Devon Wolfe - Aladdin

All I recall from the story of Aladdin is the lamp, so I was excited to read the story! I thought the story was super engaging, but of course laughed and cringed at a few aspects.

First, I was so focused on the character of Aladdin, and his involvement with the lamp, that for 90% of the story I completely forgot and dismissed the princess (which much of the story revolves around). Of course, Aladdin falls in love with her at first sight (or else it wouldn’t be a Disney movie!), and then does everything in his power to gain her affection. He does this, not only by stealing her, but also torturing the Vizier’s son to the point where he forfeits! This was crazy to me, and especially dark. Originally I respected Aladdin for not overusing his powerful lamp, since he used the genie for food and silver plates just to keep him and his mom financially stable. However, his power quickly is overused after he sees the princess and will do anything in his power to prove to her father that he is fit. In addition, I wondered why the mom was so involved in the process of him getting the princess, since the princess is the one who leads him to his demise. This princess is literally tradable, as she switches from Vizier’s son’s property, to her father’s property, to Aladdin’s property, to the magician’s. It was also interesting how little effort the author put in to develop a connection between her and any of her suitors. The only point in the story where you see her having some freewill is when she kisses Aladdin after Aladdin helps her escape the magician. We get to see her consciously choose Aladdin (if we forget about the fact that Aladdin says the magician is evil). But again, it is almost as if she is a toy that is played with and thrown around, not an actual, living, breathing human!

It was also unfortunate to watch Aladdin’s transformation from a young, humble boy to a malicious, power-hungry husband. He earned nothing on his own, yet gets everything in life. The people of China love him, even though he is nothing but a fake loser who has a genie do all the work for him! Him and his wife also seemingly have a connection (questionable), so he wins in that regard as well! Even though the magician and the magician’s sons are villains in this tale, I secretly wanted Aladdin to learn some harsh lessons. For example, don’t take advantage of your power, or maybe even, earn things through your own hard work!

I found it particularly interesting to see the genie lash out at the end of the story. Throughout the entire story, the genie follows Aladdin’s every command – whether it be building him the most beautiful palace, or drowning him in jewels and slaves, or fixing his last window. But the roc’s egg (his master) is the last straw for the genie, where we see genie’s internal feelings. Ironically, genie’s angry speech also gives Aladdin the benefit of knowing he has another enemy, the magician’s son! So even when the genie tries to resist helping Aladdin anymore, he still does!