Comparing The Thousand And One Nights

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The Thousand and One Nights, a fourteenth century book written by many unknown authors, is significant because it shows the importance of telling stories. People love stories and are often addicted to them. When was the last time you stayed up all night trying to finish a book or a drama? What makes it so good that you can’t stop? In The Thousand and One Nights, King Shahrayar also can’t stop listening to Shrahrazad’s stories. He even spared her because he was also addicted to her stories and can’t wait for tomorrow to come to hear the next part of the story. But, a story is not merely there for you to get emotional and to react to it. It is there to give advice for success in life and to show that life is complicated because of secrets, and …show more content…
In The Thousand and One Nights, the demon’s mistress, the king’s wife and mistresses, and Shahzaman’s wife all have cheated. Why is it that people would lie and hide secrets? Because of lies and secrets, nothing is simple and clear. For example, the demon’s mistress, who had slept with a hundred men, clearly wasn’t loyal to the demon, but the demon doesn’t know that. To the demon, he only sees the pure, simple-minded, and weak girl who can’t escape his grasp. But, this is not true. The mistress even said, ‘“He (the demon) has guarded me and tried to keep me pure and chaste, not realizing that nothing...can stop ( her from her desires)’”(561). The mistress is hiding this secret from the demon to deceive the demon into believing that she is still the same. This is also the case with the king. When his brother told him that his wife and concubines were cheating on him and “how ten slaves, dressed like women, were sleeping with his women and concubines”(559), the king didn’t believe his brother. Till he saw their betrayal with his very own eyes, he believed that he has been tricked all along. His wife and mistresses were making love with other men behind his back. They think they can hide this secret from him forever and think that he will never find out. But when the king did, they will no longer be able to hide their masks. Life is complex because of these