Literary Analysis Of Aladdin

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The original Aladdin is a folk tale composed by an unknown author during the period of the crusades. Aladdin, and many other famous works are gathered in a book full of these stories called, “The Thousand Nights and One Night.” Since this work is so old, and incorporated into such a vast book, no one can pinpoint exactly when and who wrote it. A couple pieces of information are for certain though. As far back as history is documented, the Islamic culture has had an extremely harsh class system. The struggle of classes in Islamic culture was most likely the reason for the writing of Aladdin, and the passing on of its lessons as well. Aladdin is more than just a children’s fairytale, as it is an informative work that depicts the struggle and persecution of the lower classes in Islamic society, especially when view through a Marxist literary lens. The tale begins by introducing a boy named Aladdin as a thief. In literary works, a thief is normally not portrayed as a hero unless the stealing is done for the common good of the proletariat, like Robin Hood (Carpenter, Prichard). In contrast, Aladdin steals due to his lack of economical assets because of his class standing, and thus, for the good of only himself. Only due to the title of the piece, and events that occur a …show more content…

Some symbols are upfront and obvious, and some the reader must analyze and dive deeper into its meanings. Everyone in the story has a different place in the class structure from slavery with the genies, to poverty with Aladdin, to the upper class with the sorcerer, and finally the royals with the emperor and the princess. This story depicts how classes affect daily life, even as far back as a thousand years ago when this piece was estimated to be written. Aladdin is in fact much more than just a myth, it is a depiction of the differences in class, and how it affects everyone from the proletariat to the

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