Final answer:
Leonard and McClure from Crash Course Mythology describe tricksters as figures who use intellect and secret knowledge to challenge societal norms, which can convey moral truths and inspire change. Mythology, including trickster figures, seeks to structure human understanding and deal with chaos, often in poetic forms that resonate on a cultural level.
Step-by-step explanation:
According to Crash Course Mythology, Leonard and McClure assert that tricksters serve to highlight intellectual cunning or secret knowledge, which they use to defy conventional norms and order. This role of the trickster is significant in various narrative forms and cultural discourses. Tricksters often function as catalysts for change, challenging the status quo and offering alternative perspectives, possibly revealing moral truths or highlighting inconsistencies within a society's values or belief systems. For instance, in African American storytelling, tricksters represent a means to outsmart oppressive circumstances and celebrate the cleverness required for survival, which has a profound impact on the audience by potentially inspiring resistance against injustice.
Mythology itself is deeply rooted in the function of explaining and ordering human experience. It conveys a sense of structure, coherence, and meaning to combat chaos. Douglas later extends this notion to humor and trickster figures, where humor is seen as a social release valve for thoughts and actions that could disrupt societal norms. Tricksters can thus dissipate the power of what is taboo by making light of it or flipping expectations on their head. Similarly, mythology, which includes tricksters, provides a framework through which societies can understand and classify their world, in poetic ways that may not be strictly literal but still convey significant truths about the human condition.