Reading Notes: Tricksters


Image Information: A tiger prowling through some trees.
Link: Pexels

I enjoyed this collection of stories quite a bit. However, I think that my favorite was that of the tiger, the brahman, and the jackal: the trickster story! Not only was the topic interesting, but I appreciated the style of the story and development of the characters as well.

My first thought was that developing my own "trickster tale" would be challenging. I think it requires some proper planning and critical thinking to devise a story that can be twisted in such a way. This story began simply but grew in complexity as additional characters were added. Thinking of a plot in this matter makes storytelling more interesting.

Something else that grabbed my attention was the simplicity of the story. Many times in storytelling, the audience is bogged down in unnecessary details. The author attempts to add too much description, or uses extra details with no ultimate purpose in mind. However, this story possessed beautiful simplicity. The characters required no lengthy introductions, and the author naturally incorporated them into the plot. The plot was easy to follow, with distinct scenes: the initial scene with the tiger and the brahman, the scenes of questioning, and then the final scene with all three of the main characters. This basic storyline allows the author to enact nuances, such as the clever humor realized at the end of the story.

Another component that enabled the story to proceed in a fluid manner was the exciting dialogue. I think that some myths tend to lose the attention of their audience because they remain theoretical and lack practical dialogue, or the dialogue itself proves to be uninteresting. The dialogue in this story, especially the dramatic dialogue of the jackal, added an exciting component that made me want to continue reading!

The trickster tale was one of my favorites, and I look forward to composing a story like this in the future.



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