For this week's Essay, I have decided to write over the reoccurring magic theme in my Un-Textbook Unit: Arabian Nights. It appeared in many forms such as genies, magicians, enchantresses (a female magician of sorts), and even in the story telling itself. The story begins with Scheherazade fighting, in a sense, to save her own life but also to end the string of women's deaths at the order of the Sultan. Each of her stories are so intriguing that the Sultan (and readers) get caught up in the plots and they do not realize that she has successfully ran one story into completely new one or even two. The author himself did this very well, for I had completed this reading faster than any other weeks. In this Unit the genies performed the most magic. Majority of the time they were doing it at the will of those who beheld their lamps or rings, but in one instance a genie showed rebellion and was about to use his power to attack the fisherman who set him free. Also in one of the stories, a genie was about to kill a man who had "killed his son." This was surprising because the origin of the genie was not relieved, and there was no "master" present and controlling him. This Unit opened up questions to whether there were different types of genies. It made me wonder where they came from, and how some bound to an object and other's weren't. Magic was most definitely a dominant element in this week's readings for it gave a surreal and extradorinary feel to the stories. The last half of the Unit was about Aladdin and his genies, and if they were not present there isn't much of a plot left. Yes, of course, genies are not real but Scheherazade's narration was magnificent enough to make them seem real in her stories.
(One of the many genies present in the stories, Heritage History)
No comments:
Post a Comment