History Literature / Aladdin

* AmbiguousSituation: The setting might not be China as we understand it. In early Arabic usage, "China" was used in an abstract sense to designate an exotic, faraway land, meaning the setting could be somewhere else entirely. Cool History Bros has even suggested it is actually the Turpan Khanate.

* AmbiguousSituation: The setting might not be China as we understand it. In early Arabic usage, "China" was used in an abstract sense to designate an exotic, faraway land, meaning the setting could be somewhere else entirely.

A version of the tale can be read [[http://xahlee.org/p/arabian_nights/aladdin/aladdin.html here]]

* MixedAncestry: Implied to be the case with Aladdin, taking into account that he is some ethnic group from China and that the sorcerer, who comes from the Maghreb, passes himself as the estranged brother of Aladdin's late father.

Like most folktales, "Aladdin" has undergone some major revisions, but the original story is as follows: Aladdin is a poor young man living in China (InNameOnly. The setting is completely Islamic, ''but'' it should be noted the western edge of China or Xinjiang is Islamic and highly influenced by the Middle East with the Uyghur script itself using Arabic). He has no job and lives off the little money his widowed mother can bring in; his father died from grief at such an irresponsible son. One day, an evil Maghreb sorcerer approaches him, claiming to be his father's brother but in fact seeking to use him for his own benefit. He gives Aladdin a ring and sends him into a magic cave to retrieve [[MacGuffin an old oil lamp]], but when Aladdin struggles on the last step, the magician's impatience gets the better of him and he seals the cave with Aladdin and his lamp inside. Fortunately, he's still wearing his [[RingOfPower Magic Ring]] which, when rubbed, releases a [[GenieInABottle Jinn]] who brings him out. When he gets home, Aladdin's mother starts cleaning the lamp, releasing a far more powerful Jinn who grants Aladdin his every wish.

Like most folktales, "Aladdin" has undergone some major revisions, but the original story is as follows: Aladdin is a poor young man living in China (InNameOnly. The setting is completely Islamic). He has no job and lives off the little money his widowed mother can bring in; his father died from grief at such an irresponsible son. One day, an evil Maghreb sorcerer approaches him, claiming to be his father's brother but in fact seeking to use him for his own benefit. He gives Aladdin a ring and sends him into a magic cave to retrieve [[MacGuffin an old oil lamp]], but when Aladdin struggles on the last step, the magician's impatience gets the better of him and he seals the cave with Aladdin and his lamp inside. Fortunately, he's still wearing his [[RingOfPower Magic Ring]] which, when rubbed, releases a [[GenieInABottle Jinn]] who brings him out. When he gets home, Aladdin's mother starts cleaning the lamp, releasing a far more powerful Jinn who grants Aladdin his every wish.

Aladdin is an Arabian folk tale originally written by Syrian Maronite writer Hanna Diyab sometime in the early 18th century. Contrary to popular belief, it is actually not one of the original stories found in A Thousand and One Nights. More on that in the Other Wiki.

* ChekhovsBoomerang: In addition to the genie of the lamp, Aladdin holds a magic ring containing a lesser genie. The second genie gets him out of the cave in which he was BuriedAlive and also helps him recover his lamp, palace, and wife near the end of the story when an evil sorcerer has stolen them.

* DontTouchItYouIdiot: Aladdin is warned to touch nothing in the cave but the lamp -- after that he can take whatever else he wants. Atypically, he has no problem following this command; his troubles come when he's trying to leave the cave and has difficulty getting up the stairs because of all the pretty "rocks" he's stuffed in his pockets.
* DrivenToSuicide: After the evil sorcerer's brother takes his palace and his bride, Aladdin says his prayers and prepares to drown himself. As he does, he rubs the magic ring on his finger, releasing the genie inside.

* GoSeduceMyArchnemesis: At Aladdin's urging, the princess pretends to be in love with the EvilSorcerer who has taken her captive. She gets him drunk enough to lower his suspicions and then poisons him.

* DontTouchItYouIdiot: Aladdin is warned to touch nothing in the cave but the lamp -- after that he can take whatever else he wants.
* DrivenToSuicide: Aladdin gets ready to drown himself, but remembers he should pray first. As he does, he rubs the magic ring on his finger, releasing the genie inside.

* GenieInABottle: And also a magic ring. Both the genie of the lamp and the genie of the ring are bound to serve whomever possesses the lamp/ring. However, the original story does not include the idea that the genie's master is limited to three wishes.
* GoSeduceMyArchnemesis: Aladdin and the Princess, who's been kidnapped by the EvilSorcerer, concoct a plan to get Aladdin into the palace and steal back the lamp that involves doing this.
* GreedyJew: When he asks the slave of the Lamp for food, they receive it on gold platters, which Aladdin takes to a Jewish merchant that cheats him. He and his mother are so poor that even a fraction of their value is a lot of money to them, but eventually he meets an honest man who buys them at a fair price.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Aladdin himself, though part of it may be ValuesDissonance - a lot of the heroes of the 1001 Nights were unafraid to be callous or ruthless. Most notably: in order to get the princess away from her betrothed Aladdin sends his djinn to kidnap and torment them both every night, until they come to the conclusion that the marriage is cursed and split up -- at which point he swoops in and romances her.

* RingOfPower: Which has the Djinn of its own, although less powerful than the lamp's one.

* VillainBall: The evil sorcerer could have just given Aladdin a lift out of the cave, and then taken the lamp. Instead, after Aladdin doesn't hand the lamp over (he needs help getting up the last step to the surface), the sorcerer throws a tantrum and seals up the cave with Aladdin and the lamp inside. If that wasn't bad enough, the sorcerer completely forgets that he gave Aladdin a magic ring to keep him safe in the magic cave. The ring has a genie in it, and said genie brings Aladdin out of the cave.
* WorthlessYellowRocks: When Aladdin is in the magic cave, he passes a forest where enormous jewels grow on trees. He stuffs his clothing with them, though to his inexperienced eye they are just pretty rocks or maybe colored glass.

Like most folktales, "Aladdin" has undergone some major revisions, but the original story is as follows: Aladdin is a poor young man living in China (InNameOnly. The setting is completely Islamic). He has no job and lives off the little money his widowed mother can bring in; his father died from grief at such an irresponsible son. One day, an evil Maghreb sorcerer approaches him, claiming to be his father's brother but in fact seeking to use him for his own benefit. He gives Aladdin a ring and sends him into a magic cave to retrieve [[MacGuffin an old oil lamp]], but when Aladdin struggles on the last step, the magician's impatience gets the better of him and he seals the cave with Aladdin and his lamp inside. Fortunately, he's still wearing his [[RingOfPower Magic Ring]]which, when rubbed, releases a [[GenieInABottle Jinn]] who brings him out. When he gets home, Aladdin's mother starts cleaning the lamp, releasing a far more powerful Jinn who grants Aladdin his every wish.

Like most folktales, "Aladdin" has undergone some major revisions, but the original story is as follows: Aladdin is a poor young man from a Chinese city (Chinese InNameOnly. The setting is completely Islamic), living with his mother and making a living as a pickpocket. One day, an evil Maghreb sorcerer approaches him, claiming to be his father's brother. He gives Aladdin a ring and tricks him into entering a booby-trapped magic cave to retrieve [[MacGuffin an old oil lamp]], but when Aladdin insists on getting out of the cave before handing over the lamp, the sorcerer flies into a rage and tosses him back down into the cave. Fortunately for Aladdin, the ring the sorcerer lent him is a [[RingOfPower Magic Ring]] that, when rubbed, releases a [[GenieInABottle Jinn]] who brings him home, along with the lamp. When he gets home, Aladdin's mother starts cleaning the lamp, releasing a far more powerful Jinn who grants Aladdin his every wish.

Aladdin wishes for riches and an enormous palace, which win him the hand of the Emperor's daughter. However, the sorcerer learns of Aladdin's good fortune and plots to steal the lamp. He tricks Aladdin's wife into trading an old lamp for a new one and, not knowing about the power of the lamp, she does. The sorcerer then wishes for Aladdin's palace, along with his wife, to be moved to Maghreb.

Aladdin despairs, but all is not lost, because he still has that magic ring. While that Jinn can't simply undo the lamp Jinn's magic, he transports Aladdin to his palace where he frees his wife, rescues his castle, beats the bad guy, and gets his lamp back.

* DeadPersonImpersonation: The more evil brother impersonates the old woman he has killed.

* EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: Aladdin turns to crime, but his first instinct is always to make sure his mother is well cared for. Not that this stops him using her in his schemes.

* ArrangedMarriage: As would be common for royalty in the Islamic world and everywhere else at the time. The Sultan agrees to marry off his daughter to Aladdin as soon as he sees how much money Aladdin has.

* DisappearedDad: Aladdin's father, a tailor, died of disappointment after Aladdin preferred being a juvenile delinquent to following him into the tailoring business. The sorcerer from Maghreb mentions that he knew Aladdin's father but it was a ruse to get a somebody to help get the lamp.

* GreedyJew: Aladdin gets gold plates from the genie of the lamp, which he sells to a Jewish merchant that cheats him.
%%* GuileHero: He ''is'' a 1001 Nights hero, after all.

* InsaneProprietor: When Aladdin is out hunting, the sorcerer disguises himself as an old woman exchanging old lamps for new ones. This creates a commotion, attracting the princess' attention. Then one of her handmaidens mentions they have an old beat-up lamp in their palace, and exchanges the genie's lamp for a regular lamp.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Aladdin himself, though part of it may be ValuesDissonance - a lot of the heroes of the 1001 Nights were unafraid to be callous or ruthless. Most notably: in order to get the princess away from her betrothed Aladdin sends his djinn to kidnap and torment them both every night, until they come to the conclusion that the marriage is cursed and split up - at which point he swoops in and romances her.
* LoveAtFirstSight: When the princess goes to the baths, the entire city is placed under lockdown, with anyone trying to look out punished by death. Aladddin, naturally, gets a good look at the princess and falls in love.

* StandardHeroReward: Sort of-- Aladdin's wishes for wealth and a neat palace make him a viable husband for the princess, but he's already married to her by the time he actually does anything heroic.

Aladdin wishes for riches and an enormous palace, which win him the hand of [[EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses the Emperor's daughter]]. However, the sorcerer learns of Aladdin's good fortune and plots to steal the lamp. He tricks Aladdin's wife into trading an old lamp for a new one and, not knowing about the power of the lamp, she does. The sorcerer then wishes for Aladdin's palace, along with his wife, to be moved to Maghreb.

* GuileHero: He ''is'' a 1001 Nights hero, after all.

* EthnicMagician: The evil sorcerer is Moroccan, while the main characters are Chinese.

* WeAllLiveInAmerica: The story is set in China, but almost everyone is Muslim (and the one character who isn't is a Jew), there are no Buddhists or Confucians, all the characters have Arabic names, and the monarchy is distinctly Muslim in style (a sultan with a vizier). Depending on one's opinion as to the tale's origin, this could indicate a CriticalResearchFailure on the part of the original teller or an indication of a yet-to-be-found Central Asian prototype that became more Muslim as it spread to the Muslim world.

Aladdin is an Arabian folk tale originally written by Syrian Maronite writer Hanna Diyab sometime in the early 18th century. Contrary to popular belief, it is actually not one of the original stories found in Thousand and One Nights.

A tale of the ''Literature/ArabianNights'' series and a PublicDomainCharacter that has been adapted countless times, and widely popularized by [[Disney/{{Aladdin}} the 1992 Disney version]] from the Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon in 1992.

Aladdin despairs, but all is not lost, because he still has that magic ring. While that Djinni can't simply undo the lamp Djinni's magic, he transports Aladdin to his palace where he frees his wife, rescues his castle, beats the bad guy, and gets his lamp back.

Like most folktales, "Aladdin" has undergone some major revisions, but the original story is as follows: Aladdin is a poor young man from a Chinese city (Chinese InNameOnly. The setting is completely Islamic), living with his mother and making a living as a pickpocket. One day, an evil Maghreb sorcerer approaches him, claiming to be his father's brother. He gives Aladdin a ring and tricks him into entering a booby-trapped magic cave to retrieve [[MacGuffin an old oil lamp]], but when Aladdin insists on getting out of the cave before handing over the lamp, the sorcerer flies into a rage and tosses him back down into the cave. Fortunately for Aladdin, the ring the sorcerer lent him is a [[RingOfPower Magic Ring]] that, when rubbed, releases a [[GenieInABottle Djinni]] who brings him home, along with the lamp. When he gets home, Aladdin's mother starts cleaning the lamp, releasing a far more powerful Djinni who grants Aladdin his every wish.

* CanonImmigrant: "Aladdin" wasn't originally a part of ''The Book of Literature/OneThousandAndOneNights'' (a.k.a. the ''Arabian Nights''); in fact there is no documented source for it before it was first printed in Antoine Galland's French translation of the book in 1710. Galland claimed to have heard it from a Syrian storyteller; but there is no hard evidence for that story and there are those who believe [[https://www.tor.com/2016/01/21/fairy-tale-and-the-other-realm-as-social-commentary-aladdin-and-the-wonderful-lamp/ he made it up himself]].

* {{Fanfiction}}: If Galland ''did'' write this story himself -- and again, there's no hard evidence of that, see CanonImmigrant above -- then this would be Galland writing an original story in the style of the Arabian Nights, and one of the oldest examples of Fanfiction ever.

A tale of the ''Literature/ArabianNights'' series and a PublicDomainCharacter that has been adapted countless times, and widely popularized by [[Disney/{{Aladdin}} the Disney version]] added to the Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon in 1992.

* TheMakeover: Aladdin goes from poor man to wealthy prince with the help of a GenieInABottle.

* StandardHeroReward: Sort of-- Aladdin's wishes for wealth and a neat palace make him a viable husband for the princess, but he's already married to her by the time anything heroic happens.

* WeAllLiveInAmerica: The story is set in China, but almost everyone is Muslim (and the one character who isn't is a Jew), there are no Buddhists or Confucians, all the characters have Arabic names, and the monarchy is distinctly Muslim in style (a sultan with a vizier). Depending on one's opinion as ti the tale's origin, this could indicate a CriticalResearchFailure on the part of the original teller or an indication of a yet-to-be-found Central Asian prototype that became more Muslim as it spread to the Muslim world.