The Trickster by Muriel Gray
"The Trickster" by Muriel Gray is a supernatural horror novel that explores themes of Native North American identity and cultural assimilation in the twentieth century. The story centers on Sam Hunt, a member of the Kinchuinick tribe, who grapples with his ambivalence toward his heritage. The narrative begins with the release of a malevolent trickster figure, which is rooted in various tribal mythologies and known for its deceptive nature. As the trickster embarks on a violent spree, Sam experiences blackouts that connect him to the creature’s actions.
Sam's background is steeped in tragedy; his family history involves shamanic traditions and a legacy marred by violence and denial. Despite his outwardly content life as a grounds groomer and family man, Sam’s struggle with his identity drives the story. The arrival of Calvin Bitterhand, a shaman who encourages Sam to embrace his roots, prompts him to confront unresolved issues from his past. The climax of the novel culminates in a confrontation between Sam and the trickster, paralleling his great grandfather's struggles, ultimately leading to Sam's journey toward reconciliation with his identity and culture. The narrative intricately weaves personal and cultural conflicts, offering a complex view of heritage and the impact of historical trauma.
On this Page
Subject Terms
The Trickster by Muriel Gray
First published: 1994
The Work
InThe Trickster, Muriel Gray uses the structure of the supernatural horror story to probe issues regarding Native North American identity in the twentieth century. The experiences of the novel’s protagonist, Sam Hunt, crystallize the problems of Native North Americans living in white society and general concerns about the ramifications of cultural assimilation.
The trickster, a creature mentioned in many tribal mythologies, is notorious for adopting disguises in order to deceive its victims. Although legends of the trickster often portray it as mischievous, Gray presents it as a malevolent meddler in conflicts of interest between Native North Americans and white society. The novel opens with the accidental liberation of the trickster from Wolf Mountain, a stronghold in the Alberta province of Canada where it has been imprisoned for nearly a century. In the guises of a number of different people, the creature embarks upon a rampage of gruesome murders, all of which coincide with blackouts experienced by Sam Hunt, a member of the Kinchuinick tribe whose ambivalence toward his tribal heritage is mirrored in the trickster’s shifting identities.
To all outward appearances, Sam is an easygoing man who is content with his job as a grounds groomer for the Silver Ski Company and his role as husband and the father of two children. Sam, however, is still struggling to deny his family’s history, which encapsulates the plight of Native North Americans in the twentieth century. Sam’s great grandfather, a Kinchuinick shaman, helped inter the trickster in 1907, but was blamed by a railroad magnate building a tunnel through Wolf Mountain for the deaths of several workers. Sam’s grandfather continued the family’s shaman tradition on the tribal reservation but was murdered by his own son, Sam’s father, an alcoholic who mercilessly abused Sam. Sam fled the reservation and repudiated his Kinchuinick heritage by shortening the family name from Hunting Wolf to Hunt and marrying a white woman.
As events force Sam to confront his past, he realizes that he still wrestles with many unresolved conflicts regarding his heritage. These conflicts are fueling the trickster’s murder spree. More important, Sam’s son Billy is having dreams and visions about the trickster’s hold on his father, which suggests that the family’s shaman trait lives on, despite Sam having turned his back on it. When Calvin Bitterhand, the shaman who was charged with instructing Sam in his grandfather’s skills, contacts Sam, Sam grudgingly accepts responsibility to help lay the trickster to rest.
The novel ends with a final battle between Sam and the trickster in the tunnels of Wolf Mountain. The battle recapitulates the experience of his great grandfather. Its resolution has as much to do with Sam coming to terms with his past and re-embracing the culture he has spurned as it is does with the exorcism of an evil spirit.
Bibliography
Johnson, Eric W. Review of The Trickster, by Muriel Gray. Library Journal 120, no. 10 (June 1, 1995): 160.