Iliad by Homer and A Thousand and One Nights: Comparison

Table of Contents

Supernatural power
Theme-dream
Use of symbols
Settings
Works Cited

Supernatural power

The Iliad by Homer in his character analysis uses supernatural strength to describe the development of the story. He uses Achilles to link a close relationship between humans and the gods. This superhuman strength describes the character as a warrior in the Achaean army. He uses this character to impede his ability to act with aristocracy and integrity. The use of supernatural power occurs also occurs when Apollo sends a plague upon the Greek camp that killed many soldiers. Plague is a supernatural force as used in this novel. Secondly, Athenas, the goddess of wisdom, prohibits Achilles from cutting Agamemnon with his swords but rather with his words and insults (Book 1). Burton in A Thousand and One Nights represents the supernatural in the character development. A fisherman casts his net three times and ends up fishing a dead donkey, broken pottery, and a pitcher of sand. He praises Allah and asks for his mercy but his fishing does not yield fruits. On his fourth time, he scoops out the jar in a jinni in it. Jinni represents supernatural powers. The jinni was trapped in the jar for 1800 years and when the jar was open, it threatens to kill the fisherman. The fisherman argues that the large jinni would not have fit in the jar (Chapter 1).

Theme-dream

Both the authors use dreams in the story development to foretell the future. In Burton (chapter 6) of A Thousand and One Nights, a duck comes upon a peacock on an island and tells them about the dream it had. The peacock narrates that in his dream he was warned that the Son of Adam would trick him just as he gathers fishes from the sea and shoots births. The lion cub had a similar dream of running away from the enslavement of the son of Adam and they threaten to kill him so that the other animals can live in peace. LLiad in his book uses dreams to launch an attack on the city walls. Zeus sends a false dream to Agamemnon portraying an image of Nestor which persuades Troy to launch a war on the city walls that will give him the power to take Troy. He gathers his troops the next day for an attack, but he only wants to test their courage. He lies to them on his intention to give up on the war and the troops amazingly run to the ship on return to Greece. He calls them back and encourages them to goad their pride and restore their confidence. They vow not to abandon their struggle until the city fell (Homer Book 2)

Use of symbols

Burton of A Thousand and One Nights uses black bitches; the two dogs that belong to the elderly lady of the house to represent the enchant sisters who were transformed into dogs as their punishment for envy. Also, the Caliph Harun al-Rashid character represents compassionate justice. He entered the home of three ladies who were under the disguise of a merchant and brings the perpetrators to justice. The Achaean ship as used in the LLiad symbolizes the future of the Greek race. It represents the armys victory or defeat, meaning that if they would have worn the war, the ship would bring home the heroes of war and if it would have lost, the last survivors would be brought home. Both authors use symbols to illustrate human experiences.

Settings

The A thousand and One nights is one narrators story framing another narrators story. Its a collection of stories in book retelling stories of different settings and uses second person narrative. The LLiad offers a brief introduction to a very long war of the Trojan army. It retells human life and its creations with a first-person narrative. The author tells the reader what will happen at the end of the story making the reader less anxious. The text explains that Priam and his children will die and it happens.