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The Influence Of The American Dream In Aladdin

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The characters in Aladdin are all striving for the American Dream. Aladdin, Jasmine, and the Genie are all victims who seek their freedom from social oppression or from being “trapped” by law or outdated custom (Wise 106). This unifying thread throughout the film shows how anyone despite their circumstances change their life and make it what they want it to be playing off of the ideal of the American Dream.
One way that the American Dream is intertwined into Aladdin is through the dual nature of the main character Aladdin. In the original version of Aladdin is called the Thief of Bagdad (1940), the prince appears as a blind beggar and Abu as his dog, the prince makes it very clear his true identity so that viewers can discover his transformation was the result of Jaffar’s magic rather than the prince’s deception. Only at the outset does the prince disguise himself, and that choice too is a result of Jaffar’s trickery, not the prince’s duplicity and further showing that the prince is reacting to other’s actions (Bernstein & Studlan 189). In comparison, Disney’s Aladdin, also has multiple identities but they are created due to his own choices and actions not because of others. Aladdin is identified as a street rat, diamond in the rough, and prince Ali (Bernstein & Studlan 189). Disney is making the point that in pursuing the American Dream, people take on many identities to ensure their social mobility by shedding one identity for another.
However, Aladdin and the Thief of Bagdad are similar because the title character steals from local vendors in to survive. In Disney’s version, Aladdin is a moral character because he only takes enough to survive. Aladdin’s morality goes one step farther because he is willing to give away what he steals to less fortunate children who are also starving due to the same unjust social order. By giving away food in a Robin Hood manner Aladdin is showing his dual nature as “diamond in the rough” because he was stealing for a good cause yet still sticking to his roots as a “street rat” by stealing to begin with (Wise 106).
The idea that Aladdin is a diamond in the rough is something that the film emphasizes so that viewers understand that everyone has the potential to do great

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