Reading Diary Week 4: Arabian Nights

Scheherazade: This story serves somewhat as an intro to the unit and does a great job of setting the stage for stories to follow. I could tell from the beginning when Scheherazade asked her father to let her marry the King, knowing her fate to be killed, that she was a clever girl with tricks up her sleeve. I was interested in why she would make such a big deal about having her sister there to tell a story. Originally I thought the sister would help her to escape. The intro did a great job of leading into the telling of the story of the merchant and the Genius.

The Merchant and the Genius: I enjoyed the back and forth between the telling of the story of the merchant and the genie and the story of Scheherazade trying to stay alive. I began to see how Scheherazade drags on story with new characters to stay alive. It also ends with the old man beginning his tale: the first story within a story.

The First Old Man and of the Hind: This story told by the old man to save his life from the genie shows one of the ultimate portrayals of: you get what you give. His wife was an evil woman who turned his son and slave into a cow and calf. A fairy was able to tell the man that these were his son and slave and helped turn them back in exchange for his son’s hand in marriage and that the wife be punished. Her punishment was to be turned into a hind (deer) and therefore she “got what she gave.”

The Second Old Man and twoBlack Dogs: This story begins with the second man inside the story begins and tries to say his story is more magnificent than the first old man’s. One quote I do not agree with as the one brother reprimands his brothers for having no money states: “you traveled and what did you gain?” I think you gain so much when you travel and experience new things even if you may be poor and not gain money. This man’s story ended with  his fairy wife turning his evil brothers to dogs as punishment for betraying him; much like the first man’s story.

The Fisherman: This story begins with a new story entirely because Scheherazade  could not remember the third old man’s story. I liked the description of the story and how the genie emerges from black smoke out of lamp on the shore. It is what I envision in my mind when I think of a typical genie story. I was surprised by the twist in the story that the wish granted to the fisherman is his choice to choose how to die.

Greek King and the Physician Douban: This story within a story within a story is to teach the genie about trust. I knew from the beginning there would be trouble when the king promised the physician he would make rich if he could cure him. As the King begins to get better from the regiment of the Physician, his vizir becomes jealous and tries to convince the King the physician must be evil. It brings out a good point that jealousy causes us not to trust.

The Husband and the Parrot: I thought the use of the parrot was interesting because parrots only tell the truth. He used parrot as a way to check on his wife. The vizir becomes even more unlikeable in this story as he says “when comes to the life of a King it is better to sacrifice the innocent than save the guilty.”  This statement really made me think about how we do protect the high and mighty, but at what cost?

The Physician’s Revenge: The King is actually being persuaded by the vizir that the Physician is a bad person just trying to betray him. It made me think of the idea that we always assume the worst in people. The King is so easily swayed that the physician must be evil even though he has no reason to. The Physician then made a point by killing king with poison to “see how cruelty and injustice are punished.” At this point the genie starts sharing the story about Imma and Ateca to save his life (just as all the others have).

****At this point in the reading I really understood the importance of storytelling. Telling stories saved these people’s lives. The intrigue of wanting to know what the story entailed kept the storytellers alive. It shows just how important the gift of storytelling is and how captivating a great story can be.

The Sultan and the Fish: I was honesty surprised the fisherman did not cast his net for a second time after receiving such a good net of fish the first time. It seems unlike our selfish nature to always want more and never be pleased. The description of the palace the man who is half human and half black marble stone was magnificent. The imagery allowed me to see a clear picture of how majestic the palace was, even to the Sultan. And so another story begins….

The Young King of the Black Isles: The wife of the young king turned him to stone after he asked his wife to stop mourning the loss of another man, who she seemingly loved instead of the king. She turned him into the half man and half stone that he is now. It is another story where the wives are inherently evil. She does get what she has coming for her and is split it two. The young king becomes heir to the sultan and the fisherman gets much money. Everyone seems to get what they deserve in the end which has been a theme throughout the entire stories so far. 

Young King of Black Isles, Source: Blogpsot

Aladdin and the WonderfulLamp 1: Aladdin is exactly as how I remembered in the story of the Disney movie: a young, foolish boy. I do feel bad that he was tricked by the evil man who claimed to be his uncle in order to find the lamp. Although in the beginning I did not like Aladdin because he would not live up to his father’s potential even after he passed, I did end up having pity on him as he was trapped in the cave for being fooled by the magician.

Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp 2: I understand Aladdin’s first wish to escape from being trapped underground, but his second wish for food somewhat surprised me. I believed that he would ask for more than just something to eat. When the mother said that she wanted Aladdin to sell the lamp because she wanted “nothing to do with devils,” I knew that this was foreshadowing to something awful happening in the future. You begin to see Aladdin’s selfishness as he demands the princess be his by sabotaging the marriage to the Vizir’s son even though the princess is frightened beyond belief. We see in this story how Aladdin begins to abuse the power of the genie, even though it is in the name of love.

Aladdin and the WonderfulLamp 3: I felt bad for the princess that no one would believe her of the terrible events happening in the night, and that her future-groom wanted nothing to do with her because of the horrible events. I love the detail of how the princess “set out on a carpet” because it reminded me of the magic carpet ride in the Disney movie Aladdin. One of the last lines really struck me: “Aladdin had won the hearts of the people by his genie bearing.” It shows that he had won the hearts of the people through deception, laziness, and material things.

Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp 4: I was pleased to see at the beginning that the magician was making his way back into the story and there would be trouble for Aladdin in the future. The magician took away everything Aladdin had gotten from the genie: his wife, the palace, and his money. Now the people of the town pitied him, when just days before they had worshiped him and asked the Sultan to spare his life. “He saw plainly that all his misfortunes were owing to the loss of the lamp”- it is sad to see that everything he had in life came from the luck of the lamp and not his own doings or character.

Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp 5: I was happy to see that the princess and Aladdin actually were lovers, even if he won her hand in deception. Aladdin and the princess begin devising a plan and I got hooked into the story. The poisoning of the magician by sipping his wine also reminded me of a typical Disney movie storyline.

Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp 6: I am honestly happy there was more to the story than just the magician dying and everything being okay. The twist of having a younger brother equally evil added interest to the story- and for the sake of Scheherazade- extends the story even longer. I was appalled that the genie was so distraught by the request for the Roc’s egg and he finally puts an end to granting the wishes of Aladdin and tells him of the disguised magician. Aladdin kills the magician and they live “happily ever after” just like a fairy tale should end.