Arabian Nights Proposal
Leonela Cortez
Professor Burton
Exploring Literature
29 September 2014
The Thousand-and-Third Night’s Tale Proposal
Main Idea Plants. Vegetation. Trees. Shrubs. Branches. Fruits. Blossoms. Sustenance. Nourishment. Florae serve as the main inspiration for what I wish to write about for this assignment. In The Arabian Nights most of the geography is set in Middle Eastern lands. I took it upon myself to research the green life that is geologically present there and became inspired by what these plants may metaphorically represent. As I studied the information of foliage, it was apparent that I was not the only person interested in utilizing these organisms for storytelling purposes. Many poets and authors have used the plants mentioned below in their works. I also wish to join this literary group who has extracted inspiration from these terrestrial beings for what may - hopefully - be a decent tale I create. However, it is the plant below that serves as my muse:
1) The Haloxylon Persicum
a) Haloxylon persicum: A plant that “has a stout rugged stem and light grey bark, growing up to 4.5-5 meters in height. It lacks large foliage-type leaves; in fact, its leaves have retrogressed as succulent branches. The plant is found in sand hills, deserts and sand ridges, where it often forms pure stands, with an average density up to 400-500 trees a hectare. The white saxaul is a hardy tree that can grow in nutritionally poor soil and can tolerate drought. The tree is in leaf all year, and flowers in May-June” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haloxylon_persicum).
i) The sentences I highlighted are what first brought my attention to this particular plant. It is not the most physically appealing shrub there is - but being an English student - I have learned to dig deeper beneath the surface of a given topic. In this case, I imagine a tale about a farming community that is facing the ever-growing problem of a growing population. This is not the only situation this municipal
Professor Burton
Exploring Literature
29 September 2014
The Thousand-and-Third Night’s Tale Proposal
Main Idea Plants. Vegetation. Trees. Shrubs. Branches. Fruits. Blossoms. Sustenance. Nourishment. Florae serve as the main inspiration for what I wish to write about for this assignment. In The Arabian Nights most of the geography is set in Middle Eastern lands. I took it upon myself to research the green life that is geologically present there and became inspired by what these plants may metaphorically represent. As I studied the information of foliage, it was apparent that I was not the only person interested in utilizing these organisms for storytelling purposes. Many poets and authors have used the plants mentioned below in their works. I also wish to join this literary group who has extracted inspiration from these terrestrial beings for what may - hopefully - be a decent tale I create. However, it is the plant below that serves as my muse:
1) The Haloxylon Persicum
a) Haloxylon persicum: A plant that “has a stout rugged stem and light grey bark, growing up to 4.5-5 meters in height. It lacks large foliage-type leaves; in fact, its leaves have retrogressed as succulent branches. The plant is found in sand hills, deserts and sand ridges, where it often forms pure stands, with an average density up to 400-500 trees a hectare. The white saxaul is a hardy tree that can grow in nutritionally poor soil and can tolerate drought. The tree is in leaf all year, and flowers in May-June” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haloxylon_persicum).
i) The sentences I highlighted are what first brought my attention to this particular plant. It is not the most physically appealing shrub there is - but being an English student - I have learned to dig deeper beneath the surface of a given topic. In this case, I imagine a tale about a farming community that is facing the ever-growing problem of a growing population. This is not the only situation this municipal