Analysis: Alibaba and the Forty Thieves and Oligopoly

310 Words2 Pages
There are two main characters in this story namely, Ali Baba and Cassim. Ali Baba is poor man “Ali Baba was poor” and Cassim is a rich man “…married a rich wife” and is living comfortably with her money. Both of their families are very small as they do not have any children; I inferred this because there was no reference in the story to any children in the family. In their culture, polygamy was allowed and they believed that it was better to be married then to be widowed. As a result of this belief, when Cassim died, Ali Baba married Cassim’s wife. “Ali Baba married Cassim’s widow.” Another value that they live by is that they should not hide secrets from the family hence when Ali Baba found treasure his wife told Cassim even though she knew that he was already rich and did not need any extra wealth. This story is set in Persia, “town in Persia.” Even though this story is set in Persia, I can see many clues that tell me that some parts were inspired by the culture of Saudi Arabia. In the story they beheaded Cassim; this relates to the law practiced in Saudi Arabia because one form of execution there is to behead the criminals. Using my common knowledge I knew that this story was originally written in Arabic and was translated to English. This means that the story that we read in not exactly what the author wanted to tell but rather is the close interpretation of the translator. A social issue that they have to deal with in this setting is violence; I assumed this because when Cassim went into the cave the thieves chopped him into four pieces and hung him. Stealing is also another issue and this comes from the title, “Ali Baba and the Forty
Open Document