The Fisherman

and The Jinnee

from
The Thousand
and One Nights
Conoza,
Adrian Paul B.
3CA3
 Background: Frame story

• “overall unifying story within which one or

more tales are related.” (Britannica)
• single story = the opening and closing
constitutes a frame
• cyclical frame story = some frames
externally imposed, loosely bind the
diversified stories
 Background: Frame story
• also called frame narrative: “A story within a story, within
sometimes yet another story” (www.cla.purdue.edu)
• a story set within a story, narrative...told by the main or the
supporting character. (literarydevices.net)
• ”an introductory or main narrative is presented...for the
purpose of setting the stage either for a more emphasized
second narrative or for a set of shorter stories” (Wikipedia)
 Background: Folk tale

• Originally handed down orally among the

common people of a particular culture
• Told in simple language to be understood
by virtually anyone
• Relate unrealistic events, unlikely to happen
• Aim to teach a lesson/express general truth
about life
Background: Folk tale
• characters: stereotypes, stock characters
embodying a single human trait
• often transmitted from one culture to
another, eventually assimilated into
traditions of the new culture
 Thousand and One Nights

• also called Arabian Nights

• most famous Arabic prose
known to Western world
• Sindbad the sailor and Aladdin
and his magic lamp
• collection of tales (about 200)
loosely pieced together into
one long narrative
 Synopsis
• King Shahriyar, in his hatred of
women marries a maiden each night
and beheads them the next morning
• Princess Shaharazad (also called
Scheherazade) tells him a story each
night to delay her execution.
• The princess' tale lasted 3 years. King
has fallen in love with the princess,
resolved not to kill her.
Spread

Persian book:
Hazar Afsaneh
Translated into
Arabic:
Thousand and One
Professional
Nights
storytellers:
additions and
changes
Three Strands

1. Original Persian book:

Princess Shaharazad
2. Baghdad and the reign of
King Harun ar-Hashid:
Sindband and Aladdin
3. humorous tales, set in Cairo
 Characters
• Poor fisherman
• Husband to one wife, a father of three
• Found a bottle with Solomon's seal

• Jinnee
• defined as: "a type of demon in
Arabian mythology"; believed to be
intelligent beings made of air or fire
• tells the "good news" of the
fisherman's death
• A rebel jinn
• prisoner in the sealed bottle
 Characters
• King Yunan
• rich mighty king of Persia;
• afflicted with leprosy
• Duban the Doctor
• old, venerable, studious, deeply versed in
wisdom of the ancients, skilled in astrology
and medicine
• cured the King of his leprosy without any
"potion to drink, nor any ointment to rub...",
but with distilled balsams and elixirs
poured into a polo stick
• Vizier — envious, black-souled villain; in his
jealousy, plotted the doctor's downfall
Characters
• King Sindbad — another
Persian king, great lover
of riding and hunting
• Falcon — Sindbad's pet,
whom he had trained with
loving care; always at the
king's side
Structure
A. Fisherman and Jinnee
B. Yunan and Duban
C. Sindbad and Falcon
B'. Yunan and Duban
A'. Fisherman and Jinnee
 Jinnee
• In contrast to the fisherman, a
spirit (in particular, a demon).
• Cannot detect the thoughts of
the fisherman, in particular his
cunning, which brought the
jinnee back to the bottle.
 Yunan
• Probably, either that he is easily
deceived, or gullible in other words;
or much more concerned about
himself, disregarding his so-called
friend without any due process.
• What has the vizier done to the
king compared to the life-saving
act of Duban? Would he save the
person to kill him through some
other way?
Characters' Traits
• Sindbad and Yunan: quickly angered,
rash in judgment
• Duban and Fisherman: willing to help,
(together w/ vizier) crafty, cunning
• Jinee and vizier: treacherous
The Story: Similarities and links
FISHERMAN & JINNEE YUNAN AND DUBAN SINDBAD AND FALCON

Fisherman Hunter

“Evil for good?”

Plea: “Spare me...Allah will spare you”

Plea not granted

Karma

Cunning device

Rash judgment

The one who saved got killed

 The Story: Relating to the framework

• The fisherman facing death from

the jinee, asking to be spared so
that Allah will spare him as well
• Likewise the princess was facing
death from a king, seemingly
telling the king the same plea as
the fisherman's
• “You see, what you will do will be
done to you as well”, which is
true in Arabian law.
Relevance
• For its characters: a
fisherman, a hunter
• The innocent being
accused at an instant
Lessons
• Make haste slowly. Don't render
judgment without thorough
thinking. Weigh the consequences
indeed, but make sure you weigh
in the right thing.
Lessons
• Don't instantly believe everything
that you hear or see. Weigh it in. In
terms of accusations or complaints,
regulate due process.
Lessons
• While there's the rule of due process,
there's also the Golden Rule.
Lessons
• There are those within a group
who we think are with us, but are
against us, especially those in
political positions
 References
Arabian nights. (1993). In World Book, Inc (Ed.), The world book encyclopedia (Vol. 1, p. 514).

Corcoran, J., & Beers, B. (1996). The Fisherman and the Jinnee. In P rentice Hall literature: World
masterpieces (4th ed., pp. 126-135). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Definition: Frame narrative. (n.d.). Retrieved September 13, 2016, from

https://www.cla.purdue.edu/english/theory/narratology/terms/framenarrative.html

Frame story - Examples and definition of frame story. (n.d.). Retrieved September 13, 2016, from
http://literarydevices.net/frame-story/

Frame story - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (n.d.). Retrieved September 13, 2016, from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frame_story

frame story | literary genre | Britannica.com. (2016). Retrieved September 13, 2016, from
https://www.britannica.com/art/frame-story

Genie. (1993). In World Book, Inc (Ed.), The World book encyclopedia (Vol. 8, p. 84). Chicago: World Book.