The Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H. J. Ford (1898). The Merchant and the Genius
Part A
This week I chose to read Arabian Nights. I was initially drawn to this story because of my familiarity with the Disney movie, Aladdin. Before reading, I anticipated that there would be some outstanding similarities and differences between the story. What I found is that Part A of this story are not really about Aladdin's story at all, which ended up being something I really enjoyed. Something that I really liked about these stories is the point of view from which they are told and the reason for their telling. In this reading, every individual story has a specific narrator. Early on we are introduced to Scheherazade, one of the main storytellers. She tells these stories to her husband Sultan Schahriar and her sister Dinarzade, as if her life depends on it; because it does!! This piece of background knowledge is essential to understanding the speakers point of view and gives a unique perspective on storytelling in general.
A part of this reading that stands out to me is the character development of Scheherazade before the storytelling begins. Right away, she wants to make a change in her community and wishes to face it boldly and unafraid, even in the face of danger. Even though her father is fearful and does not allow it at first, she urges him to reconsider so that she can sacrifice herself in order to save other girls from the terrible fate of being the sultan's wife. This bravery reminded me of that of Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games or Mulan from Disney's Mulan. Both heroines defy their families wishes of keeping them out of harms way to sacrifice themselves to help others. For Katniss, the reasoning for her sacrifice is to save her sister from having to fight for her life. Mulan goes to fight in the war in place of her aging and sickly father. The character development in all three of these stories is essential to the rest of the story. In this case, knowing about the narrator helps us to connect with her and her mission. This act of heroism is something I would love to highlight in a format similar to one of the movies I mentioned earlier in Thursday's story.
I enjoyed reading all of the stories that Scheherazade told the sultan in order to save her life, as there was always a certain edge to the story with the knowledge that it could be the last one she was alive to tell. One of my favorite parts of this reading, however, is the very first story she tells the sultan. She begins a story on the very first day (when she was supposed to be killed) about a man who also has to barter for his life. The man in the story accidentally kills the son of a genie and begs him to give him a year to live. I found it interesting that this story within a story was very similar to the situation that Scheherazade finds herself in. This format and it's inherent irony made the story fun and exciting to follow. I also enjoyed how all of the stories within the reading are connected and follow in a chronological order.
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