Compare and contrast

Ali Baba and the forty thieves and Aladdin are some very similar folktales. But they have many differences. In this writing piece I’ll tell you more about them.

One similarity is, both stories are Arabian folktales. Arabian folktales usually come from Arabia because people there made up stories involving magic, tricky thieves, sorcery, and mythical creatures. I think it’s very interesting that people there may be less wealthy than us but have such creative minds.

Another similarity is both Ali Baba and the forty thieves and Aladdin have thieves in their story. Thieves that are in my opinion cruel, greedy, mean, and scary . But thieves in comparison to other stories are just the same. Another thing is that usually most thieves want gold and riches. And most of them will do just about anything to get it.

The last similarity is both folktales have a trickster character. In Ali Baba and the forty thieves Morgana plays the trickster. She earns that title by killing all of the thieves silently with just some hot oil, and she also is pretty undercover by only being the housekeeper. In Aladdin, Aladdin himself plays the trickster because in the end he tricks Jafar into becoming a genie that’s gets trapped inside a lamp.

A difference between both folktales is in Aladdin, Aladdin doesn’t steal anything like gold or riches. He steals some bread but nothing major. But in Ali Baba and the forty thieves he steal a sack full of gold and doesn’t go to jail! I think Aladdin just because it was a Disney movie they made it just for kids and saying stealing is not right. You know? I’m almost positive if it wasn’t a Disney movie it probably would have much more stealing and such.

Another difference between these stories is that Aladdin the hero character is a boy and in Ali Baba the hero character is a girl. I think this proves that both genders can be smart and witty. I think that’s cool and pretty different because you don’t see that very often with there being a boy and a girl hero.

The last difference is that Aladdin is a movie and Ali Baba is a story text. I really think this is a big difference in a story. Because with a book you have to get a picture in your head and with a movie you just see the picture right there in front of you. I think I like Ali Baba and the forty thieves format better but Aladdin’s storyline more.

In conclusion I really enjoyed both story’s and had a good time reading and watching both I hope we can do more compare and contrast stories like these. By: Jessica