes (since inthe bookschosenforthisstudyReeddraws moreonthesesourcesandbackground thanonothers)ratherthanonthemorewidelyacknowledgedphenomenonofthetrickster amongNativeAmericantribes.Thereasonforthisis thefactthatinthe bookschosenforthis studyReedreliesmoreonhisAfricanheritage,whichmaynot betrueforhisother books whereheis inspiredfromothercultures(seeFlightToCanada wherethe maincharacter is formedontheexampleofthetraditionaltrickstercharacterofHaidaIndians).This,however, isnotthecaseinMumboJumbo andYellowBackRadioBroke-Down ,whereReed’s inspirationfrom Africansources isevident,noritisthecase ofTheTerribleTwos wherethe mainsourceofinspirationwerethe mythsofMiddleEurope. 4 1.WhatistheTrickster? Everystudyconcerningthetrickster andhisrole insocietyfacesthisquestioninthe beginning,forwithout answeringittheconsequentdiscourse wouldbewitheredandfrail. Thisshort studywillnot beanexception.TheonlinedictionaryTheFreeDictionary provides twousefuldefinitions:“(1)Onethat swindlesor playstricks,(2)Amischievousorroguish figureinmythorfolklore,oftenananimal,whotypicallymakesupfor physicalweakness withcunningandsubversivehumour.”Thetruthissomewhereinbetweenofthesetwo definitionsasitsoofteniswiththetrickster. Therearevariousappearance-formsthetrickster maytake;asDotyandHynesnotice: Typical identification of the trickster include: Animal-Person (particularly Blue Jay, Coyote, Crow, Fox, Hare, Mink, Rabbit, Raven, Spider, Tortoise), Anti-Hero, Boundary Figure, Bungling Host, Clever Hero, Clown, Culture Hero, Confidence Person, Demiurge, Lord of the Animals, Numskull, Old Man, Picaro, Selfish Buffoon, Selfish Deceiver, Swindler, Transformer. (24) Bearingthis inmind,Iwillfocus ratheronthemeaningbehindthefigure ofspeech thanonthe unceasinglistof possibleappearancesthe trickstermaypleasetoappearin.The tricksteris a boundarycrosser,amischievousfigurewho,inordertosatiatehisneeds,crosses everyboundaryobstructinghisway-beita socialnormorvastdivide betweenlifeanddeath -tocapturehiscravedfor prize andreturntothe pointwherehis journeybegan.Theemphasis onthereturnelementintricksterstoryisessential because,usually,his prizefleeshim.Ifitis a pieceoffoodthenitis eatenbysomeoneelse,ifitis aspecial,magical featurethen-usually bynotheedingadvicehowtousethe featurewisely-thetrickster looses theabilityandharms himself. Thisisaptlyillustratedbythestorywhichseveral NativeAmericantribesof North Americashare:a coyote enviedgeesetheirabilitytofly;he beggedthemtoteachhimtofly andthey,reluctantly,gavehimafewfeathers,sayingthatundersomeconditionhe will be abletofly.Ofcourse,beingunable tomeetthoseconditions coyoteisdeprivedofthefeathers 5 inmidairandthusheloosestheabilitytoflyandfallsallthewaydown 1.Thisendingcanbe consideredalmostobligatoryinthetricksterstoriesanda patterncanbededucedhere:the tricksteruseshiswits andcunningtogainsomethingfavourable,yet,subsequently,by beinga fool,or byperforminganactoffoolishness,orsimplybythefactthatfortunewantshis business toendthisway,helooseshisnewlygainedpossessionforthesakeofothers. ThestoryaboutAnansi,thetrickster oftheAshantitribe,andaboutthewayhe broughtwisdomintotheworldisaexampleofthismatter:Anansiisgivenall thewisdomin a potandhiswishistohideitawayfromalltheothers,inordertobe thewisestofall.His chosenhidingplace isat thetopofatree butsincethe potwithwisdomissobigandhis handscan’t reachthetreehegetsmoreandmoreangry.Hisson,seeingthis,adviceshimthat perhapsitwouldbewisertocarrythe potonhis back.Anansirealizeshe can’t posses all the wisdomintheworldsince,obviously,hissonalreadyhassome.Realizingthis,he throwsthe potangrilyonthegroundwhereitsmashesinpiecesandthe contentgetstoall people 2. Inthiswayalotofgoodthingshave beenbroughttotheworldbytricksters:Eshu broughtthe Ifadivinationsystem 3,Legba,thetricksterfigure oftheFontribe,introduced magic,andAnansiwisdomtoname justafewexamples.Ontheotherhand,thetrickster doesn’t bringonlygoodthings.Ifwelookonceagainat the WestAfricantrickstertales,we areobligedtorealize thatthe presenceofdeathanddebtis theconsequenceofAnansi’swork, Eshucauses mischiefamonghis peoplewhenever he pleasesandheisthe reasonwhydisease isabletoappearinthis world.Legbarendersmenimpotentandoncertainoccasions even 1 See Ricketts 94 . 2 see Vecsey 117 3 The name of the Ifa divination system is derived from the god Ifa who is said to know the future of every human being on the planet. His knowledge is consulted by using the Ifa divination system which consists of a board for casting palm nuts, 16 palm nuts and set of 256 textual commentaries. The nuts ought to be cast 16 times and according to the cast a proper textual commentary is chosen, however, since the text is very ambiguous, a wise interpreter, called babalawo , is needed to shed light on the cast. He does so, but only with the help of Eshu, the trickster of Fon, who is said to bring the divination system to the world and without whose help the interpreter is bound to draw wrong conclusions. Eshu’s face is then usually depicted on the casting board in an attempt to flatter him and thus raise the possibility of him