The Arabian Nights Critical Essay Sample

Introduction

The Arabian Nights is a narrative borrowed from a romantic novel. It is an epic collection of Arabic traditional stories authored during the Islamic Golden Age. The tale narrates of King Shahryar, who is heartbroken by his unfaithful wife. King Shahrayar decided to marry a new wife, only to murder her the following morning. He did that until he met Shahrazad, his vizier's daughter. In this parallel plot, the chapters, "The Story of King Shahryar and Shahrazad, His Vizier's Daughter" and "The Story of the Merchant and the Demon" explain the separation of the main characters that follow different paths only to connect at the end. Their storylines are linked, and the climax occurs when they come together at the end. The narrative provides valuable lessons to the reader which will be examined.

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The Story of King Shahrayar and Shahrazad, His Vizier's Daughter

King Shahrayar was the ruler of India/Indo-China and his brother, King Shahzaman, ruled over Samarkand. They loved each other so much such that they could not administer together due to succession laws. "After living for one decade apart, King Shahrayar sent his vizier to summon his brother." The author also notes that "After receiving Shahrayar's summons from his vizier, he returns to the palace only to find his wife committing adultery with the cook and kills them before visiting his brother." (Woodside, 2008) His internal demons force him to become sick at his brothers home. However, he witnessed his brother's wife committing adultery with a slave. King Shahrayar leaves India and encounters a demon which emerges from the ocean with a glass chest comprising a beautiful woman. The demon sleeps with the two brothers. After recognizing the demon's adversities, go back to their empires (Woodside, 2008). After his return, King Shahrayar order the murder of every woman each morning to avoid betrayal.

On a parallel plot, Shahrazad, his vizier's daughter, made a decision on a scheme to end what she considered a barbaric practice. Shahrazad went against his father's counsel and warnings and married King Shahrayar. Shahrazad schemed to narrate a story which would end in suspense compelling the king to keep her alive every night to hear the ending of the story (Woodside, 2008).

Although Shahrazad's character is not widely known at the start of this narrative, she desires to create a scheme is important. It is clear that Sharazad is resourceful and more articulate in the stories from her cultures and other societies. Shaharaz's virtue and capacity are prominent in this narrative considering how women are depicted at the start. In this narrative, women are portrayed as being unable to control their feelings-they are found committing adultery with servants. Additionally, the plot notes that women do not have political power due to their inability to avoid deaths in such cases.

Lessons to the Reader

The reader learns that suspense is the narration of a sweet tale. When telling a story about life, the reader is taught to leave the audience wanting more. The reader is likely to master the art of a good cliffhanger and may live to see another day. Leaving the audience hanging on the edge leaves them with a desire to know more. This is an aspect that every reader should learn from Shahrazad as she survived death from the barbaric king.

From the narrative above, the reader learns that stories have the entertainment aspect in them. The story of the demon encountered by the tow king brothers engages the reader to the spectacle and the supernatural life in the ocean. When the reader listens to this story, he or she is likely to frame it to its immediate context. The reader learns that it is important to be resourceful in the art of storytelling. The reader also learns that it is important to sacrifice for the sake of humanity. Shahrazad sacrificed her life so that no other woman would come after her and be murder by King Shahrayar.

King Shahrayar should learn that it is important to be patient in life. After his wife wronged him, he was so hurt such that he swore to murder any woman he had relations with the following day. He should learn that not all women commit mistakes. Therefore, murdering all those women was unnecessary.

King Shahrayar should learn that attitudes and character traits define a person. His inability to deal with stress can be attributed to his anger meter against his deceased wife. King Shahrayar should learn that he was far much better than the slaves and should not lower to their levels by hating and killing anyone he met.

The Story of the Merchant and the Demon

This is the narrative from the novel and tells of a trader who one day rode and trekked for particular counties which he termed as his business. Because of the heat, he encountered while walking, he sat under a tree and holding his sack of provisions, took out some dates and started eating. Then an old demon appeared and pulled out a sword to kill the trader. When he asked the reason for his murder, "the demon answered that he had killed his son when he threw the date pit which hit him in the head." (Woodside, 2008)"The trader begged for some time to say goodbye to his wife and children." (Woodside, 2008) The demon approved to grant the man one year to return after which he would be killed.

This plot is similar to the first narrative. It has explained how scores are settled through murder. The purpose of this narrative from vizier's daughter was to survive another night. She knew that she had to keep the interest of the barbaric king alive and therefore, resolved to creativity, knowledge, skill of narrating a tale and achieving to save her life every day (Woodside, 2008). Even though she knew that the king would kill her the following day, she was optimistic that she would be spared from the cruelty. Her strategy was to make the king forget his abhorrence for women, portraying the best traits and inner beauty of women.

Lessons to the Reader

The background of the story of the merchant and the demon informs the reader that it is good to remain truthful to the promises made. The merchant promised the demon that he would return after a year. He knew that he had no way out but to honor the promise. In keeping the promises, the main villain may develop sympathy and forgive the merchant for keeping the promise.

In this parallel plot and characterization, the reader learns that the frame is not used to connect the narrative only but also to imply the level of stakes to them. The reader understands that if the stories are not engaging enough, Shahrazad will lose her life, as will numerous women after her. The reader learns that it is crucial to keep the audience engaged in the story and always leave them hanging. This way, they will remain attentive to the story until the end.

The notion of a woman narrating the tales for her life suggests to the reader the significance and generic fallibility of storytelling. The reader understands that the concept proposes that narratives are more crucial to culture than their entertainment value and also help the storyteller in shaping the narrative to her purposes. Therefore, when in a fix, the reader can narrate a story to suit his or her motives. The reader learns that it is important to shape stories to survive. Shahrazad shapes her sties in a way that the king is happy and entertained. King Shahrayar should learn that there are other people with more misfortunes than him, for instance, the merchant and the demon. He should, therefore, seek consolation before making a decision.

Conclusion

Conclusively, it is clear that the two narratives set the tone for the rest of the narratives in the novel. The author has weaved two dramatic plots which link two characters, King Shahrayar and Shahrazad. The theme of the two plots is similar. Most of the focus on the two plots is about survival from heartbreak and death. King Shahrayar has resolved to kill every woman after having relations with her. Shahrazad, on the other hand, resolves to marry the king to avoid more deaths of innocent women. The flow of the plot leaves the reader with valuable lessons for the future.

References

Woodside, M. (2008). Arabian Nights. Sterling Publishing Company, Inc.