Exploratory Essay
Evan Florentino
Kylee Pastore
FIQWS 10105
11/1/2022
Aladdin VS Morals and Identity
Morals are an integral factor to most fairy tales. Morals are used in fairy tales to guide the main character through an adventure that leads to a lesson to be learned at the end of the story. Most of the time fairy tales use morals as a way to introduce character development for the characters. A perfect fairy tale that represents morals is Aladdin, a story of a street urchin going from rags to riches after finding a magic lamp that grants him wishes. Many people have read or watched Aladdin and can point out the key points of morality and identity that carry the story. Aladdin can be seen to be using identity and morality more frequently than other tales. We can even say that the moral of Aladdin is to always be yourself and to never be ashamed of your true self since it may cause damage to the people you care for. If possible, I’d like to guide you through some versions of Aladdin that contain these morals as integral factors of their versions.
Aladdin was first introduced in 1704, it was known as a folktale. Andrew Lang has a version known as Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp, which is found in The Arabian Nights. Andrew Lang’s Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp contained a few moral points and identity compared to other versions. This version informs us on how he was tricked by a magician into getting the magical lamp after a magician introduced himself to Aladdin as his uncle after his father had passed away. Andrew Lang’s version had shown Aladdin was struggling with his identity after gaining the lamp since his father wasn’t there to lead him onto the right path. This ultimately led to the beginning of morals and the struggle for it being shown through the story. As I read on, I noticed he had felt betrayed and was in pain after learning of this. He had a sense of morality and showed that he understood that it was wrong for the magician to do that. He goes on to use the magical lamp and wishes to pose as an extravagant prince to impress a princess which leads to a series of events where the magician steals the lamp and tricks the princess and her father. Lang used morals as a key factor to support the story by showing Aladdin felt genuine remorse and a sense of identity since he realized this would’ve never happened if he didn’t lie about himself as it said “Aladdin comforted her and left her for a while” (Lang 346). And of course who wouldn’t feel their morals jabbing at them after they had endangered people for the sake of their identity which makes the reader relate a bit with the character since some people can say they’ve pretended to be someone they’re not just to fit in with people.
In The story of Aladdin, or the Wonderful Lamp found in The Arabian Nights: Their Best-Known Tales, the idea of morals and identity is also prevalent throughout the story. The story was quite similar to the previous version, when Aladdin posed as a prince with the power of the lamp it led to the princess being kidnapped by the magician and stealing the lamp. This angered the sultan, who was the father of the princess. Aladdin is commanded to retrieve her in one piece or else he would be executed. He goes on to kill the magician and saves the princess. After that he spoke with the sultan and said “I have not the least reason to complain of your majesty’s conduct,since you did nothing but what your duty required. This famous, the basest of men, was the sole cause of my misfortune” (Group 173). The author in this uses a different approach by having Aladdin understand the damage he had caused to the sultan and the daughter. After all, the sultan gave Aladdin her daughter’s hand in marriage and had entrusted him in overseeing her safety just to disgrace the sultan’s trust in him. Regardless, it was a way to show character development in the character and in the end the sultan was thankful for the honesty. Young adults can read this and learn from it because the story emphasizes that it is wrong to live a double life and being honest with one another is the best choice. They may be able to use the basis of the moral and incorporate it into their very own lives. Without these morals, tales would be considered dull and will cause readers to feel as if a tale is missing its integral part. It would feel as if the story and adventure of the characters were all for nothing. That is why the author used it as a means to ground the story.
The 1992 Disney film Aladdin is briefly discussed in the article “Deception of status: an Aladdin scene.” The writer of the article argues how Aladdin should have been honest about who he was in order to comprehend the lesson of the narrative. He spent so much time claiming to be a prince that he never even tried to be himself. Which is true but we know that Aladdin is made that way so the plot can be more interesting and for Aladdin to feel more human. Despite the fact that she had first encountered him as a commoner on the streets, Princess Jasmine didn’t appear to worry about his social or economic standing. Elle Dykstra states that in order to be accepted by others as a member of a high socio-economic class, the most important thing is how well you can play the role of impersonating someone in this class, both in appearance and behavior. And meet the expectations of others (1). The writer of the article is reinforcing that the point of the story is Aladdin struggling with his morals and is looking for his identity. He realized he ought to have followed his morality and the genie’s admonition to not deceive people. The article sends the idea of how much of a critical moment it was when Aladdin revealed himself to Jasmine. And agrees upon how the moral of the story was used as a key factor into making the story.
These tales provided evidence that the tales’ moral lessons were present in their text. Aladdin and The Wonderful Lamp demonstrated Aladdin’s guilt for hurting the princess. When Aladdin admitted that he was to blame for the turmoil, like in The Story of Aladdin or the Wonderful Lamp, he felt sorrow for the Sultan and the princess. The film showed he realized that he ought to have told Jasmine the truth about who he really was, and he released the genie from the lamp out of moral obligation. With the help of all these sources, we can see that morality and identity may have both positive and bad effects, depending on whether or not a person follows their values and stays true to themselves.
In Conclusion, Aladdin is a fantastic illustration of the benefits of adhering to your values and the harm that might result from doing so in your daily life and shows that morals are an integral factor in it. The first tale demonstrated his ability to express regret for the woman he injured. The second narrative demonstrated accountability and regret for his deeds. While the third tale demonstrated that telling the people you love the truth and being honest with yourself is preferable than lying to them. And they all demonstrate how abandoning your identity and morality may destabilize your surroundings.
Works cited
Lang, Andrew. The Arabian Nights. The Floating Press, 1898.
pp. 346
Group, Lerner Publishing. “The Arabian Nights: Their Best-Known Tales.”
The Arabian Nights, Lerner Publishing Group, 2018. pp. 173
Dykstra, Elle. “Deception of Status: an Aladdin Scene Analysis” The wealth barrier, 2018.
pp. 1
