Each myth has its character as a trickster. In the Greek tradition, you have Hermes. In Roman mythology, there is Mercury. In many Native American folklore, there is the coyote. And in the American literary tradition? Well, we have Tom Sawyer.
Technically, Mark Twain’s famous mischievous but lovable character isn’t a myth, but we nominate him as one of our culture’s prank shooters nonetheless. Tom Sawyer is all about schematics. Trick the neighbor’s kids into painting the huge fence by pretending it’s a rare and exciting honor. He fakes his own death, unintentionally, we might add, but still, the boy doesn’t rush to stop his funeral and instead lets it unfold. The boy even has a game of intrigue with the ladies, getting a little girl named Becky to kiss him and eventually receiving punishments for her to earn his affection. He even tricks his Aunt Polly into thinking, temporarily, that he is psychic. The list of Tom’s various adventures could go on and on, and this is why he was revered as such a likable character by countless readers.
His plans and jokes play a big part in that enjoyment because there is something enjoyable about watching such a clever joke unfold. Of course, his jokes are often lighthearted and never unduly mean, but Tom’s charisma and ability to manipulate the results is what is remembered and loved about him. Successful schemes in literature and even popular culture also evoke a certain kind of pleasure or enthusiasm for their audience. There is something about participating in a harmless joke and seeing another’s cunning. Consider the George Clooney remake of Ocean’s 11, another charismatic character who tricks people into getting a girl and some money. Mark Twain isolated this intriguing charisma as part of a youthful childhood, made with all the fun. Even when it is serious, it is done for justice, especially when Tom and Huck start to do some reconciliation work on the murderer Injun Joe not only to snatch his money but to turn the idiot into the proper authorities.
However, schemes are not always fun and games. Another famous literary scheme is found in Hamlet, a far cry from Mark Twain’s kind of territory. Shakespeare’s favorite existential Dane is indeed a schemer, depressed, and manic, but a schemer nonetheless. Throughout the entire play, Hamlet adopts an “old-fashioned disposition” to uncover clues to his father’s murder and to baffle his family members and his girlfriend into not realizing what he knows. He even presents a play symbolically called The Mousetrap, the famous “play within a play,” which recounts the murder of his father (told to him by his father’s ghost) to capture a picture of his murderous guilt. uncle.
Critics largely point out that Hamlet is an indecisive character whose mind prevents him from taking immediate action by having lengthy soliloquies about suicide and the meaning of life. We add that all that talk and no action could be Hamlet coming up with elaborate plans to reveal what he doesn’t know about Denmark’s rotten state and how to confirm what he does. He’s clearly not Tom Sawyer, but he employs similar tactics and tricks to find out the truth and get what he wants. And in that part, many readers enjoy watching Hamlet uncover his family’s misdeeds with his antics because not only are we involved, but we are also seeing justice served, in a sense. Without any intrigue, Hamlet would be a short and vindictive move. But instead, the summary of Hamlet becomes this lengthy game of cat and mouse, hence The Mouse Trap, where Hamlet plays with his victims as if detective work were some kind of game, albeit serious. Everything is in the plan.