98 pages • 3 hours read
Eden RobinsonSon of a Trickster
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2017A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Symbols & Motifs
The Raven/Trickster/Wee’git
Wee’git functions as both an important character and a significant symbol in the novel. As a child, Jared endures the fear, anger, and distrust of his Granny Nita because she thinks Jared is a Trickster. Generally, “Tricksters” are supernatural figures that break rules, “frequently cross and challenge boundaries,” and meddle with humans’ “social harmony and order” to teach some sort of lesson (Robinson, Amanda. “Trickster.” The Canadian Encyclopedia, 5 Apr. 2018). For Indigenous peoples of the Northwest Coast, a key Trickster is the Raven, which can shapeshift and travel between the human and spirit realms. According to the Haida, “The Raven is the most greedy, mischievous and lecherous creature imaginable” (MacDonald, George F. “Haida—The People and the Land—Mythology and Crests.” Canadian Museum of History). The novel’s author, who is Haisla and Heiltsuk, explained in an interview with CBC Books that the Raven (also called “Wee’git”) teaches humans lessons by being the “the bad example, the example of what not to do” (Warren, Jennifer. “Why It Took Eden Robinson Eight Years to Write Canada Reads Finalist Son of a Trickster.” CBCnews, 18 Mar. 2020).
The Raven is integral to the novel’s theme of tense family dynamics, as he is the main culprit in complicating relationships. Wee’git’s trickery results in profound complications within Jared’s family and challenges (and in some cases, redefines) Jared’s relationships with each of his family members. Wee’git has tormented the Moodys for generations, and after fathering Jared, he further destroys the relationships between Anita, her daughter, and Jared. The truth of Wee’git’s identity as Jared’s father costs Jared his beloved relationship with Nana Sophia but simultaneously reveals Phil’s selflessness and inspires Jared to rebuild a relationship with Granny Nita.
Wee’git speaks to Jared various times in his Raven form and once transformed as a human, each time attempting to reassure Jared and offer an explanation of who he is, but Jared is only willing to listen after Wee’git rescues Jared from the otters and Maggie has assured Jared that magic is real. Even when Wee’git proves how powerful he is and promises Jared the opportunity to “be anything, anything at all” (259), Jared refuses to leave with him. The only person he trusts to save him is his mother, a fact that subverts the gendered stereotype of a father being a family’s protector. Wee’git’s reappearance in Jared’s life helps Jared understand Maggie and the difficult choices she has made on a much deeper level, while upending Jared’s understanding of reality and the supernatural. As much as Jared resents and distrusts Wee’git for only taking a vested interest in him after David’s abuse (258), Jared’s inherited ability to travel through various realms binds him not only to Wee’git, but the magic of his Native culture, no matter how much he wants to divorce himself from it (299).
River Otters
Jared is convinced that his visions and the voices he hears are drug- and alcohol-induced hallucinations, and even when he begins to doubt his own sanity, he does not mention them to anyone for fear of judgment. The first night Jared sees what he thinks is Baby, her paw prints outside are covered “by smaller, clawed paw prints” (219), though Jared does not yet know the significance of these otter prints. The catalyst for him seeking help is the night he encounters “Fake Sarah,” the spirit who transforms into a river otter. When a growing pack of otters emerge from the woods to join her and chase Jared home, he finally asks Nana Sophia what they might mean, and her immediate decision to visit him suggests that something is dire.
When Jared finally brings himself to tell his mother about his visions that night, Maggie’s response confirms just how problematic the otters are: “God damn shit for brains, rotting cunt weasels. Jesus, that’s just what I need” (243). She asks Jared if he has “[seen] someone [he] loved” (243), because Native Americans of the Northwest coast believe that otters represent spirits, specifically those who were lost or drowned. They are “supernaturally dangerous” and especially alarming because they can “abduct humans and transform them into otters,” as well as shapeshifting into humans themselves (Werness, Hope B. Continuum Encyclopedia of Animal Symbolism in World Art. New York, A&C Black, 2006). Fake Sarah’s shapeshifting, as well as the semi-human forms the otters take in the cave and their violence against Jared do manifest the devious and perilous ways of the river otter spirits. Jared’s entry into the world of the supernatural is overwhelming and frightening and makes his tough life even more complicated.
The Jakses’ House
The Jakses’ peaceful, quiet house stands in stark contrast to Jared’s own home, where he often must choose between his squalid basement room or Maggie’s frequent raucous parties. The Jakses’ home serves as Jared’s haven, to which he can escape whenever he needs a dose of normal boundaries and stability, or just a hearty meal and cup of tea. He was able to stay with them while Maggie was in prison, and with their help he was able to “slowly, painfully, [glue] his life back together” (258). Mrs. Jaks temporarily fills the supportive, stable, maternal role that Jared desperately lacks at home; where Maggie reminds Jared of her love and devotion through violent, sometimes threatening proclamations, Mrs. Jaks provides Jared with the kinder, gentler validation he never gets from Maggie: “I know everything hurts right now [...] But don’t drink your life away [...] You’re a good boy, Jared. I wish only good things for you. I wish this will all my heart” (301). Jared is devastated when the Jakses get ready to leave, as this means the dissolution of the one safe environment he can retreat to.
Their home also serves as a refuge for Jared spiritually: Following “the worst moment of [his] life” (258), when David abused him, Jared wandered to the Jakses’ house when he first entered the spiritual realm. Unaware of what he is doing at the time, Jared’s spirit sees a “glow surrounding the Jakses’ house” and meets Mrs. Jaks’ spirit (112), who cares for him even in this alternate dimension by returning him to his body. The malicious otter spirits keenly take advantage of Jared’s profound connection to the Jakses’ by feigning the phone call from Sarah so that they can abduct Jared. Though Mrs. Jaks never discloses the truth about her magic or the night of their spiritual encounter, she expresses her gratitude for Jared coming to her and admits that she “would have been lost without [him]” (223), suggesting that he holds a significant role in her life as well.
