Throughout history, every culture has had many tales with important characters designed to convey a very important message. These stories help young and old alike to understand human nature and develop appropriate social norms within their society. They feature a wide variety of topics, and most teach very important lessons about life. Many were created for oppressed people to help overcome fear and inspire hope. Although most of it was written from a hard lesson learned, it now has the great effect of imparting knowledge and smiles to the audience. Almost all traditional cultures tell stories with tricksters. For example, Coyote, Hare, and Raven are common cunning characters throughout North America. Stories of African tricksters feature the Tortoise, Anansi the Spider, Brer the Rabbit, Zomo the Hare or Eshu, the dishonest messenger of the gods in Yoruba legends (Nigeria). In European and Chinese folklore, the fox often plays a role. Monkeys are tricksters in the Far East and, among the smaller creatures, the Wasp and the Mantis also appear. The trickster character is used to show the effect of someone who lives on the edge of the rules, often crossing the line between right and wrong for selfish reasons. Trickster characters have long been traditional in Chinese folklore, fairy tales, mythology, and theater. One of the most famous tales is that of the monkey king from the famous Ming Dynasty novel “Journey to the West”. The monkey king joins a devout monk on a mission to recover the sacred Buddhist scriptures and bring them back from India to China. The monkey king is said to have been born from a stone, fertilized by wind, rain and sun, and therefore contains within himself all four elements of the universe. Essentially a... means of paper......to distance yourself from the issue at hand, the message sent at the end of the stories is drastically different. The Monkey King ultimately gained no status but received knowledge and enlightenment. The lesson taught was that it's okay to be a little mischievous, as long as your intentions lead the way. Brer Rabbit taught us that when in a bad situation, exploiting common enemy behaviors will allow for creative solutions. The story of Hermes really fails to teach anything, except the ugly lesson that as long as your parents are powerful and rich, you can get away with anything. Although every culture in this world is different, they all share one common thread, the trickster. in stories. They are often used to inspire hope in those who feel in a weaker position and help build the idea that creative thinking is true power.