The story of the Twenty-Two Goblins operates on a very
interesting plot twist. The goblin, who originally
seems to only be interested in causing the king mischief, is actually stalling
the king in order to protect him. Throughout
the course of the story, the goblin seems to be the main source of conflict,
especially within the frame story. In fact, it is through the constant trials
that the goblin puts the king through that it becomes obvious that the king’s
most prominent virtues are patience, determination, and perseverance.
The monk, who
initially appears as a good person who is in need of the king’s help, is
actually sending him on a quest to help the monk being a ruler. It is not until the end of the story, when
the goblin has told the king all of his riddle-like stories, that it is
revealed the goblin is actually a force of good and the monk is a force for
evil.
Interestingly enough, the tales that the goblin uses as
riddles seem to only further the virtues of the king in the frame story. Though the king’s answer never seems
satisfactory to the goblin, after each time the goblin returns to the tree the
king still seems more and more virtuous than before. Throughout the entire story, the goblin seems
to be something of a trickster. He often
antagonizes the king, though it does nothing to break the king’s resolve. To a reader, it becomes seemingly obvious
that the goblin is the antagonist, or the “bad guy.” In the end, however, the goblin reveals why
he gives the king all those seemingly insignificant riddles and forces him to
trek back to the tree in order to retrieve the body again. It is because of the goblin’s cleverness that
the king is able to defeat the monk and good wins. It is the plot twist, that something that was
perceived as bad was actually good, that makes the story.
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| From the Twenty-Two Goblins unit of the UnTextbook |
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