Essay: Assessment of Arabian Nights

I really like the Arabian Nights storybook. The first and second half were both really good, but I would have to say I enjoyed the second half better. The first half of the reading I really enjoyed the episodes up until the three old men. I though the writing style for this half was well put together, and it kept me reeled in much like the Sultan. Each story left me wanting to read the next. There was not much background information that I would have liked. I would say maybe to have more dialog between the grand-vizers daughter and the Sultan. I also did not think the episodes in this first half needed notes. They were pretty straight forward and pretty easy reads. The same can be said for the second half of the reading about Aladdin. It was pretty straight forward, and I didn't feel like I needed any notes or additional information. This series of stories was my favorite because I am a 90's baby and I love stories that inspired Disney movies. I genuinely enjoyed this unit about Aladdin. I kept wondering what was going to happen next and what the ending would be. The only thing I thought that could have been different was the abruptness of the ending. I felt the end was like Aladdin killed the magician and then boom happily ever after. With all that happened in the story, I guess I expected more. Somethings I learned from this unit is how to develop a story from a story. This writing style makes me want to use this style for my own writing portfolio. I was surprised at how this story kept my interest. When I first read it I was taken aback by the beginning of the story and thought I was not going to like, but I am glad I kept reading. I think others will enjoy this too.

(Little cartoon Aladdin)

Reading Diary B: Arabian Nights

(Disney's Aladdin with the lamp and genie)

I really am a sucker for stories about Disney movies. This was literally my childhood though, so I think am justified to be. Anyway, this story was interesting. A little different from the Disney movie with their being more than one genie, but the story generally follows the same theme. Aladdin is poor and he lives with his mother. Until one day as magician posing as Aladdin uncle tricks him into getting a magic lamp for him, but left Aladdin with a ring. Aladdin rubbed the ring and a genie appeared and was bound do make any wish that Aladdin commanded. So Aladdin asked for food and other things that he could sell so that him and his mother could eat. Shortly after Aladdin falls for the Sultan's daughter and retrieves the lamp so that he can pass himself off as prince by asking the genies to  build a palace. Aladdin marries the princess after almost being sneakily married off to another boy by the Sultan. The magician learns of Aladdin and plans to take his palace away from him while away. He does so and takes the palace to Africa. The Sultan learns of this and want Aladdin's head. Although, Aladdin bargains with the Sultan to allow him forty days to find the princess. When he does find her, the princess trick the magician and he end up dead. They then ask the genie to move the palace back to China. Little did Aladdin know that the magician has a younger brother who wanted to avenge his brothers death. The magicians brother disguised himself as a woman that everyone loved. The disguised magician went into the palace and attempted to trick the princess into  defeating Aladdin, but the genie warned them the magician brother was out for them. Aladdin found the brother of the magician and killed him and Aladdin and the princess lived happily ever after. 

Arabian Nights

Reading Diary A: Arabian Nights

(Queen Scheherazade by Sophie Anderson)

I really enjoyed the first half of this storybook! I love this writing style and it is something that I am considering for a theme for my portfolio if I decide to choose to do it. The first half of this reading tells a story about a Sultan who is a king and he is happily married, but then his wife deceives him and he kills her. Now the Sultan seemingly has serious trust issues and marries a new wife everyday, spends a night with her and than has her killed the next morning. This continues on until the grand-vizers daughter Scheherazade comes up with a plan to keep the Sultan from killing her. The grand-vizer is opposed of this because he does not want to kill his own daughter if her plan does not work. Although he eventually lets her marry the Sultan with hopes that he is not ordered to kill her the next day. When Sultan meets Scheherazade he feels she is the most beautiful woman he has every married. He also sees that she is sad and asks her what is wrong. Scheherazade then asked Sultan to let her sister sleep with them before she is to die, and he allows it. While the three of them are asleep, Scheherazade sister wakes her to tell her a story. The Sultan also wants to hear the story. Scheherazade then starts to tell a story about a genie and merchant. In this story the genies believes that the merchant has killed his son, and plans to kill the merchant. The merchant is given one year with his family and then he has to return to the genie. On this day, the merchant meets three old men, one with a hind and another one with two dogs. When the genie is getting ready to kill the merchant, the old man with the hind makes a deal with the genie that if his story is worthwhile then he will not kill the merchant. So then the old man and the hind begins to tell his story. But Scheherazade then tells Sultan and her sister that they have to wait until the next day to hear the story, and Scheherazade is spared and not killed to the relief of the grand-vizer. This theme continues on with a story happening within a story. 

Arabian Nights