Shahnameh

expresses their cowardliness and does not have any will to respond to the difficult circumstances. King Arthur and Gawain, on the contrary, reacted to the peaceful invader. The two characters are part of the same royal blood line, in which Gawain is Arthur’s nephew; during the Green Knight’s arrival, he says “were I not your nephew my life would mean nothing;/ to be born your blood is my body’s only claim.” (Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, 734). Gawain plainly has a trait that is similar to the renowned Arthur. Evidently, only Arthur and his nephew were the one with enough bravery to stand out. In equivalent, Persian literature conveys a parallel message regarding the preference for heroes from some royal lineages. Abolqasem Ferdowsi’s The Shahnameh is a national epic of greater Iran that contains many stories; one of which relates to trickster Sekander, a derivation of Alexander the Great. The protagonist was burdened with avarice and covetousness initially. He, therefore, uses his gifted mind to conquer various territories throughout the globe and even went as far as China is the east. Sekander is similar to Alexander the Great, which scholars agree “he had great personal beauty, invincible power of endurance and a keen intellect; he was brave and adventurous, strict in the observance of his religious duties, and hungy for fame. He had an uncanny instinct for the right course in a difficult and complex situation, and was happy in his deductions from observed facts.”…

The reading Zahak The Dragon King translated by Parviz Lashgari and Deirdre Lashgari recounts about a son named Zahak who betrayed his father Mardas who was king where it takes place mostly in Iran for the origins of the story. Zahak was full of hate and cruelty which lead him to be the way he is, which explains why he betrayed his and took all his property and what he had in progress. However, per the text at the time there was another king called Jamshid who had much more power than anyone on…

I am going to compare and figure out the similarities of the book Shahnameh (The Epic Of Kings) specifically the “Rostam and Sohrab” part to the novel, The Kite Runner. This comparison will determine how the historical setting of their time periods greatly contributed to the basic unit of the society which is their family and what kind of parenting do they have before. I will be going to begin the story with its historical background and reality. The parallelism of the story is evident even in…

Unavoidable Fate Great tales live forever; they continue to be passed down from generation to generation. These tales have the ability to take a person to another place, different era, and bring powerful feelings to the reader. When looking at two great tales, “The Tale of Sohrab” from the Shahnameh, and Oedipus Tyrannus, fate is a theme that can be found between the two. The main characters in these two tales are very powerful individuals, Knight Rostam from Shahnameh, and King Oedipus from…

Fate and Influence of the Divine Abolqasem Ferdowsi’s In the Dragon’s Claws: The Story of Rostam & Esfandiyar from the Persian Book of Kings, is a story that comes from the Shahnameh, a book containing many different narratives detailing Iranian history and mythology. The story In the Dragon’s Claws presents two heroes of Iran, Rostam and Esfandiyār, who are victims of fate. The story traces the power struggle between Rostam and Esfandiyār, as well as the power struggle between Esfandiyār and…

.The kite, the pomegranate tree that grows by Amir's house and the story Shahnameh all pop up throughout the novel. The kite is the first obvious motifs. I believe that it stands for the boys childhood. Amir often remembers the carefree days of winter with his friend. The tree, where the boys read books and carved her name into is obvious symbolism for there relationship. The only place Amir wants to go when he visits his old home is up to the tree. He looks out over the landscape and reads the…

This Naqqali of Bijan and Manijeh was performed by Valiollah Torabi on an arena stage studio theater. The stage in this kind of theater is completely surrounded by the audience. It features a close performer/audience connection which underlines the performer and audience’s sense of community. The light of the stage is set and projected evenly to the same effect. As Naqqali performances would often take place in coffee houses the decor and props are chosen in a way to represent a traditional…

Reza Khan was born in Mazanderan, Iran; however, his family was Turkish and Armenian. He was the leader of the Cossack Brigade, a unit in the Persian army that had been established by the Russians. Later on, Khan seized power after the chaos, and famine of World War I and became the Shah in 1925. He then changed his name from Reza Khan to Reza Shah and establishing a republic in Persia. Reza Shah was a good leader because he improved Persia’s economy, and empowered women. Reza Shah…

control. This is what shapes each of these characters in these stories that make them who they are. Both stories teach the reader that each character is link with a certain destiny. Oedipus learns early in the story his fate and desperately tries to change it. He learns of this from Apollo when he said “My fate was revealed by Apollo. He said I would lie with my own mother and stain my hands with my father’s blood” (Sophocles 2.8). In The Tale of Sohrab, Rostam sees his own destiny to…