Snake In The Garden Of Eden Analysis
Mythology is perhaps one of the oldest customs of the human race. Myths are stories. They are stories that, through oral presentation and written documentation, have been passed down through centuries and are even still being created today. These stories carry themes and characters that are used to relate those themes. One prominent type of character in most myths is that of the "trickster". Two of the perhaps more well known tricksters throughout mythology are the Snake in the Garden of Eden and the lizard Agadzagadza in the African story of death. Despite the differences between them, both characters act as the antagonist in their respective story and their roles are in fact quite similar, if not the same. As antagonists, the Snake
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First, they are both represented as animals, more specifically as reptiles. One reason for this is quite possibly that the cultures in which these myths originated looked down on reptiles and thought them to be evil for some reason. Another stark similarity is the bad intentions that each has for the humans. Each story portrays them as guiltless and evil, showing no remorse or regret for what they have done after the fact. They both use deception as their sole tool as well. Each character convinces and dupes the humans in each story to do something that the trickster knows will cause harm. The characters use what God or the gods have told (or intend to tell) the humans and change it in order to trick the humans. Each character goes to the humans and convinces them of a false truth, which ultimately destroys them. Their roles become even more similar when you look at them in terms of the flow of each story. Both arise seemingly out of nowhere and immediately impact their myth; they deceive the humans into believing them, and then are not mentioned again (although God does inflict punishment on the Snake right after). These characters' roles can each be summarized as the "villain" of the story; their actions ultimately result in the loss of immortality and the sin of
First, they are both represented as animals, more specifically as reptiles. One reason for this is quite possibly that the cultures in which these myths originated looked down on reptiles and thought them to be evil for some reason. Another stark similarity is the bad intentions that each has for the humans. Each story portrays them as guiltless and evil, showing no remorse or regret for what they have done after the fact. They both use deception as their sole tool as well. Each character convinces and dupes the humans in each story to do something that the trickster knows will cause harm. The characters use what God or the gods have told (or intend to tell) the humans and change it in order to trick the humans. Each character goes to the humans and convinces them of a false truth, which ultimately destroys them. Their roles become even more similar when you look at them in terms of the flow of each story. Both arise seemingly out of nowhere and immediately impact their myth; they deceive the humans into believing them, and then are not mentioned again (although God does inflict punishment on the Snake right after). These characters' roles can each be summarized as the "villain" of the story; their actions ultimately result in the loss of immortality and the sin of