Throughout the Arabian Nights, friendship is discussed in a multitude of tales and addressed in a multitude of ways. Two of the tales that focus on the concept of friendship are The Story of Sindbad the Sailor and Abdullah the Fisherman and Abdullah the Merman. In these tales, the friendships that form between the main characters serve to introduce the characters’ similarities and emphasise their differences, as well as address the larger ideas of what true friendship means and the differing forms it can take within society. The tale The Story of Sindbad the Sailor begins with Sindbad the Porter collapsing exhaustedly outside the house of a wealthy merchant. He, in verse, curses the fact that some men have to work for every penny
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Abdullah the Fisherman is a poor man with a large family, and when his tenth child is born, he goes fishing to try and catch a meal. Instead of fish, he draws in only trash, and on his way home the baker offers him a loaf of bread to help feed his family, telling him to pay it back when he can. The same thing happens for the next forty days, until on the forty-first day he pulls in his net and sees a dead donkey. Discouraged, he casts it out again and this time reels in a man, whom he assumes to be a being of magic until they begin to converse. The two agree that if Abdullah releases the man, they will meet every day and exchange fruits of the land for fruits of the sea. As a pledge, together they recite the first chapter of the Quran. The second states that his name is Abdullah of the Sea, as he is a man who lives with others beneath the …show more content…
Society is generally freer and more open, as evidenced by the presence and complete acceptance of many religions. However, it is also very similar in some ways. The fact that the merpeople display and mock “lacktails,” their word for those born without tails, directly reflects Abdullah the fisherman’s original plan. When he first caught Abdullah the merman, before they pledged on their agreement, he had intended to take the merman and exhibit him to other people for an income, much like the merpeople would have liked to do to
Abdullah the Fisherman is a poor man with a large family, and when his tenth child is born, he goes fishing to try and catch a meal. Instead of fish, he draws in only trash, and on his way home the baker offers him a loaf of bread to help feed his family, telling him to pay it back when he can. The same thing happens for the next forty days, until on the forty-first day he pulls in his net and sees a dead donkey. Discouraged, he casts it out again and this time reels in a man, whom he assumes to be a being of magic until they begin to converse. The two agree that if Abdullah releases the man, they will meet every day and exchange fruits of the land for fruits of the sea. As a pledge, together they recite the first chapter of the Quran. The second states that his name is Abdullah of the Sea, as he is a man who lives with others beneath the …show more content…
Society is generally freer and more open, as evidenced by the presence and complete acceptance of many religions. However, it is also very similar in some ways. The fact that the merpeople display and mock “lacktails,” their word for those born without tails, directly reflects Abdullah the fisherman’s original plan. When he first caught Abdullah the merman, before they pledged on their agreement, he had intended to take the merman and exhibit him to other people for an income, much like the merpeople would have liked to do to