The "trickster" is an archetype that appears in every culture throughout history. Every trickster shares similar characteristics. In his research on schizophrenia, Dr. Femi Euba discovered in his work Archetypes, Imprecators, and Victims of Fate, “The qualities of the trickster surface in the disorder. This suggests that the trickster is within all of us waiting on the borderline of conscious and unconscious thought” (Euba 54). The trickster is often portrayed as a shape-shifter and is able to adapt to any situation. Tricksters often vary between cultures by personality. This is described within the work Mythical Trickster Figures by authors William G. Doty and William J. Hynes, "[He is] Admired, Loved, venerated for his merits and virtues, he is represented as…show more content… The malicious practical joker is deceived by just about anybody; the inventor of ingenious stratagems is presented as an idiot; the master of magical power is sometimes powerless to extricate himself from quandaries." (Doty and Hynes 67). The trickster demonstrates a changeable nature and often straddles the barrier between good and evil. The character often breaks the standards of society in order to point out the inadequacies and hypocrisies of mankind.
Among the native peoples of the Pacific Northwest originates the story of the trickster Raven. According to the mythology, Raven’s father creates the world after much toil and effort. Raven discovers that a selfish man is keeping all the light of the universe unto himself. Raven fools the man into releasing all of the stars and the Moon from captivity. According to the mythology, Raven is responsible for bringing light and fire to the world. For this he is highly revered by those who continue to retell his story throughout the ages. However, Raven is an outsider to society and does not follow the standards of normalcy. Another trickster from ancient tales is the figure of Loki from Norse mythology. Loki is admired
