Roland and Olivere

"Describe how the relationship between Roland and Olivere is portrayed in the poem. Do they complement one another? How does their relationship dramatize the view of "knightly" behavior within the text?"

Throughout the poem Roland and Olivere emerge as the two main heros. The poet gives them the most amount of battle time, and the most complements are bestowed upon Olivere and Roland. Also their comments are highly considered during times of council (perhaps even more highly considered than any one else's) "Quoth the Archbishop [...] Valour becomes this knight [Roland] of breed" (ll. 77-78).
As these two key characters become naturally heightened due to their position in the plot, we see picture emerge of bravery vs. wisdom also emerge. "Roland is fierce and Roland is wise." We realize throughout the texts that these characters love each other; we see that they do everything together. They are inseparable. This also rings true for their characteristics. Wisedom needs fierceness (vice versa).
Without Roland fierceness (or pride) the reargaurd would have survived "I asked you [to sound the Olifant] comrade, and you refused for pride, Had Charles been here, then all would have gone right;" Yet with only Olivere's wisdom how would the French have retained their world-wide renown. "Whoso should smite the County Roland dead [...] The wondrous [French] armies would dwindle off and melt [...] Our fathers' land would thus find peace and rest." Through these characters we see that fierceness is useless without wisdom and wisdom is in vain without fierceness  to walk with it.

How does the text dramatize the character, Blancandrin, within the first 40 Laisses of the Song of Roland?

The picture the reader receives from the character, Blancandrin, thus far is a picture of dishonesty, treachery, and remorselessness. An overall opposite of the French "perfection" emerges from this paynim character. 

Dishonesty - We are first introduced to Blancandrin, as he proposes a plan of deceit to fool the French Lords into believing the Paynims have "submitted unto the Christian law. (ll. 38). His opening act is an act of dishonesty.

Treachery - The Song shows Blancandrin to be treacherous and just overall deceitful. Specifically in the text we see Blancandrin hail God (capital 'G') when addressing the French. "God give His grace to you/ The glorious God to whom worship is due (ll 123-124)."  However as Blancandrin, comes before the paynim king Marsilion, he exclaims "Save you, sir, by Mahond,/ And by Apollyon, whose blest faith we extol! (ll 416-417)". Here we find Blancandrin is unfaithful even to his God. Also we learned previoulsy in the Dominick essay that the greatest sin according to the 11th Century Frank was to deny God. Blancandrin takes treachery to a whole new level.

Remorselessness - One idea that has always been unchristian is the practice of 'sacrificing children'. The children of Israel were defined by the fact that they never sacrificed their children like other nations. When the text claims that Blancandrin was planning on having his children killed in his deceitful plan of fooling King Charles, this is yet more proof of how the paynims are the opposite of the Christian Franks. The fact that Blancandrin readily states the necessity of his "sureties' heads [being] smited off with an axe (ll 59)" proves Him to be heartless. 

Central Argument of Mark Dominique's 'The Song of Roland and the Mystification of History."

In short Mark Dominique's central argument for this essay is to prove how The Song of Roland was written for two purposes: 1. was written as "a fitting form of propaganda" which inflamed men to embark on Holy War against the Sacreans. 2. was written to give the Royalty of France a history and heritage of moral strength and legitimacy (which would in turn fire up men to find for France which had moral legitimacy)

However in order to get here, Dominique has takes considerable and profound steps. He must provide his reader with significant proofs from the text and give his audience a window into what the culture of the average 11th Century Francian. He shows not only 'what' the average Francian thought, but alos how the average Joe truly thought. 

Dominique begins by showing his reader how The Song defines the Muslims as  a 'pure evil'. However not a pure evil as we know it, rather a pure evil according to the 11th Century Francian. For example, according to The Song the 'Moslems' worship a three separate gods, instead of worshiping the Muslim god, Allah. This was seen as heretical in 11th Century Gaul. Also The Song constantly reminds the listener of how the pagan enemies have committed the sin of Adam in rejecting Christ as Lord. The Song of Roland defines the Sacreans as evil inside the perimeters of evil present to them. Dominique proceeds to shed some light on the 11th Century view of 'what consequences that evil implys.' Mark Dominique then shows how, according to the view of 11 century Christians, that 'being evil' is in fact an opposition to nature. Dominique quotes some Boethius to show us how the Francians truly believed that "to move toward evil is to forsake nature (Boethius)." Therefore the mass murdering of the pagans is justified, for we have discovered that 11th Century Christians saw this as simply obeying nature. Then Dominique uses text from the Song of Roland to show how the key characters of the Song (Roland and Chalamagne) "function as Christ figures." In doing all this, Mark Dominique has established the agenda of  The Song of Roland. The Song showed the Moslems/Scareans to be evil (evil according to the French); the consensus of 11th Century Frankish mindset stated this sort of evil was so perverse that it deserved to be wiped (This justified the Crusaders mass murdering each other); and The Song portrayed the previous Frankish royalty to be like Christ (this caused the French Crusaders to feel as if they were fighting for something which always had been upright).
"The Christians fight a Holy War, and vengeance
against a criminal people is part of their motivation. (v.1015)"

Ali Baba and the forty Thieves

Cunning, concealment, and mystery seem to be the major literary themes of the tale of Ali Baba. Yet this 'midnight tale' does not follow all of Literature's strict rules. Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves Killed by a Slave Girl has no protagonist. The storyteller begins following Ali Baba'a narrative, but as the story continues his thread slowly fades away and Marjana's actions take the lead. This is a purposeful move by Scheherazade. She could not begin her tale with a slave women; we have already learned from the frame-story that male elites deserve the bulk of the action. Therefore our storyteller cleverly begins her tale with a man (though he is still a peasantry). Once the listener is hooked to the intrigue of the tale, Scheherazade uses slight of hand and replaces our hero Ali Baba (who has now gained the title of master) with the slave girl, Marjana. However Marjana  not only holds her own against her predecessor, Ali Baba, she manages to go far beyond his previous achievements. Ali Baba outsmarts the thieves maybe twice at the beginning of the story, but Marjana outwits the thieves 3 times and eventually rids the world of the thieves Al. By placing Marjana at the forefront of the action and portraying her as the hero with the most cunning Scheherazade undermines the view that the malice of  women is great.

First Impressions of 'Arabian Nights'

Three words stick out to me after plunging to the Arabian Nights' Frame Story:

1. Intrigue- perhaps because of the blend of realism and fantasy or perhaps because the Nights posses a diversity which I have never before experienced, however something about these tales keeps one just on the edge of their seat.
2. Difference- the characters must obey a completely different set of cultural and social rules of which I am unacquainted.
3. Accessibility- however above all the Nights seems to me accessible, some element of my own human experience is able to bypass the large chasm of cultural, literary, racial etc. differences and I find myself appreciating Scheherazade's daring, taking part in King Shahryar's rage, and the Wazir's worry. 

Elements which struck me as intriguing, different, and accessible in the areas of...

~PLOT- one moment the two kings are lamenting over their wives' infidelity (quite a reality), and the next the find themselves conversing with a young lady who lives as prisoner in a jinni's coffin (quite a fantasy)

~CHARACTER- character's are defined by their physicality, their race, and their position in the social caste. For instance, in order to highlight the rotten character and overall of the man who the Queen used to betrayed King Shah Zaman the storyteller gives  how the man was black (racial), and 

~FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE- translator Francias Burton gives the Nights a quasi-meter, and employs flowery word choice all for the purpose of highlighting the otherness and magical feel of which the Nights seem to posses. 

In tide of yore and in time long gone before ...