Scheherazade: My thoughts here are
that, how could someone call for the execution of their loved one because they
had been deceiving you for many years. Yes it is hurtful and sad as this is
someone you have entrusted your life and given you heart to. Nonetheless it
does not make it okay. I guess that how things were done in the Arab worlds at
the time. And as result of this bitter event it led the sultan to order every
other bride that he married thereafter to be killed. I think Scheherazade is a
very brave woman chancing her life in the event that maybe her actions would
lead to saving her country whilst knowing the fate of the sultan previous
wives.
Merchant and the genius: I think it
was very clever of Scheherazade that she tricked the sultan by making her
sister tell the story of the merchant and the genie thus making him more
curious to here more and more of the story and in return sparing her life for
an extra day. But I think as each day goes by he is going to grow to love her.
The story of the first old man and
of the Hind: The jealousy of women through many of the stories I have read is
quite astonishing. The mere fact that people practiced magic so freely at
anything that they may have wanted or displeased them is quite crazy. Could you
imagine turning someone into a cow or a calf because you disliked that?
Throughout many of these stories the men are portrayed as the victim whilst the
women are the villains and the root of all evil. Although the stewards’ daughter
offered to return his adopted son to the old man but in return turned the old man’s
wife into a hind which was considered to be the lesser evil instead of killing
her.
The second man, and of the two black
dogs: I think it’s quite funny that the merchants’ life is being spared as a
result of these men telling stories to the genie. Its crazy how he travels with
two dogs and that the dogs are actually his brothers. Was it a curse that maybe
turned them this way? I think their brotherhood is really powerful in the sense
that he gave his brothers all knowing that they too had the same but failed at
their enterprise so he shared his wealth to set him up again. But the same
brotherhood didn’t exist for the two dogs as they were jealous of his wife and
prosperity so they resorted into plotting him which I think is quite sad, but luckily
his wife wasn’t human but a fairy. Thus the fairy avenged him by turning them
into a dogs for ten years. Thankfully these three old men saved the merchants life.
The fisherman: Scheherazades sister
is a very clever girl as even when the story of the three old men was finished
she went on to telling the story of the fisherman. Which worked in saving her
sister life. These stories are interesting as they all involve a genie but in
different lights. But in the stories so far he is angry and wants to kill
anyone that find him for different reasons of course. It was very clever of the
fisherman to trick him into going back into the vase as he would have killed
him if he did not.
The Greek king and the physician
Douban: Before reading this I thought that maybe he was going to make a herbal
remedy but instead a form of sports which the English play today so often was
used as a remedy by this physician to cure the Greek king then.
The Parrot and the ogress: The parrot here is almost like a nanny cam. I think
by having the parrot it is a more
interesting way of snooping in marriage. Maybe it was stupid of the wife to do
things in front of the parrot knowing how smart it was.
The Physicians revenge: the evil of
these people. You have a man that has helped cure you but in return because you
have the evil whispers of someone you resort into cutting of the hands of the
one who has helped you.
The sultan and the fish: It is
interesting how the sultans’ curiosity of the four different colored fishes led
him to this other young king who I believe is a block from the waist down as a
result of a curse. Maybe this will humble him.
The story of the young king of the
black isle: Marriage and love was considered to be so sacred that some of these
men would go to crazy extent even if they heard their wife was unfaithful or
not happy with their husbands. However in this case the wife was evil and
turned her husband- the young king into half marble, half man. It is
interesting that each thing that is found in this island symbolizes different
things that existed before his wife enchanted the place. Which was thereafter
returned to it original state when the spell was lifted.
Aladdin and the wonderful lamp 1,&
2: This story is nothing like the Disney story as I had expected it to be. In
the Disney version Aladdin finds a lamp not a ring and there is not magician
that claims to be his uncle. He uses the wishes of the genie to help his mother
as they were poor. The fact that he fell in love with the princess was
something frightening for his mother instead of her being happy that her son
found a bride.
Link: Arabian Nights
No comments:
Post a Comment