A Thousand and One Nights

By Tim Erasmi

A Thousand and One Nights is a compilation of oral stories from the Middle East by al-Jahshiyari. These oral stories were not written down until A Thousand and One Nights because most people were illiterate. Because people were illiterate oral stories were one of the popular forms of entertainment. Often times storytellers would add their own personal portion to a story in order to make their account more original. When A Thousand and One Nights was first published many Eastern scholars criticized it for its unoriginality and plainness although it is one of the few Eastern works that has become famous in the West.
The First time the story was translated in the West was in the 18th century France by Antoine Galland. Galland’s style rubbed off onto his translation as he modified the story to make it flow better. He corrected the mistakes that had made original less desirable and his translation became a success. He also added some of the most popular stories such as Alladin which is the inspiration for one of the most popular Disney movies.
A Thousand and One Nights represented Eastern culture in the West because it was one of the few popular Eastern works. It stood as a reference to Eastern Literature and was an inspiration in the West during the 18th and 19th centuries in a period when Eastern culture was extremely popular. Some of the stories of A Thousand and One Nights are borderline pornographic. Although they are usually referred to as children stories not all of the contents of the book are appropriate. Some Arab and Western versions have been modified to not include the “risky” material. A Thousand and One Nights has been a timeless classic throughout all cultures. Although it has many critics, it has become a household name and is undeniably a classic story.