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  • Essay / The Arabian Nights - a treasure trove of tales

    The Arabian Nights is better known in the Western world as The Arabian Nights. The story is a collection of folk tales compiled during the Islamic Golden Age. Over the centuries, the stories were collected from across Asia and North Africa. There are many versions of the tale, from just a few hundred nights to what we call the Arabian Nights, best known for their famous tale. With this tale are stories like Aladdin's Lamp and Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves which was added by Antonie Galland in the 18th century. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get Original Essay Shahryar, the teller of this tale is also the king of this kingdom. When his first wife proves unfaithful, he kills her and all the new wives, so as not to be hurt and have them be unfaithful to him. King Shahrayar goes mad after catching his wife having sex with a slave. After catching his wife cheating on him, he realizes he can never trust a woman again. King Shahrayar decided that he would take a new wife every evening and in the morning he would cut off her head. The king, in his madness, caused the death of most of the women in the village. The vizier's daughter, Shahrazad, had an idea that could hopefully stop the slaughter of more of the village's women and save the innocents. Shahrazad had a plan to tell King Shahrayar a different story every night and end on a cliff, keeping the king in suspense so as not to kill her and she could then continue the story another day. King Shahrayar keeps Shahrazad alive through his stories and compassionate personality. Shahrazad knows the king very well, which gives him the means to develop an escape plan. “[She] had read books on literature, philosophy and medicine. She knew poetry by heart…and knew the words and maxims of the wise men and the king” (652). Shahrazad knows she can keep the king at her mercy with stories. She uses stories cleverly by convincing the king without him knowing of her plan, the official high vizier finally lets King Shahrayar know that he can take his daughter Shahrazad. She said to her sister “Listen… When I go to the king, I will send for you, and when you come to see me that the king has finished with me, say: “Sister, if you are not sleepy , tell us a story” (566). This will make the audience aware that she has planned everything carefully. With Shahrazad using the sexual desires of kings, she can stay alive every night. Shahrayar, as stated in the text, called Dinarzad and made him sleep under the newlyweds' bed. The text also implies that she participates in their sexual acts. Dinarzad and Shahrazad know that by sacrificing themselves, they ensure the safety of the women of the kingdom. Shahrazad is portrayed as a compassionate woman. She achieves this not only by saving the women of the kingdom, but also by putting her own life on the line. She explains her story by saying that while there is a cliffhanger at the end: "This will cause the king to stop his practice, to save himself and deliver the people (566). This quote refers to the rescued women who were beheaded. The stories Shahrazad tells each evening are intended to show him how to convince the king that a single woman should not be allowed to cause as much suffering as he has inflicted on his kingdom. Thanks to Shahrazad and her creative thinking, she prevents the women of the village from falling into the same fate as so many others. The king is known for his intelligence and his knowledge of literature and philosophy. Thanks to his knowledge,.