aladdin
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The Adventures of Aladdin
The Brothers Grimm
Freud
Freud
How was Aladdin’s subconscious represented
through Freudian archetypes throughout the story?
JourneysJourney to parts of personality that he has not yet
faced- Journey to self discovery
Faraway Place Manhole Home Palace Unknown Land Kingdom
Id - Isolation ID can surface in isolation “They were poor and lived form hand
to mouth, though Aladdin did what he could to earn some pennies, by picking banana’s in a faraway place”.
His ID got him to jump down the manhole; impulsive, for a trivial item, a silver coin
Id “A terrified Aladdin left in pitch darkness,
wondering what the wizard would do next” Darkness = Id is in control Proceeds to steeling the lamp for himself,
as well as the ring the wizard dropped
Superego “I want to go home! – In a flash he was back in
his own home, though the door was tightly shut.” Return home from isolation is the disappearance
of the ID
Ego Never returns ring of lamp “Why did you leave me at another’s service for so
long?” This shows that Aladdin claimed to be his rightful
owner Rationalizes; lamp isn’t the wizards, why can’t he
keep it, wizard is bad man, therefore it’s okay to keep his ring.
Yonic Symbol
Relevance “Aladdin grew into a tall
handsome young man and his mother felt that he ought to find himself a wife, sooner or later”
The ring just fell into his palm, like his wife, Halima
“Slipping the ring on his finger, he twisted it round and round”
Needs to save his beloved wife
You can tell the ring is never as important as the lamp…
Psychoanalytical Critic
Looks carefully at images to uncover latent content
Latent content: hidden, symbolic meaning
Lamp? Or Phallic Symbol
Phallic
Relevance “Once upon a time…a widow had an only son
whose name was Aladdin” Lost father at young age – Phallic = Male figure Aladdin missing dominant male figure in life “From that day on, the widow and her son had
everything they could wish for: food, clothes and a fine home, for the genie of the lamp granted them everything they asked him”
Reason Aladdin is so dependent?
More Phallic… “He picked up the lamp, rubbed it harder than ever and
told the genie what he required” Subconscious need or want for a father, thinking one
would provide everything he needed Lamp provided him food, clothes, a fine home, and his
wife, Halima
Feminism
How is the characters’
portrayal in the story of Aladdin a
reflection of a patriarchal
society and to what effect?
Halima
The Princess is the only main female character in the story. Represented as obedient, emotional, and timid (Example:
“She clutched Aladdin in fear.”)
Both fit the gender stereotypes (Example: "Can we return to our own kingdom?" the princess asked timidly)
Accepts the idea of being married after meeting Aladdin Women didn’t get to exercise their power during this time
period (based her decision of who she married off of what the dad felt)
Uses her sexuality to her advantage
Seen as a commodity Damsel in Distress
(Example: “In a second he whisked away all Aladdin's possessions and magically sent the palace and the princess to an unknown land.”)
Reader would think Halima is dependent (relies on Aladdin or father)
Mother of Aladdin Nurturing Mother Wants Aladdin to have a good life
First wish is to have food for her and Aladdin (“Example: Bring us… bring…" His mother not having yet begun to cook the dinner, went on to say: "… a lovely big meal.”
Believed Aladdin could end up with Halima (Example: Aladdin told his mother and she quickly said: "I'll ask the Sultan for his daughter's hand. He'll never be able to refuse. Wait and see!")
Didn’t fit the gender stereotype (The male usually would be the one to approach the Sultan, assumes the male role)
Aladdin/Father
Primary responsibility for the welfare and authority over their families
Masculine Dominance Working for family Taking care of mother Represented as active, dominating, adventurous and rational Plays the role of keeping the princess safe/save her
Hero Reader would think of the reader as a noble
and caring guy for helping out both his mother and the princess
Decision-makers and hold positions of power and prestige, and have the power to define reality and common situations.
Primary responsibility for the welfare and authority over their families
Marxist
MarxismHow can the division
between the proletariat and the
bourgeoisie be seen in the short story
“Aladdin” and how does this affect the
story?
“They were very poor and lived from
hand to mouth” Meaning just enough to survive. Material circumstances become
very clear. A definite higher class seen in
the royal family and the sultan.(Bourgeoisie)
A lower class seen in Aladdin and his mother.(Proleteriat)
Bourgeoisie
Proletariat
Interpellation The bourgeoisie is royalty and
Aladdin is working class it is impossible for him to become bourgeoisie.
For Aladdin to become bourgeoisie he would have to marry Halima.
Commodification “Every slave must bring a box of precious
stones” These stones have no real value or usefulness
to the sultan but have the power to impress him as they are a sign of wealth.
The sign value of these stones separates the sultan as a bourgeoisie.
How does it affect our story?
Surplus value ( paid for the exchange value not the use value of his labour)
He wanted more for his work. Wanted the silver penny
“From that day on, the widow and her son had everything they could wish for: food, clothes and a fine home”
Revolt? The Marxist theory says that the proletariat will revolt.
Instead of revolting and creating equal classes he assumes the role of bourgeoisie.
Carl Jung
In what way could this story be considered an
archetypal “quest” story?
Involves a search for a magical item that will return abundance to a desolate state. The need to perform a nearly impossible task. Aladdin needs to find the lamp again
to restore his normal life Nearly impossible task: Find where
his wife is hidden, poison the wizard and find the lamp
Quest
Hero A journey where the hero
must retrieve a powerful artefact or battle with superhuman creatures to save someone else. The hero pursues the
quest Aladdin saved his wife and
brought the wealth back to his family
Powerful Artifact: The lamp
Superhuman creatures: The wizard
How do the mythological
symbols in Aladdin affect the story?
Based on folktales in Persia; where they teach lessons about greed, envy or pride
Silver coin: aura of magic and divinity Trees: growth and inexhaustible life Gold: indestructibility Trees, gold and jewels predict Aladdin’s
future
Jewels and jems: wealth Trees, gold and jewels predict Aladdin’s future Three: deals with magic and advantages Supernatural powers: vices or virtues, good or
evil Aladdin = virtue and good Wizard = vices and evil
Ring: wholeness
Seasons Spring: Aladdin overcame poverty,
atmosphere of youth and sexual bliss upon marrying Halima
Winter: once the wizard took the lamp and Aladdin must come up with an idea to save him and his wife, chaos was brought to the kingdom
Thank you!