Tuesday, April 6, 2010

A Thousand and One Nights

Clip from Discovery Channel:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhnISVeztpY&feature=related

Please watch the rest of this documentary at home.

1.What did you learn about the cultural background of the 1001 Nights from this documentary? Give one example.

2.One of the scholars interviewed in this clip claims that this is a "book like no other, it's an assemblage of tales of magic, of wonder, of piety, of mysticism, of eroticism, and of comedy." Please comment on this statement, based on what you've read so far. Give examples that illustrate the combination of at least two of these features.

35 comments:

  1. I agree with the scholar. Each of the stories that Shahrazad tells King Shahrayar deals with either magic,wonder,piety,mysticism,eroticism or comedy. An example that combines magic and piety is, "The First Old Man's Tale" which was told on the fourth night. The old man had a wife (cousin) of over 30 years who bare him no children. So he had a mistress who bare him a son. After asking his wife to look after his son and mistress for a year in his absence, his wife used magic and turned his son into a bull and the mother into a cow. To get back at his wife for what she did he had her turned into a deer. He said to his son, "God has sent us someone who will pay her back for what you and your mother and I have suffered at her hands"(pg.1586). He is reiterating that God is behind his wife's punishment.

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  3. Yes, "A Thousand and One Night" is full of magic, wonder, piety, mysticism, eroticism, and comedy. The story is very interesting because it is almost endless. I found one of the humorous and erotic story is when demon's wife cheats him. The "Jin" or demon knows what is going on in that period. Therefore, he lucks up her in the box and dives deep in the sea so that she cannot cheat on him. When he comes out from the sea, he frees her and takes a nap. The funnies part is that both Shahrayar and Shahzaman are cheated by their wifes yet they have sexual intercourse with demon's wife. I also fount interesting the story of "the Fisherman and the Demon" because it is a combination of magic, wonder, piety,comedy,and eroticism. It is funny because the demon instead of being greatful to the old fisherman he tries to kill him. But the old fisherman is smart and tricks him and takes him under his control. In this story there are number of magics. First, when the demon emerges from the vase. Second, when young king's wife turns him into half stone and half man, "With my magic and cunning, be half man, half stone"(1614). Third, when his wife turns the islands into hills and its inhabitants, Muslims, Jews, Christians, and Magians into four different fishes. In addition, this story is wonder and piety because the king goes to find out why there are four different fishes who has never seen before and it is piety because the king tries to help the young king to drag him out from his worst situation.
    Although the stories are interesting, one concept is not clear to me. That's, Shahrazad tells Shahrayar many stories to heal his wound. She tells him stories that not even a single of them discusses the best characteristics, attitudes, and behaviors of women. How could Shahrayar be cured if he does not have better image of women?

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  4. I completely agree with the author of this quote. Thousand and one night gives a chance to reader to think further, and creates curiosity to know whats going to happen next.
    Mysticism was found in every story, such as, in first story a man sees in his dream that there is treasure in Baghdad but when he gets there he gets into trouble and get caught by chief police officer and he calls him a big fool, but that guy didn't give up and went back to Cairo, by reading this story it creates mysticism in readers mind and creates curiosity that how he going to find treasure or even if he will get to treasure.
    Magic is also a key tool present in the stories, because in every story there is some sort of magic, like A demon coming out of the sea, although it is not realistic but it creates an important image in the story so the reader can get the point that is told indirectly.

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  5. The Thousand And One Nights is definitely like no other. The scholar mentioned these stories deal with magic, of wonder, of piety, of mysticism, of eroticism, and of comedy.From the moment you read about the King finding his wife with the cook make you want to know what is going to happen next. It is interesting how one story leads to another without being confusing. Each story deals with some type of eroticism; like the two king being cheated on and then he story about a man's wife turning his mistress and son into a bull and a cow. What I keep thinking to myself is when is the king going to kill the girl? How many stories does Shahrazad have?

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  6. The scholar mentioned above is definitely correct in his analysis of The Thousand and One Nights. The collection of stories are full of magnificant tales of magic, eroticism, comedies, mysticism, etc. The two that caught my attention most were the story of the merchants mistress and son being turned into animals and the story of the merchant who was sentenced to death by the demon. The story about the merchants mistress and son being turned into animals had magic and comedy at times, but also had suspence. I could see why King Shahryar, wanted to keep Shahrazad he always wanted her the end of the story. Iwould of kept her alive also. As I was reading I got upset everytime she stopped to fall asleep. The story of the merchant and the demon sentencing him to death had a lot of mysticism, but was very entertaining. Each of these stories have there own significant impacts to person that is why King Shahryar decided not to kill Shahrazad and to stop his ways.

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  7. 1. It's interesting to see the interaction between Shahrazad and Shahrayar from a psychoanalytical perspective, because Shahrazad is figuratively playing a game of chess against the Sultan, but it seems she's always one move ahead. The fact that she is able to manipulate him so without really shows how fragmented the Sultan's mind really is, as mentioned by one of the commentators in the video. Yet I think there are so many variables left out of the story, and I know that each night is a display of Shahrazad's effect on the Sultan's psyche, however, the Sultan does lead his life during the daytime as well, and it doesn't seem that he is able at all to contemplate on Shahrazad's storytelling and its purpose. This really makes the Sultan out to be a man of soft character, as he is easily made to deviate from his initial goal, which is of course to kill his lover at the end of the night. It is a great display of lack of intellect on his part, because, to put it frankly, one would think that someone would see what's happening every time and that he is being cheated out of his own intentions.
    Anyway, as for the question itself, one could clearly see the common ground between Sumerian, Greek, and the Arabic traditions, which lies in the storytelling aspect of the story. All of these stories have passed from the mouths of bards to the ears of the public once and again before finally being inscribed. Then there's the issue of translation - without being sure of what certain phrases meant and how exactly they were used in common language at the time there can be no correct version of the story - especially when a story has been shaped by so many different individuals.

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  8. 1. It's interesting to see the interaction between Shahrazad and Shahrayar from a psychoanalytical perspective, because Shahrazad is figuratively playing a game of chess against the Sultan, but it seems she's always one move ahead. The fact that she is able to manipulate him so without really shows how fragmented the Sultan's mind really is, as mentioned by one of the commentators in the video. Yet I think there are so many variables left out of the story, and I know that each night is a display of Shahrazad's effect on the Sultan's psyche, however, the Sultan does lead his life during the daytime as well, and it doesn't seem that he is able at all to contemplate on Shahrazad's storytelling and its purpose. This really makes the Sultan out to be a man of soft character, as he is easily made to deviate from his initial goal, which is of course to kill his lover at the end of the night. It is a great display of lack of intellect on his part, because, to put it frankly, one would think that someone would see what's happening every time and that he is being cheated out of his own intentions.
    Anyway, as for the question itself, one could clearly see the common ground between Sumerian, Greek, and the Arabic traditions, which lies in the storytelling aspect of the story. All of these stories have passed from the mouths of bards to the ears of the public once and again before finally being inscribed. Then there's the issue of translation - without being sure of what certain phrases meant and how exactly they were used in common language at the time there can be no correct version of the story - especially when a story has been shaped by so many different individuals.

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  9. what i learned about the cultural documentary of the Arabian nights is that in the last video the narrator said a quote that sunk in deep to me, she said " like the ruined man we all can become rich again through our dreams." this is the treasure of life! this wraps the whole story of the 1000 and one nights because Shahrazad was intellectually smart in a sense that she knew the power of these stories and was confident in risking her life to tell them to prove this exact point to Shahrayar that through everything you have gone through in your life these "stories" will save you. Shahrazad took a risk and i feel that she knew that it was going to work because she has told stories before and knew the power they had. i feel like women had a secret upper hand in this day in age because of the power of seduction, beauty and eroticism they had with men. Also i feel that the culture then was based on dreams and messages, they did not have use of fast mailing or translations ect... so i think through stories they though history, religion, acts of everyday life and morals. i feel that Shahrayar was shocked at the enticing feel and confidence in words that Shahrazad possessed.

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  10. so i love how all categorizes of what is in a novel are incorporated into this particular story. i feel like the use of magic, of wonder, of piety, of mysticism, of eroticism, and of comedy are introduced in every way and also i love how comedy and piety are introduced together, as well as magic and wonder. in this story all of these are used almost in every passage and that is what keeps the reader wondering what happens next. for example, the fourth night when it was the story about the merchant and demon. you have the merchant going back new years day to die. along with the merchant you have an audience of three men hanging out and seeing what happens. i feel like the did not believe him at first and wanted to go there to prove to him and make fun of his imagination but when the demon did come they turn weeping and wailing. when Shahrazad was telling this she stopped suddenly and then of course Shahrayar needed to hear the rest, so there she had one more day of distracting him and persuading his mind.

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  11. Please make sure you sign your posts, particularly if it's not clear from your username who you are. :--)

    Sorin

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  12. 1. One thing I learned about the cultural background of 1001 Nights in this documentary was how much society and that culture long for an alternative universe and fantasy. As we have previously read in The Iliad, for example, rage can be a very dangerous quality to obtain and even harder to control. However, in the 1001 Nights, despite the King being enraged and going to kill Shahrazad, once Shahrazad starts talking about stories about fantasy and other fables, the king is so involved and intrigued by the story that he puts off his anger and rage to listen to the stories. This typifies the point that people in that society and that culture are perhaps always looking for an alternative, a better situation, and when listening to fantasy stories, they imagine a universe higher than theirs that they desire . Perhaps this is a very psychoanalysis of the culture at the time, but nonetheless, they are enthralled with fantasy and a higher universe than their own in which they wish to live in.

    2. One of the scholars interviewed in this clip claims that this is a "book like no other, it's an assemblage of tales of magic, of wonder, of piety, of mysticism, of eroticism, and of comedy,” and I couldn’t agree more. One example that reiterates this point, is during the second night of The Story of the Merchant and the Demon, when the merchant is trying to buy time with the demon so he wont be killed, and the Demon asks “How much time do you need?...Do you swear to God that if I let you go, you will come back on New Years Day?” This quote by the demon portrays the mysticism, comedy, and magic that the scholar interviewed in the clip claims.

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  13. The scholars that were interviewed and claimed that this is a "book like no other, it's an assemblage of tales of magic, of wonder, of piety, of mysticism, of eroticism, and of comedy", was very accurate in their saying. As i read the stories that Shahrazed is telling the kings i get so lost into the story that i forget that i have to read it for class. One point that proves this scholar right, is when the king and his brother come upon a demon and his mistress. While the demon is asleep the mistress gets up and calls out for them and tells them and tells them to have sex with her or she will wake the demon up and he will kill him. The peity of this is that she tells the kings; "....a hundred men have known me under the very horns of this filthy, monstrous cuckold, who have imprisoned me in this chest, locked it with four lock and kept me in the middle of this raging, roaring sea. He has guarded me and tried to keep me pure and chaste, not realizing that nothing can prevent or alter what is predestined and that when a women desires something, no one can stop her." You also feel piety for the father when he tries to convince his daughter not to go to the king because he knows that he would have to kill her in the morning.

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  15. Alf layla wa-layla, or the 1001 night is a story that makes me think as I watch the documentary, that Scheherazade invention of stories to save her life and influence king Shahryar, was something splendid as she created verbal scripts to keep the king entertained and away from killing her. This was a huge gamble on her part to put herself in that position, almost as playing the Russian roulette. Now at days people get paid to create stories and whole seasons of TV scripts and other forms of story entertainments. They all carry different forms of writing on interlacing the stories to keep the public entertained, but none has the value magnitude of the 1001 night. This story changed history not only by the stories themselves but mostly in particular by the whole story of its own — the cunning power of a woman manipulating a king by keeping him entertained with words, or just simply by being the only one person that was able to persuade the king to change his mind about killing women for his resentment of non being able to fully control them. Scheherazade words were not just any stories; these stories seemed to have taken a life of their own changing itself in many versions as it went along. This makes me think that things before were more appreciated than today. Or was it that the 1001 night was it really charged with magic to keep us enchanted to it? Fitting itself to its public at hand. As they mentioned in the Arabian night clips, the story had certain form on the Arabian world, full of sensual magnetism and erotic innuendos which were then dropped out the stories as it crossed to the European world because this elaborated sexual content did not fit well with this new public at the time. Yet the stories are so entertaining that what was taken out of the stories was place back in it and fully translated into other languages in later years.

    The clips not only show the stories of Scheherazade but also touch on the time of enlightenment where Europe developed in search of more knowledge and freedom of thinking, and also it briefly covers on the huge movement of women freedom. The clip shows as the Turkish were the first to allow women to vote in addition to other women rights. This including Scheherazade attitude of “going for it!”. Therefore, the whole view of 1001 night has more to it than just entertaining stories. It contains emancipation, literature, psychology and a whole lot of work of history and future development.

    On the other hand, the Arabian nights, the most stories that I heard had being related to Aladdin but now it caught my attention to read more into it since they are very entertaining.

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  16. On a closer look at the story, I ask myself why didn't the king killed Scheherazade since he is so mighty and powerful? He kills women for the resentment of being betrayed, yet Scheherazade controlled him by stopping the stories every night and he had to wait a FULL DAY to be able to continue to listen to the stories! This could be nerve wrecking for someone that is as anxious as he is to listen to the stories to just wait all that time because his wife (the one that he does not care about and is about to kill at morning time) feels like stopping the story. This seems to me as if either the king has all the patience in the world to wait on this, or he just simply falls asleep listening to the stories every night and afterwards, Scheherazade follows to sleep.

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  17. The stories changed as they were retold throughout the world, but they continued to capture the imaginations of people everywhere. These stories were so powerful that they slowly changed King Shahrayar cured him of his madness.

    The story of the merchant and the demon is very elaborate and it portrays magic due in part to the three old men. Each of the three old men had animals that were originally their family. The deer was the cousin, the dogs were the brothers, and the mule was the wife. Each was turned into animals because of their wrongdoings.

    The fisherman's cunning creates a comedy in which he humiliates the demon. Fearing his death, the fisherman goads the demon into entering the jar from which he came from. The roles become reversed as now the fisherman holds the power over the demon.

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  18. The story of 1001 night is really magical story because it deals with many different moods and feeling. Also the fact that one girl names Shahrazad believed to change a King based on stories it’s amazing. I also found interesting that the father of Shafrazad uses stories to convince her not to give herself to the king. It shows that in their culture people believed a lot in tales. One story that showed pity was the Merchant and the Demon. The demon wants to kills the merchant because he said that the merchant had killed his son and gave him a year to say bye to his family and the merchant actually returned back after a year to the Damon as promised. For me this was a very meaningful story.

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  19. 1. Cultural Background
    The first impression I got from reading A thousand and One Nights is that it was written in a time when the relationship between man and woman was very, very different from today. The women in these stories are often treated as if they are not human beings. Sex slaves to tyrannical kings that can be killed with little consequences. In some of the stories, the women are also depicted as being evil or villianous, especially in relation to men. Men with the old world harem mentality were driven mad by their inability to control those unruly females.

    There is, of course, one obvious major exception: Shahrazad. Shahrazad is wise, clever, and selfless - a truly heroic and admirable character. Shahrazad transcends all stereotypes and norms of what a woman is supposed to be. Through her, we gain a very strong sense of admiration for women. We see a woman who exists not to merely complement a man - but in fact she corrects the flaws of men, and in doing so she essentially saves both the man and the kingdom.

    Another important cultural oddity comes in 1942 when Thousand and One Nights is brought to life by Hollywood. Maria Montez plays Shahrazad, and the director/writers turn her into the complete opposite of the heroic character she was in the story. THIS Shahrazad is a hateful depiction of a woman who destroys all men she encounters.

    I think the fact that A Thousand and One Nights has been continually reinterpreted and rewritten to fit the cultural and social trends of different times is what has allowed it to thrive for over three hundred years. Much like life itself, it is the ability to adapt to changing environments that is the defining trait of any surviving entity - even a set of stories. This is why A thousand and One Nights eventually became one of the key underpinnings of everything from the modern novel to even science fiction.

    2. Comedy & Eroticism
    I think the best example of the combination of comedy and eroticism come in the first few pages of the book. We see a scene in the courtyard where 20 seemingly-normal slaves are walking, and moments later the scene explodes into an orgy, with a butt-naked Mas'ud literally jumping down from a tree and RUNNING over to the wife to make love. At the end of it all, he jumps over a gate - that is hilarious. It's a perfect stereotype of the virile black male. Mas'ud is like a super-sex-machine, the epitome of any king's fears.

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  20. In order for us to first read and understand, and then think and comment about THE THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS; we need to have a clear understanding of the concept of kingship during the era of Sassanids(226-652), the last Iranian dynasty. Sassanid kingdom of Iran had the most unjust, uneducated, and unorganized kings. They failed to manage the country, and that makes it obvious enough why Arabs were able to invade, and to take over a country that has a few thousand years of civilization, and to plunder its history, literature, knowledge of philosophy, science, and etc.
    Throughout web of stories, Shahrzad, a highly educated woman in philosophy, history, medicine, and etc; tries to educate the king by risking her own life, in order to bring the justice back, and convinces the king Shahrayar to abandons his policy. I cannot make a contrast between King Shahrayar’s times with today’s world because we can still see betrayal of a wife to her husband, injustice in political system, and policies that destines many innocent people to death.
    I would like to write about the story of the Fisherman and the Demon because it’s the combination of piety, of magic, and of wonder. While a poor fisherman tries to make a living, he accidently frees a demon who is imprisoned by Prophet Solomon’s magic in a jar due to his disobedience. Raged demon for the thousand and eight hundred years he spent in the jar, and plans to reward the poor fisherman by ending his life. Desperate fisherman seeks for the demon’s piety by saying “Spare me, and God will spare you. Destroy me, and God will destroy you”. Demon refuses to spare the innocent fisherman. Similar to Odysseus of Iliad who employes reason and logic as his rhetorical strategy, to bring Achilles back to the fight; fisherman’s rhetorical strategy is also to use reason and logic, to trap the demon back into the jar. Fisherman with wonder contends that the demon cannot fit into the jar, and the ignorant demon who tries to proof him wrong, gets back to his prison, and fisherman has no hesitate to lock the door by sealing the jar with Prophet Solomon’s lead stopper.
    Therefore, after reading the story of the fisherman and the demon, I couldn't agree more with the scholar's claim, that this is a unique book that contains stories that are mixtures of magic, of piety, of wonder and etc.

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  21. A Thousand and One Nights was definitely one of the most interesting books I’ve ever read. I completely agree with the scholar that was interviewed in this clip. This book was full of tales of magic, of wonder, of piety, of mysticism, of eroticism, and of comedy. It was most unusual and exciting which kept me interested as each story linked to one another. The layers of stories created a labyrinth of plots. When looking at the clip we see the culture background seems have a men being the superior one of the sexes. The women portrayed as being a sex objects. What I also see is how the king’s actions of murder after the betrayal of his wife portrayed the abundant amount of power that the king has over his people.

    In the story of the fisherman and the demon magic and mysticism, it included a demon that was trapped inside a jar that the fisherman has opened. When being tricked by the fisherman that he wouldn’t be able to fit himself in the jar, we see the use of magic as he transports himself into the jar.

    Many of the stories incorporate eroticism, for example the story of the women that turned her husbands mistress into a cow and their son into a bull. Just by the fact that her husband had a mistress was something that was something of a sexual factor. In this story the magic is also portrayed. When looking at the over all story of the king being betrayed by wife, by her having an affair with a slave of the house. When the brother of the king encounters the king’s wife with the slave the depth of the eroticism is demonstrated.

    What I love the most out of this book is how she starts story of the man who returns to the demon that will take away his life opens up more stories as he meets other men while he waits for the demon. It creates a confusion at first but when linking all the stories together the plot makes that much more interesting.

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  22. From the documentary, I learned that the 1001 Nights cultural background originated between India and Persian. According to one of the scholars interviewed in this clip, he claims that this is a “book like no other…”; I cannot agree with him more. As a way to stop the king from executing one girl every night, Shahrazad devised an ingenious plan to keep the king entertained through stories of magic, wonder, piety, mysticism, eroticism, and comedy. Example of eroticism is displayed in the courtyard with a very open sex scene with the slaves and the king’s wife. Also an example of Comedy is when the fisherman while in fear for his life tricks the demon to go back into the jar that he was trapped in. Shahrazad creates elaborate stories filled with these aspects and ends the night at the climax of each story to keep the king hooked and wanting more; which spares her life in the process. As one story branches off from another, that stacks stories on top of stories, Shahrazad can keep saving herself from death and many others that would come.

    Doug

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  23. 1.Cultural Background

    The stories in "A Thousand and One Nights" have been retold for hundreds of years in Ancient India and Persia. The stories then traveled along trade routes connected to Europe, Asia and Africa where they were then translated in hundreds of languages. The stories are so captivating and have such a "universial appeal" according to the narrator that even today they still live on.

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  24. I have to say I've quite enjoyed The 1,001 Nights. I was reluctant to start reading it thinking it might be yet another complicated read. However, after starting, I found it quite colloquial and it's easy to see that yes, these stories were of the oral tradition. In fact, I believe both in the documentary and in the introduction included in the book it is said that because of its "simple language" The 1,001 Nights fails to be considered a scholarly work of literature. I have to disagree. What makes this book great is its simplicity, the ease with which it captures us and keeps us turning the page.
    Normally, when things are transcribed, they lose that authenticity that we love most about it. That within itself is a great achievement; to be able to keep its natural sate of language (for the most part) while being a written work is quite a phenomena. For that alone, this work should hold its own with other great works.
    It also makes sense that while Europeans were translating it they tried to make it a "high society piece" as is mentioned by the documentary. Although I think this is meant more for the erotic parts of the book, such as the scene with Sharyar's wife, her maids, and her lovers, I also think they were trying to make it more intellectual so as to give it its place in literature.
    I have to agree with the statement in the documentary. The story takes us from sex on the courtyard, to people being turned into animals, to demons appearing out of bottles, to much, much more. Every encounter leaves us, as it did Sharyar, hungry for more.

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  25. 1001 Nights is book with stories inside stories and inside stories as discussed in class. But these stories are what drives us in and to keep on reading. 1001 Nights incorporates the culture around them. One culture is the idea of royalty, women in society, the classes in society, and magic.

    Throughout the book of 1001 Nights there are many features that are being used. To mention something easier and something everyone should have read at least let me use the beginning. The two kings find that their wives are betraying them both with their slaves and wonder off to search for a misery in someone else that relief them and make their misery not as significant. The eroticism feature is used in betrayal all over the place. In their journey a big giant genie, as stated in the video, has appeared and in his head he help a box that contained a lady that he wed. The wife of the genie uses her husband as a threat to force the two kings to make love to her. The eroticism is used a lot to signify the betrayal of women in the story. Magic is presented in the genie making the ground move. Comedy in the fact of them hiding in the tree, scared of what can happen to them.

    Another story is the conversation of the vizier and his daughter. The vizier tries to bring some senses to his daughter and uses stories to convince her. These stories contain magic in the sense of the master’s ability to speak the language of the animals. Mysticism in the idea of what can happen if the wife finds out. Wonder in the fact that must obey to the rules of his pact of knowing the language of the animals. And as well goes on, comedy, with the conversation of the donkey and the ox. I agree with the scholar as the examples above and much more through out the story have proven all of these features and its entertaining.

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  26. I have to disagree with one post here. I would not say that king Shahrayar could not see that Shahrazad is only trying to save her neck. Perhaps he is realizing that killing all this women did not do him any good. He already killed most of the girls but Shahrazad offered him totally different option. If he keep her alive he will have entertainment at night. Shahrazad could be also seen as God answer to complains of mourning parents. Her stories are full of magic,irony, and comedy. I found quite ironic that the fisherman should be reward by death for unknowingly releasing demon from jar which was closed for 8 hundred years. More over if only the fisherman could come little bit earlier he would be greatly reworded with great treasure. The comedy I found was that although the demon is magical and powerful the fisherman was able to trick him and safe himself from death.

    2)I was also amassed that the story telling is still present in middle east culture. And if I am not mistaken there were mostly adults listening.

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  27. The documentary emphasized the importance of storytelling as giving “meaning to our lives.” Engaging in dialogue was Shaharazad’s strategy to calm her husband’s violent temper. It was interesting to note that women played an important role in the story overall as a necessary provider of dialogue for men. The violent and animal nature of man could only be overcome by a woman’s nature to engage in conversation. In this way, the documentary pointed out a feminist theme in the 1001 Nights story.
    While I was reading 1001 Nights, two themes that I came to notice was piety and magic. In the story of the fisherman and the jinni, the fisherman opens up a vase that contains a jinni, who has been magically trapped inside. The jinni decides to kill the fisherman, but the fisherman is able to trick the jinni into going into the vase again. However, in the end, the fisherman lets the jinni free and gives him a second chance to live. This demonstrates forgiveness and teaches a moral lesson that looks down on seeking revenge on others. When the jinni is free, rather than getting back at the fisherman, he rewards him. This shows that the nature of a person can change depending on how you treat them. 1001 Nights revolves around the king and his transformation as Shaharazad teaches and changes his heart through storytelling. Each story seems to convey a moral message of good or “piety.” Since the king has a heart of revenge and hate, the stories told in 1001 Nights all demonstrate a message of piety while maintaining fantasy-like magical elements that bring it to life and engages the listener rather than “teach” a lesson.

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  28. 1. The multi-cultural background of the 1001 Nights is most easily seen in the universal nature of the different renditions of the tales themselves. Different adaptations tweak the stories here and there, but the sheer amount of stories themselves makes it impossible for the Arabian Nights to be changed fundamentally, be it watered down by 17th century European translators or completely subverted by Hollywood in the 1940's. The animal tales still remain simplistic, the longer stories retain much of their lasciviousness, and the major story of the nightly conflict remains intact.

    2. It's hard to argue with the premise that the Arabian nights is like no other, but it is possible to disagree with the reason the scholar states. Maybe not at the time, but now a days it is easy to see similar collective tales. The Cantebury tales for example were similar in nature, small ethical tales which had magic, humor, sex, etc.etc. all pieced together inside one larger story. One could argue that the Odyssey, the Bible, and various other stories did the same. What makes the Arabian Nights unique is how the story goes about doing so. The author of the tales themselves are unknown, but the bringing together of such stories into such a brilliant narrative can be considered a magnum opus of sorts. Fitting together so many variety of stories from so many cultures is what makes the Arabian Nights unique.

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  29. As a child my mother use to tell us stories of Ali Baba, Aladdin, and etc. as bed time stories. I quite enjoyed reading this book and reliving it again. The stories presented here, though often some what crude have great moral lessons to be learned. They serve as a sort of reminder of how good a person should be. I agree with the documentary, it is very much the way they describe.

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  30. The story of 1,001 nights definitely contains mystery, adventure, comedy, and so much more. From the story of the ruined man you can see how religious beliefs are very important to their culture. The ruined man dreamed of treasure in Cairo but it turns out to be a trap but after hearing of the guard's tale, he still has faith and hurries home to find that his wishes have finally come true to find treasure.

    In the story of the fisherman and the demon, the fisherman has been failing to capture anything besides rubbish. After a few prayers however the fisherman was able to capture the brass jar. Sure the jar contained a demon, that is all a part of the plot twists that make 1,001 nights, but the fisherman was cunning enough to be able to trick the demon back inside the jar. Perhaps this fast thinking of the fisherman was thanks to the Almighty.

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  31. In the first night merchant accidentally killed demon’s son thus now demon wants to kill the merchant that did not even know what he did. To please the demon, few men try to help. The first man says the story of how he killed the fat cow without knowing it was his mother. The old man wants the demon to understand that there is no need to revenge, especially if merchant unintentionally killed his son. The story teaches us to forgive and realize we accuse others without even thinking there could be a different alternative.
    This story is also supposed to soften the Shahrayar heart and prevent him from killing Shahrazad that by telling stories to him wants to prove that not all women are unfaithful. Shahrayar without realizing just like the demon delays with the revenge.

    I agree with the saying "book like no other, it's an assemblage of tales of magic, of wonder, of piety, of mysticism, of eroticism, and of comedy." The fact that the demon does not kill the merchant right away and let him go for a year to say bye to the family is funny to me. It is funny that even after merchant’s return, the demon still does not kill the merchant but listens to the story of the old man that tries to help the merchant.

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  32. I think there is a lot to learn from A thousand and night whether it is in terms of the type of societies the story was told about or its cultural background. The book is indeed a complete example world literature because the stories come from various parts of the world like India, Arab, Persia and others. For example, King Sharayar ruled India and Indo china which shows cultural background of India specifically while the Tale of King Yunan is from Persia.
    Moreover, despite the inclusion of the stories from different places in the world the book has beautifully managed to hold the essence of the societies of that time where women were subject to extreme domination, King had supreme power and all black people were held slaves.
    I totally agree with the scholar’s claim of the book having elements like magic, piety, mysticism, eroticism and comedy. For example, the appearance of demons from the jar, the casting of spell to turn into an animal, the colorful fishes represent magic in the story. The part where the black slaves jumped from the tree to the private room of Sharayar’s wife is quite comic. Furthermore there is also mysticism in the stories of demon and the fisherman, King Yunan’s recovery by the sage and the appearance of black girl in the kitchen.

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  33. It's a shame that all I knew about Arabian culture came from Disney. My childhood would have been greatly different if I had read 1001 Nights instead of watched Robin Williams as a blue genie. The stories have everything from sex to death. There are stories of merchants who can talk to animals. Of demons who have women locked up in wooden chests. I do find it incredible of how a strong and cunning women Shaharzad is. She is willing to face death just to save her people. It is strange to me because I would never imagine men would paint in this light.

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  34. Eroticism and comedy

    The book “A Thousand and One Night” is a book like no other full of fantasy and imagination, but it is also true that the book is exceptionally interesting since it has the ability to involve the lector like no other. It has the ability of catching our attention narrating similar issues that we may find if not in our daily life at least on TV. From the list mention above, eroticism and comedy are two elements that caught my attention the most. Eroticism was found at the beginning of the story when Shahrazad was watching his sister in law involved in an orgy. The way the episode is narrated is very erotic. The attention to details gives the reader a clear idea of what is happening there. I found comedy in the part where the demon wife was calling the two brothers to come and have sex with her. The funny way she did it and how they answered to her was in my opinion a moment of amusement.

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  35. From watching these clips I’ve learned the cultural background of the 1001 Nights has many differences compared to ours. Men from the 1001 Nights had multiple women and would lock them up so they could not escape, they would keep them locked up for status symbols. It is not for sexual purposes, it is about power and fear because the men are afraid that the woman would leave. Harem is the correct term for the woman who were locked up and King Sharayar suffered from this mentality. Do to his wife cheating on him the King did not trust any woman so once he found a pure girl and had sex with her he would then kill her so what happened to him once would never happen again. King Sharayar had ultimate power and was able to do what he wished, his famous garden was only available to a certain few and if anyone tried to enter or look in they would be killed.

    Shahrazad the teller of the 1001 Nights is determined to change the kings mind state by telling all of her stories. The stories are to last 1001 nights and hopefully by the end of her tails King Sharayar will spare her life and hopefully change his ways. I agree with the scholar who was interviewed in the clip who said, “the book is like no other, it’s an assemblage of tales of magic, of wonder, or piety, of mysticism, or eroticism, and of comedy.” The story of the man who leaves his master because of his master’s laughter contains comedy and magic. The man has no idea why his master laughs so hard at what he reads in the book which drives him mad and takes him on a journey. When the mans journey ends he arrives in Baghdad where he and his master resided and goes for the book which his master read and laughed uncontrollably. To his surprise the booked contained everything in detail the man encountered on his journey. This is one of the many good tales from the 1001 Nights and happens to be one of my favorites because of the magic and comedy.

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