Reading Notes: Arabian Nights Part A

For the first section of reading I chose part A of Arabian Nights, which is told by Andrew Lang. I chose this because portions of it relate to my storybook topic. I think that the organization of this set of stories is pretty unique, and resembles the movie Inception, considering that it is a story within a story within a story.

What most people think of when they hear the term 'genie', obtained from needpix)

The first story- the story of Scheherazade really captured my attention. I thought that it was a very interesting concept that the main character, Scheherazade, essentially tricked the antagonist of the story, the Sultan, into keeping her alive day after day. I think that adding a modern twist would be an interesting way to retell this story in my own words. Perhaps, instead of Scheherazade waiting to finish the story each morning, she and her husband could be watching a television series that they are engrossed in. Each night, they watch an episode, and she convinces him to continue the series the next night, keeping her alive another day. 

I also really enjoyed the story of the First Old Man and of the Hind. I really like how revenge is met with even more revenge. It shows that revenge is usually the wrong answer. It could be interesting to retell this story from the point of view of either the wife, the son, or the daughter of the steward.