The Thousand and One Nights

Posted on November 22, 2010 by emtiaz.chowdhury

The Thousand and One Nights are a collection of many stories. It is about kings, Shahrayar and Shahzaman, who abuse people. The younger, Shahzaman is cheated by his wife. He catches her having sex with a kitchen boy and kills them both. He then visits his brother’s kingdom but he still remains sad and keeps thinking about his wife’s betrayal. One day, he finds out his older brother, Shahrayar, is being cheated by his wife in his absence from the castle. Shahrayar gets angry when he hears this news and eventually kills his wife and all of the slaves who were involved. Since then, Shahrayar loses his trust on women. He wants to be sure his next wife will not cheat on him again. So, he gets married every night and kills his wife before the sunrise. Vizier’s daughter, Shahrazad wants to get married with the king. She is highly educated with vast knowledge on philosophy, medicine and literature. So she is considered as “intelligent, knowledgeable, wise, and refined” (B, 414). She is also very courageous because she wants to marry the king even though she knows her fate, an inescapable death before the dawn. Her father job is to take those newly married wife and kill them at sunrise. If his daughter will get married with the king, he has to kill her in the morning without being able to show any disobedience to the king’s order. This is why he tries to influence his daughter’s decisions by different approaches. Eventually all of his strategies fail to convince his daughter. “I would like you to marry me to King Shahrayar, so that I may either succeed in saving the people or perish and die like the rest” (B, 414). She really proves her mental strengths and believes by accepting this challenging situation. So, Shahrazad gets married with Shahrayar and come up with a master plan to save her and stop King’s cruelty. She asks her sister Dunyazad to come into her room ask request her to tell a story before its time for her death. She starts telling stories every night and pauses at an interesting point when she sees the coming of the sunlight. Sharayar wants to know more about the stories so he spares another night allowing Shshrazad to continue her stories. This way she makes the story goes on for thousand and one nights.

New York Times article, “Diana’s Ring Seals Prince William’s Marriage Plans” written by Sarah Lyall is about engagement of the Prince William and Kate Middleton. I found similarities between Kate and Shahrazad. Kate is well educated. She has a college degree. According to the article, “she would be the first queen in British history to have a college degree, or indeed, to have any college education at all.” She is also very brave like Shahrazad. She knows that she will die absolutely; however, she gets married with the king. Diana died in car accident and her son William gives her ring to Kate for the engagement. This ring might not be very welcoming to think. Kate knows Diana ““whose short life ended when she was killed after a car accident in Paris in 1997.” However, Kate, Very fearlessly, wears the ring knowing the tragic death of its previous owner. She proves her bravery by accepting it.

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Throne of Blood

Posted on November 22, 2010 by emtiaz.chowdhury

New York Times article “Sprawling Cinema, Tamed to Stage,” written by Charles Isherwood is about his criticisms and dislikes about the play, “Throne of Blood.” It was performed in Brooklyn Academy of Music. He states that “…a new production from the Next Wave Festival at the Brooklyn Academy of Music would be as boring to look at as it is to listen to.” He likes the Kurosawa movie of the same title which followed the storyline from Shakespeare “Macbeth.” He also claims that the adaptor and director, Mr. Chong, is unable to produce the same intensity as Kurosawa’s work. He strongly points out many faults of the director and says that Mr. Chong “cannot replicate onstage the sweep and intensity that Kurosawa’s camerawork brings to the narrative, even as he sticks firmly to the scenic structure.” He complains about actor’s performances. “Most of the actors make little impression.” He also comments on the stage settings. “Above is a strip of white screen on which are seen videos and projections by Maya Ciarrocchi. These draw on imagery from the movie: the barren, spindly spider webs of branches in the forest; the fortress rising through the mist; the climactic march of the trees. But this miniature highlight reel can hardly create the mood and atmosphere of Kurosawa’s cinematography.”

            I agree with authors’ point of view about the play “Throne of Blood.”  I didn’t have any backgrounds about Japanese culture so it was hard to follow the storyline. In addition, this play wasn’t capturing my attention because, I think, it was lacked of the actions and coherences of the scenes. Moreover, I couldn’t hear well form the backseat during the play so the only one thing I could focus on was the stage what was far away from my sight.

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The Thousand and One Nights

Posted on November 22, 2010 by Luis Ganzhi

The Thousand and One Nights is a collection of tales compose by many individuals. It starts with the story of two great Kings and brothers named Shahrayar the oldest and Shahzaman the youngest. Both kings are betrayed by their wives. After this terrible news both kings become irritated and end up killing their wives. The older king went further with his actions it says that “it became King Shahrayar’s custom to take every night the daughter of a merchant or a commoner, spend the night with her, then have her put to death the next morning” (B414). The residents of the city become frustrated and asked in their prayers to “the creator of havens” to end king Shahrayar’s actions. Witnessing what was happening in her city, a well educated women named Shahrazad decides to marry King Shahrayar “ so that [she may] either succeed in saving the people or perish and die like the rest” (B414). Her father tries to convince her not to do it but he is unsuccessful. Since she was a well educated woman she knew tales that can transform the life of any person. So she told great tale for thousand nights and one night and at the end the life of King Shahrayar have change for good. He said “my soul is change and joyful, it beats with an appetite for life” (B471).
Similarly to the story telling of Shahrazad, Mr. David Grossman wrote a novel of his own experience. His novel is about a mother named “Ora whose son has gone off to battle with the Israeli army” (NY Times). However, the story on his book is very similar to his own experience. Mr. Grossman lost his son during “the final hours of the 2006 Lebanon war” (NY Times). As any person would do, he suffers from the loss of his son. However instead of turning insane as king Shahrayar did Mr. Grossman decides to write and tell the story to the world which is the way he finds relief from his sufferings. In fact he says that “writing is my home. It [is] a place where I again recognized my self” (NY Times). Mr. Grossman also writes books for children and he is working on something new which “is a mix of drama, poetry and prose” (NY Times). This writing might one day be use to transform the life of a person the same way the tales from The Thousand and One Nights transformed King Shahrayar.

NY Times:

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Throne of Blood

Posted on November 22, 2010 by wlam
In a New York Times article, Charles Isherwood apparently found Ping Chong’s “Throne of Blood” to be “as boring to look at as it is to listen to” (C3). Accoring to Charles Isherwood, the only pleasing aspect of the play were the outfits and as a result, Isherwood did not enjoy the play. However, i found the play to be quite entertaining. Ping Chong was very creative in his use of lights. For example, he used lights to create a door, and used lights to show blood scatter. I also thought the actors performed really well because i noticed that the play used  recordings from the movie, but the actors were synchronized with their roles and made the recordings seem natural.
Overall, Charles Isherwood seems to be unreasonably critical of the play. The play was well performed, and a great experience. I only found the humid atmosphere in the theater to be slightly uncomfortable.
http://theater.nytimes.com/2010/11/12/theater/reviews/12throne.html?scp=1&sq=Charles%20Isherwood%20Throne&st=cse
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“The Thousand and One Nights”

Posted on November 22, 2010 by wlam
The reading of “The Thousand and One Nights” is almost identical to a situation occuring in a recent New York Times article called “Diana’s Ring Seals Prince William’s Marriage Plans. Both woman in their respective stories are educated. For example, Shahrazad “[is] intelligent, knowledgeable, wise and refined. She ha[s] read and learned” (B, 414) and Kate Middleton “would be the first queen in British history to have a college degree, or indeed, to have any college education at all” (A, 14). Both Shahrazad and Kate Middleton are courageous enough to step forward and put their lives at risk. Shahrazad is courageous because the King, who she desires to be with has a custom of  “tak[ing] every night the daughter of a merchant or a commener, spend[ing] the night with her, then have her put to death the next morning. He continued to do this until all the girls perished…” (B, 414). By spending the night with the King, Shahrazad takes on a risk of being killed by the king’s vizier who is her father. Kate Middleton is courageous because she has the ring that Prince William’s father gave to his mother. The ring could possibly foreshadow a tragic death for Kate that has already occured to the previous owner of the ring. Although both woman put themselves in a situation where their death may be imminent, the reason they decide to do so are vastly different. The disparity lies in the fact that Shahrazad desire to be with the King is to stop his tyranical ways and Kate’s desire to be with Prince William is for love and happiness.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/17/world/europe/17royal.html?ref=todayspaper
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Asian Literature and Afghan women

Posted on November 22, 2010 by wlam
Sei Shonagon is a Japanese lady who is famous for The Pillowbook. The Pillowbook is most known for the diaries written by Sei Shonagon in which she freely expresses her thoughts. However, when The Pillowbook was written, women were not granted the freedom of expression and as such, Sei Shonagon did not want her writing to be known to the public because she states “[She] wrote these notes at home, when [she] had a good deal of time to [herself] and thought no one would notice what [she] was doing…[she] was careful to keep [her] book hidden” (B, 258). By writing The Pillowbook, she found an escape from the oppression that banned her from expressing herself. The Pillowbook gave Sei Shonagon  freedom that wouldn’t have been available otherwise to the extent that Sei Shonagon often criticize others in a way that “it might appear malicious and even harmful to other people” (B, 258).
In a New York Times article called “For Afghan Wives, a Desperate, Fiery Way Out”, we see a parallel with The Pillowbook. The Afghan women are constantly being opressed and are severely limited in what they can do. “Their family is their fate. Their is little chance for education, little choice about whom a woman marries, no choice at all about her role in her own house. Her primary role is to serve her husband’s family” (A1). The opression is so great that one Afghan woman, Farzana had beatings that “went on for four years” (A1) however, Farzana discovered a way to escape from the opression and in her mind, free herself by litting herself on fire. By litting herself on fire, Farzana expresses all the sadness and pain she has felt and endured from the oppresion.
Farzana’s attempt to end her own life by burning herself is similar to Sei Shonagon’s secret attempt to write the Pillowbook. Both women discover a way to express their thoughts in a society that condemns it. However, a noticeable difference is that Sei Shonagon’s method of expressing her thoughts is suppose to be private whereas Farzana’s method of expressing herself is suppose to be public such that everyone can see how she is being opressed.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/08/world/asia/08burn.html?_r=1
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Afghan Women and Asian Literature

Posted on November 22, 2010 by alena.vialava

For many centuries the role of women in a society has been a topic of intense and often grim debates. In the majority of the world women’s rights seem to be accepted and enforced. However, according to the recent article, “For Afghan Wives, a Desperate, Fiery Way Out” by Alissa J Rubin, the conditions of Afghan women have not improved much since the times of Ban Zhao. On the contrary, they might have worsened.

According to the Chinese tradition described in Ban Zhao’s Lessons for Women, on the third day of her birth a girl has to be placed below the bed; then, she is given a potsherd to play with. This practice reinforces the ordinary way of life in China according to which a woman is “lowly and weak, and should regard it her primary duty to humble herself before others” (B: 27). Similarly, “the choices for Afghan women are extraordinarily restricted” (Rubin, 2010). Their fate is decided in childhood and decreed by prearranged marriages. They do not have a chance for education, and the only role they play in the house is serving their husbands’ families.

Ban Zhao also teaches a girl to “put others first, herself last” (B: 27). According to the Lessons for Women, “a wife cannot leave a husband’s home” (B: 30) even if “others speak or do evil to her” (B: 28).  Therefore, a woman has to endure abuses and be wholeheartedly devoted to her husband. In addition, in order to gain the love of her husband, a woman has to win the love of her parents-, brothers-, and sisters-in-laws. So, a good wife cannot disobey or contradict her in-laws; on the contrary, she is obliged to sacrifice her opinion and submit unfailingly to the command. In the same manner, women of Afghanistan are often chided, abused, and beaten by their husbands, family members and in-laws. A woman is unable to leave a husband’s house either, because she might “be raped or put in jail and then sent home” (Rubin, 2010) to be shot, stabbed or stoned to death in honor killings.

Ban Zhao says that “by failure in good manners in other families [a woman] will humiliate both … ancestors and … clan” (B: 27). Many Afghan women feel the same way, because “it is shameful here to admit to troubles at home” (Rubin, 2010), and divorce will put a mark on the name of the family.  That is why the only escape from poverty, abuses, and forced marriages that Afghan women see is to commit suicide by burning themselves alive.

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Asian Literature #2

Posted on November 22, 2010 by Luis Ganzhi

The classic of Asian Literature shows the importance of education. In the Analects Confucius is presented as a great teacher who wants his students to strongly think for themselves and study the outside world by learning the poems. He tells to his students “Little ones, why don’t you study the Poems? The poems can provide you with stimulation and with observation, with a capacity for communion, and a vehicle for grief” (A1045). Another example of importance of education is found in the Memories of Women by Lui Xiang but her argument is that parents should be the primary force educating a child. She is able to realized that the place where they are living is not the right place for her son so she makes every possible movement until her son was able to “played games of ancestor sacrifices and practice the common courtesies between students and teachers” (B24-25).

Similar to Confucius, Bill Gates “has made education-related philanthropy a major focus” (NY Times). He wants to rebuild the education system. He suggest to end how teachers are evaluated  base on their seniority and  on masters’ degree because he believes that it has nothing to do with the teachers’ capacity to increase students performance  (NY Times).  He also suggests rewarding teachers for teaching large classes and in need schools. And most important he wants to solve how “the nation’s $500 billion annual expenditures on public schools is allocated” (NY Times).

Mr. Gates ideas to rebuild our failing education system are excellent. However, in order to accomplish the task parents should also put their part. Parents can teach the importance of education the same way Lui Xiang did years ago. When her son returned from school before the class ended she gives the best advice fro her son she tells him “The superior person studies to establish a reputation and gain wide knowledge…. If you don’t study know now, you will surely end up as a menial servant and will never be free from troubles” (B25). After the lesson her son “studied hard from morning to night” (b25).  By combining the efforts soon we might have the best education system in the world.

NY Times:

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Asian Literature

Posted on November 22, 2010 by ivy.ly

Women in Afghanistan are looking to escape the cruelty of their family, but there is just one way of escaping and that is to a brutal and unimaginable act. These women are constantly abused by her in laws and husbands, and have no reaction to this except to burn themselves to death. Afghan women have limited choices and are believed to serve her husband’s family but this results to a disaster. The NY Times article states “Their family is their fate. There is little chance for education, little choice about whom a woman marries, no choice at all about her role in her own house.” With this being said, we can see that these women cannot fight back to their family.

This article is similar to “The Pillowbook”, Sei Shonagon has many thoughts but are only kept to herself. She does not tell anyone how she feels nor does she expect her book to be made public. Sei Shonagon includes much of what she sees and feels in her book and most importantly as she states “…when I have a good deal of time to myself and thought no one would notice what I was doing.” (p 258) Clearly, she does not want anyone to know how she feels. Sei Shonagon states “Since much of it might appear malicious and even harmful to other people, I was careful to keep my book hidden.” (p 258)

Women in Afghanistan setting themselves on fire is a way of expressing how they feel about their life and Sei Shongagon writing in her book is lettings all her thoughts out privately. Both of these acts display how women are oppressed in various countries and that they are not heard from by their words, but by their actions.

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Thousand and One Nights

Posted on November 21, 2010 by ivy.ly

NY Times article Google Sees Rules Violations in Limits on Internet Access closely relates to our readings of The Thousand and One Nights. Governments in many countries now are starting to limit users’ access to internet. China is one of the main countries that is being affected by this issue. Google has recently released a policy that states countries that limiting users’ access goes against their World Trade Organization. Though Google doesn’t specifically point out that it is the Chinese government who is limiting access to internet, there are many clues that Google is directing this policy towards them. Google’s public policy director, Bob Boorstin states “In addition to infringing human rights, governments that block the free flow of information on the Internet are also blocking trade and economic growth.” Here, Boorstin starts saying how the limited access of internet will affect free trade. China is still being investigated to see if they have violated the World Trade Organization.

Similarly, in The Thousand and One Nights, King Shahrayar’s is cheated on. Shahrayar’s wife sleeps with another man before Shahzaman’s own eyes. After acknowledging this, Shahrayar kills his wife and all the slave girls as well. Shahrayar states “There is not a single chaste woman anywhere on the entire face of the earth.” The twenty slave-girls that Shahzaman saw were deceiving because only half of them were girls and the rest were men. The government of China limiting users’ internet access is in comparison to the “girls” that were dressed behind veils. Though the reading doesn’t state the ban of veils, but clearly we can see how many people take advantage of the veil itself because their identities are sealed and are not identified by anyone. This concept relates to the ten black slaves who were dressed in the same clothing as the girls. China may have many users’ taking advantage of the internet in that their identities are not confirmed which can cause an issue.

Though there are many unconfirmed identities behind internet access and the unidentified men behind the girl’s clothing in Thousand and One Nights, the ban of either one is still controversial.

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