More Than a Whale's Mouthful

Plankton as a Modern Trickster

A Paper By Aurora Sartori

The character of the trickster is a long-standing archetype that has survived many different reincarnations, spanning across history and appearing in the stories of almost every culture. Whether it be Anansi the Spider from Africa, or Peik from Norway, the trickster entertains, brings comic relief, and often demonstrates the advantages of having a quick wit. Just as traditional folktales were simple stories that could be understood by everyone in the community, today’s trickster character is often found in cartoons- a medium whose audience is primarily dominated by children, but can be appreciated by all. The character of Plankton, in Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob Squarepants cartoon, is a prime example of the modern trickster character; he combines many of the traditional trickster traits with a decidedly modern (e.g., absurd) sense of humor and the use of contemporary technology.

SpongeBob Squarepants takes place in the under-water town of Bikini Bottom, a setting which in many ways resembles a laid-back California beach town. SpongeBob, who has an invaluable talent for creating the most delicious burgers, works as a fry cook at The Krusty Krab Restaurant (owned by Mr. Krabs himself). Everyone at the Krusty Krab regards Plankton as somewhere between an annoying nuisance and an arch-nemesis, due to the fact that he is always after the Krabby Patty secret recipe. The character of Plankton is, as his name suggests, a physically tiny being, a facade which does little to mask his big plans for world domination, or at least the success of his restaurant (the Chum Bucket) and the downfall of The Krusty Krab. He is in many ways the quintessential trickster character because of his ceaseless focus on attaining a goal (the Krabby Patty secret recipe) and the elaborate schemes he comes up with to reach that goal.

Part of what describes the trickster character is his or her creativity (Hynes 211-212), and Plankton’s schemes are definitely inventive and intricately planned. For example, in one episode, Plankton gets SpongeBob to work at the Chum Bucket by betting with SpongeBob’s boss (Mr. Krabs) for SpongeBob’s contract. After unsuccessfully getting SpongeBob to willingly make a Krabby Patty at the Chum Bucket, Plankton decides to get forceful and surgically removes SpongeBob’s brain. The brain is inserted into a SpongeBob look-alike robot, but alas, the robot acts just as stubbornly as the real SpongeBob, and refuses to make a Krabby Patty. This episode is very typical in that Plankton is never successful in his attempts trick SpongeBob into giving him the secret recipe. The fact that Plankton never actually gets the recipe does not at all detract from his status as a trickster. It can be argued that it is the act of trying to deceive someone which characterizes a trickster, rather than the outcome of the plots.

In respect to the failure of Plankton’s schemes, one can draw similarities between Plankton and the traditional African trickster character of Anansi the spider. In many tales of Anansi, such as Anansi’s Hat-Shaking Dance (Cole 615-617), he attempts to trick his fellow animals and ends up suffering the consequences for his dishonest behavior. Anansi thereby provides valuable lessons on ethics and morality. As William J. Hynes states in Mythical Trickster Figures: Contours, Contexts, and Criticisms, one of the purposes of the trickster is to "reaffirm the belief system" by teaching the audience what not to do (Hynes 207). Plankton’s motives are pure envy and greed, and his means are cheating, dishonesty, and trickery. By having Plankton fail in all his devious missions, the message is sent that selfishness and dishonesty never pay off in the end. SpongeBob on the other hand is innocent and selfless, and because of these virtues, he always emerges victorious.

Two other aspects of the trickster character that Hynes mentions are the ‘shape shifter’ and the ‘situations invertor’ (36-37). In several episodes, Plankton plays the shape-shifter by adopting the disguise of a regular, anonymous customer and casually asking questions about the Krabby Patty secret recipe. In respect to being a situations-invertor, Plankton’s underlying motives are to completely reverse all the negative aspects of his life. He is small and often dismissed as insignificant, but strives become important and respected. He owns an unsuccessful restaurant (although who could resist a place with a name like ‘Chum Bucket’?) but spends every spare moment endeavoring to attain success comparable to that of the Krusty Krab.

The trickster’s willingness to engage in "deep play," risking high stakes for the possibility of attaining a desired goal, are typical elements in a trickster tale (Hynes 214). Plankton isn’t just innocently playing- he has no regard for the consequences his actions will have, just so long as he attains that secret recipe. Plankton is also extremely tiny compared to all the other sea-creatures, and so by making a nuisance of himself he is knowingly putting himself in an extremely vulnerable situation. Because SpongeBob is a modern children’s cartoon, the horror-aspect commonly found in trickster tales is toned down (no hanging corpses from trees). But were Plankton’s schemes to occur outside the realm of color-saturated cartoon elasticity, the results would be exceptionally violent. Sawing open SpongeBob’s skull to remove his brain would have an entirely different effect were we to witness the surgery in realistic graphic detail.

Perhaps what distinguishes the modern trickster from his traditional counterparts is the range of mediums that are now available, not only for the trickster’s purposes, but also for the disbursal of the stories themselves. For example, Plankton lives in a futuristic house, complete with a talking robot. He has access to a melange of technology that allows him to attempt plans that are outrageous enough to entertain viewers. But though stories have become more visual and the trickster’s schemes have changed to engage jaded viewers, the basic structure of cartoons like SpongeBob Squarepants is very similar to the folktales of talking animals. Every generation needs its Brer Rabbit, Coyote, Anansi, or Tyll Ulenspiegel- this one just happens to come in the form of an overbearing (yet microscopic) marine creature unwilling to live at the bottom of the food chain.

Cole, Joanna. Best-Loved Folktales of the World. New York: Anchor Books. 1982.

Hynes, William J. and William G. Doty, Ed. Mythical Trickster Figures: Contours, Contexts, and Criticisms. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press. 1993.

"Plankton’s Army (a.k.a. Plankton’s Last Stand)". SpongeBob Squarepants. Prod. Stephen Hillenburg. Nickelodeon. 19 Jan. 2004.