Trickster and Hero: Two Characters in the Oral and Written Traditions of the World

Description

The trickster and the hero, found in so many of the world’s oral traditions, are seemingly opposed but often united in one character. Trickster and Hero provides a comparative look at a rich array of world oral traditions, folktales, mythologies, and literatures-from The Odyssey, The Epic of Gilgamesh, and Beowulf to Native American and African tales. Award-winning folklorist Harold Scheub explores the Trickster moment, the moment in the story when the tale, the teller, and the listener are transformed: we are both man and woman, god and human, hero and villain.