Old Man's Tale Analysis

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Reading Response Three Many details in the tales told by the three old men in pages 1190--1197 are relevant to Shahrayar 's situation. Shahrazad is using these details to change him from an angry, misogynistic murderer into a loving husband. Through storytelling, Shahrazad is able to change Shahrayar in three ways. After Shahrayar was betrayed by his wife he became cruel and violent because of the pain he was in. 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. In my absence my wife, this cousin of mine, learned soothsaying and magic and cast a spell on my son and turned him into a young bull.” Each of the Old Man’s Tales has a similar quote. However, this quote stands out to me more than the rest. This quote is special because not only is the father, the person Shahrayar can most relate, being wronged by his wife, but also, this situation is even more unfair for the son who has done nothing wrong. This is a theme that resonates with Shahrayar. By using the details