Reading Diary A: The Voyages of Sindbad

The Voyages of Sindbad, from e_chaya

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In the First Voyage, we are introduced to Sindbad as a character as well as get a taste of his story's general mode of progression. His story isn't as rousing for an adventure story as Odysseus's by comparison, but rather it focuses much more on the culture of the time. This gives it a sort of "grassroots" feel to the whole narrative, because we're constantly reminded throughout the story of Sindbad's origins.

For the Second Voyage, we get to see Sindbad as a character that's incomplete without a journey to quest on. This becomes the driving force for all of his expeditions: no matter what kind of material wealth he hopes to attain while traveling abroad, on a subconscious level he is driven by the need for adventure. For Sindbad it's not the goal, but it's the journey that makes it all worth while. After all, he surely didn't plan on encountering the roc or the Valley of Diamonds that he had been dropped into.

During the Third Voyage, we get a sense of Sindbad's courage and cunning against the horrors of the world. Again, many parallels could be drawn to the tale of Odysseus and the Cyclops, but Sindbad's story in facing the giant emphasizes slightly different narrative aspects to the Odyssey. Now it is becoming apparent that not only is Sindbad a man of scheming, but one of sound survival instinct.

Now on the Fourth Voyage, we see the more sensitive side of Sindbad emerge, but not before his crew of shipmates are ambushed and stuffed by cannibal savages. Upon escaping from them, he helps a foreign kingdom and its ruler advance their technology (most notably with horse saddles and spurs), and in gratitude of Sindbad, the king of this place gives him many gifts and a beautiful wife. Sindbad grows to be very fond of this kingdom, and even attends a grieving neighbor when his wife dies. It's this kingdom's custom to bury the living spouse with the dead one, and ultimately Sindbad must escape from this when his own wife falls to illness. He does however, and manages to make it back to Baghdad.