ipl-logo

Comparing Storytelling In Dante's Inferno And The Arabian Nights

1865 Words8 Pages

Introduction “We tell ourselves stories in order to live” by Joan Dideon in the book The White Album. How many times have you told a story from your own personal experience to get an idea across to someone, or tell another’s experience? How many times have you heard a story and suddenly felt your eyes open to a new way of thinking? We have all experienced these moments many times throughout our lives. In both Dante’s Inferno and The Arabian Nights, we see that storytelling saves lives. Telling tales is a way of living, from the moment we are born to our last breath telling-tales is imbedded in us.
What is storytelling?
Stories is an essential part of our societies and cultures. Movies, shows, dramas books, music, painting, news, religion, …show more content…

Spiritually lost and wandering away from the path of righteousness and of God. Dante has become weak and is in need of guidance. Storytelling is a way to teach moral values and to guide those who are lost. Throughout the Inferno, Dante the poet uses storytelling as a way to save his life in a sense, to confess one’s sins, and as a way for immortality. Dante’s sinners tell stories to him and he reflects it on to himself. Meaning, that certain stories that are being told to him makes him feel remorse; as though he is guilty of the same …show more content…

In the main story of the Arabian Nights, Shahrazad believes that the power of her tales will be able to keep King Shahryar from killing her or any more innocent women. Storytelling for Shahrazad is life, it isn’t only life for her but for the King, the young women in the kingdom, and society. Shahrazad is the storyteller, she carries out message, information, and knowledge, in an enjoyable way for the King. Shahrazad tells stories that relates to her and the Kings situation. Shahrazad takes the position of not only the storyteller, but also of the educator in a sense. Throughout the Arabian Nights she recounts ideas about betrayal, violence, jealousy, and the prejudice against women in the hopes of revealing these wrongs to King Shahrayar. Shahrazad never appears to be taking an authoritative position. She maintains the role of an entertainer in the

Show More
Related

The Truth About Stories By Thomas King Sparknotes

1363 Words | 6 Pages

We grow on stories. Stories we tell, stories we hear. The private and the public one just like our stories and the others’. As social animals, these stories we hear and tell link us. Thomas King’s book, The Truth About Stories: A Native narrative, tells us all kind of stories.

Read More

What Is The Last Chapter Of The Poisonwood Bible

718 Words | 3 Pages

Without storytelling many important key factors like communication, as well as religion,, and many other things would not exist. This book portrays storytelling flawlessly, describing it as an important representation of life.

Read More

Comparison Between Dante's Inferno And The Wizard Of Oz

1490 Words | 6 Pages

The Comparison between Dante’s Inferno and The Wizard of Oz Everyone, at a point in their life, has endured a challenging journey that seemed to drag on forever. Whether it be the journey of completing a complicated project for school, trying to get in better shape, or even getting back home/ to reality. Dante’s Inferno is the story of a man’s journey through Hell and the hardships he faced along the way. Throughout the literary work of Dante’s Inferno, Dante is able to obtain a better sense of how one’s actions alive can heavily affect their afterlives. The Wizard of Oz is a literary work that has been developed to film and follows Dorothy 's journey down The Yellow Brick Road to escape the Wicked Witch of the West.

Read More

Summary Of The Book 'Shadow Spinner'

233 Words | 1 Pages

The main character in this book was Marjan. She is kind, thoughtful, and brave but, sometimes she worries about Shahrazad. Shahrazad is brave, merciful, and beautiful. Dunyan is

Read More

Analysis Of Joy Harjo's Crazy Brave By Joy Harjo

1799 Words | 8 Pages

Story is an integral element in human life. Stories are the way humans have shared and learned for thousands of years. Storytelling is different from story writing. When a story is told, the original content lingers as long as the storytellers maintain that content. Once the story is retold it takes on different details and meaning.

Read More

Effective Use Of Imagery In Dante's Inferno

228 Words | 1 Pages

Dante’s Inferno utilizes imagery throughout it’s text to conceptualize religious ideas otherwise without. This is accomplished on each level but in the case of the Vestibule which houses the undecided, he uses the imagery of the people chasing after but never being able to catch what it is they chase. By having the people literally chasing after something it illustrates there sin of being fleeting and of being neither bad or good. Instead of going from one thing to another, the persons should have sought a higher purpose for living and not what was merely their desire. The Four Noble Truths of Buddhism, specifically the fourth is another work that seems simple and yet is broad in meaning (Sayre 251).

Read More

The Epic Hero Cycle Of Dante's Inferno

751 Words | 4 Pages

Dante Hero Essay Pieces of writing are often viewed as a product of their origin time period, even in the modern day it is not uncommon to view our time plane as independent to what preceded as if we were somehow separate from every moment that came before. Instead every aspect of a story is ingrained with the message of millenniums before it, so much so the effect that the present has pales in comparison. This is present throughout Dante’s inferno written by Dante Alighieri as it is not merely a representation of the time period it originated from, rather the present represents the top of an iceberg whose very existence and stature are fully dependent on the times that preceded. This phenomenon of the past is fully present in Dante’s epic hero cycle. Dante’s resurrection reveals to be heavily influenced by the history of humankind.

Read More

John Brown False Narrative Essay

596 Words | 3 Pages

A narrative is a way of retelling a story, the most common way to retell a story is in words. People use narratives in literature and in social studies. The narrative my group and I choose was the narrative of John Brown. John Brown, an abolitionist, led a slave revolt in Harper’s Ferry, Virginia.

Read More

Compare And Contrast The Odyssey And Dante's Inferno

989 Words | 4 Pages

In The Inferno, Dante is the hero of the story. Dante is the man exiled from his home as a result of his political struggles and beliefs with the choice between evil and good. Dante’s heroism is in the form of humanity as he faces the challenge which all human beings struggle with. Dante’s courage is tested as he journeys through the rings of hell. According to Dante, “therefore look carefully; you’ll see such things/as would deprive my speech of all belief” (Alighieri, Dante. 1854).

Read More

Analysis Of Dante's Inferno: A Comparison Of Greek

1040 Words | 5 Pages

The Greek’s Inferno: A Comparison of Greek and Catholic Underworlds For nearly 2000 years, various religions continue to perpetuate the idea of an underworld, or a place after death. For the Greeks, much of their mythology deals with Gods, Goddesses, and the afterlife. Catholics, however, base their idea of an afterlife with three levels: Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory, a place for people who must experience a purification of sorts. Numerous Greek writers wrote about the idea of their underworld, or Hades, one of the most famous being Homer, writer of The Odyssey. The Odyssey details the hero Odysseus’ journey back to his homeland of Ithaca.

Read More

The Thousand And One Nights: The Roles Of Women

726 Words | 3 Pages

However, their very obstacle was man. Although, the women were often seen as unfaithful and inferior to men, Shahrazed portrays a feminist character by using her sneaky strategy and fearlessness of men to trick the king, save the women of the kingdom and help them overcome discrimination. If the king was to kill every woman after a night with them, this would have caused a population decrease and the kingdom would eventually run out of women for him to marry. This story makes the reader take sides of the women that the king is

Read More

Nature Of Sin In Dante's Inferno

463 Words | 2 Pages

Unfortunately, Dante’s journey transitions from the wood into the depths of Hell where he and readers discover the Christian view of sin, repentance, and the need for a savior. The author introduces his readers to Jesus Christ during Virgil and Dante’s conversation about the lost souls in Limbo. In the First Circle of Hell, known as Limbo, the lost souls that did not have an opportunity to meet Jesus Christ dwell in this place. Although they did not sin, they did not have a proper relationship with God through Jesus Christ. However, Virgil testifies about Jesus’ decision into Hell when he says, “ I saw a mighty lord descend to us…

Read More

Old Man's Tale Analysis

786 Words | 4 Pages

Shahrazad shows him other people’s struggles and this does three things to The King. Firstly, the story brings us back to the idea of “misery loves company.” Shahrazad is able to show The King that everyone goes through trials and tribulations at some point in their life. Each of the old man’s tales conveys the same theme of being innocent, while the people closest to you betray you. We see this in the First Wise Man’s Tale when it reads “I entrusted my wife, this one here, with my mistress and son, bade her take good care of them, and was gone for a whole year.

Read More

Analysis Of Mahfouz's Arabian Nights And Days

748 Words | 3 Pages

Mahfouz, as well as Said, shared a direct contact with the Arabian lifestyle because they grow up in that society. Mahfouz’s novel depicts the real world with the touches of the supernatural and mystic, but as a form of evil in the world not as exotic and uncivilized as the Europeans did. Mahfouz’s Arabian Nights and Days “takes new depths and insights as it picks up from where the ancient story ends” (Fayez 229). Mahfouz uses the Arabian Nights tales and Shahryar’s and Scheherazade’s society to portray the contemporary social and political issues of his people. Mahfouz aims to show various thematic concerns of the people of the East than the early versions left out.

Read More

Essay Comparing Story Of An Hour And The Boarding House

1239 Words | 5 Pages

Stories have always been a key part of cultures throughout time. In the last hundred and fifty years, some of today’s more influential writers published their works. Two famous writers, Kate Chopin and James Joyce, lived close to each other’s time. Chopin’s short story “Story of an Hour” has become a staple in humanity and literature courses. James Joyce, who is better known for his work Ulysses, wrote one short story titled “The Boarding House”, is also a brilliant piece of work.

Read More

More about Comparing Storytelling In Dante's Inferno And The Arabian Nights

Related Topics

Open Document