Trickster Figures

Today's meditation is about the trickster figures that authors use to add a sense of "lightheartedness and comic relief to stories." As I was reading this meditation I could not help but think of two characters. The first is Puck in Shakespeare's play Midsummer Night's Dream the trickster who creates havoc for the foursome of Shakespeare's characters. The second is the Native American tradition of seeing the coyote as a trickster. As I am writing this I also remember reading some of the Navaho mysteries that talked about Navaho traditions of having a trickster among their ritual Kachina characters/dolls. The trickster in Navaho traditions is always the one with black and white stripes.

Writing Assignment: Write a synopsis for a story that includes one of the following trickster figures: a god in disguise, a clown who sheds candid insights into situations perpetrated by the foolhardy but tyrannical king, or a con artist who attempts to use his guile to overthrow the monarchy.

I took a bit of license where because the main character is not really a tyrannical king but instead an insecure man. Plus I also pick up on a story line already started on Day #1.
Main character Christopher, a wealthy self-made man, grew up very poor on the wrong side of the tracks. He is insecure in his success because he can't leave behind his childhood insecurities. He returns home following the death of his father (see 9/7/09 post on dialogue) for the funeral and to help his mother and sister through all of the arrangements before and after the funeral. He runs into (literally) a rather klutzy, but beautiful woman who helps out in the funeral parlor with makeup, dressing the bodies, etc. She is not onlly beautiful and klutzy but also spontaneous, impish, and fun-loving. She helps him get through this stressful situation and also to loosen up. She turns out to be someone who sheds some candid insight (in a humorous way) into his inability to let go of childhood insecurities and trust his own success.