One Nights And Ramayana Comparison

The Ramayana and Thousand and One Nights (TON) share numerous similarities regarding archetypes and structure. Both “heroes” of the story embark on individual journeys; additionally, both texts present prominent battles between the morals of good and evil. However, both differ in a physical and spiritual approach.

In the Ramayana, the main character, Rama, embarks on a physical journey. His first journey begins when he is banished to the forest; his wife, Sita, and his brother, Lakshmana, join him. His wife Sita is kidnapped by the antagonist, Ravana, which is where Rama’s second journey commences. In TON, various characters undertake a spiritual journey. It is presented in a frame structure, which begins with the tale of the Fisherman and

The fisherman teaches the jinnee a lesson by telling him the story of the King and the Doctor; furthermore, the Doctor teaches the King a lesson by telling him the story of the King and the Falcon. The Jinnee, the two kings learn not to be cruel to others, and understand, “Spare me, and Allah shall spare you! Kill me, and so Allah kill you!” (Darwood). They were given a chance to either be cruel or provide mercy; however, when they did not provide mercy, their cruelty ended up backfiring onto themselves. Although both tales share a journey, their structures provide a vast difference in how the characters grasp their lesson. The Ramayana is similar to the common layout of a story, in which it focuses on one character and their adventures along the way. The Fisherman and the Jinnee is a frame story; although the characters parallel each other, the situation changes from story to story. This affects the plot because although the Ramayana

In the Ramayana, Rama represents the “good” force, and Ravana represents the “evil” force. This is a frequent archetype analyzed in numerous pieces of literature, which commonly provides a very understandable message. Rama is admired because he follows dharma, which is significant in Hinduism. Rama is admired for following dharma because of his obedience not disrupting the social order. Similarly, all three stories in Thousand and One Nights present a strong good and strong evil figure, however there are no physical battles. The message is not presented through a physical event or object, but rather by witnessing the consequences of disobeying one’s god. The characters never partake in arguments, however they do receive almost instant karma for their cruel actions towards others. While both stories present spiritual lessons, the Ramayana presents a physical lesson as well in the battle of Rama versus Ravana. In their battle, Rama uses the, “Brahma-missile, which the sage Agastya had given to him,” (Valmiki). The brahma-missile is a physical object that represents the spiritual lesson of following the Buddha. It is a very clear and defined symbol to represent defeating “evil”. On the contrary, TON only bears a spiritual consequence to the immoral decision the jinnee and both kings made. If they had followed Allah, they would have been spared; however, since they chose to kill (or attempted to kill) their counterparts, they