At first I struggled to think of a trickster, I thought of most politicians, but am not a fan of getting political in academics. I finally came to a politician who pretty much everyone hates, so I thought it would be all right to write about him as the great trickster of his time. Hitler. He pretty much is a perfect example of a very negative trickster in history.
First he undermines the rules of the culture. Simply put Hitler accomplishes this task of undermining the rules of the culture by killing millions of Jews in WWII. He goes against the common rule of not killing innocent people, by killing millions. Normally in a civilized cultural it is taboo to kill innocent people, Hitler fills this part of the definition of a trickster.
Another part of the trickster is that he or she plays on the stereotypes and assumptions of the cultural or audience. Hitler is a perfect example using social Darwinism in a very negative way. He stood on the platform, assuming that his race was the dominant and that all other races should be wiped of the earth, because they are contaminating the pure race.
Another part of the trickster is that the trickster uses wit and ingenuity to win rather than strength. I believe that this could go both ways in stating that Hitler was a trickster, because he did try to use strength to overthrow the world, but also he started out small.
He used his intelligence, and ingenuity to create that power that he had. He was just a man to start out, but with his ingenious planning, and wit he was able to create a force in which he was in control of.
Interesting example, but Hitler to me seems too easily classifiable. The Trickster often walks the line between good/bad until the line ceases to exist. Hitler seems to be squarely in the latter camp.
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