Reading Notes: Sindbad Part A

This story is part of the Voyages of Sindbad unit. Story source: The Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H. J. Ford (1898).

I really enjoy reading the adventure stories of Sindbad. I feel exactly the same as him when he feels weary and boring about his ideal life and decides to go for new navigation. For modern life, traveling would be an alternative way to relieve such a boring feeling. 

For the story plots, I realize that they are not like Aesop's Fables which are formed by many concise stories, but specific and vivid. For me, I think these characteristics of plots are very suit for the story since readers would like to imagine some pictures or scenes in their minds when they read these stories. For instance, when Sindbad went to the valley of diamonds, there are some depictions of the size of snakes that live in the valley and the amounts of diamonds. All of these descriptions are very helpful for me to understand and indulge in the plots. When I write my own story, specific and vivid descriptions are my favorite.

However, in my opinion, the descriptions of Sindbad's mental activity are not enough. For instance, when he saw the roc at its nest, the story just tells that Sindbad bounds him to its leg. But there are no mental activity descriptions at all such as excited, amazed, or even fear. For me, I think these mental activities are important to readers since they could help readers to understand the personality of the protagonist better. 

Besides, I am curious about the real meaning behind these decisions that Sindbad wants to do adventures again and again. I also feel excited about what he would say after he finishes all his adventures. Hopefully, I can find these answers in Part B. 

The Valley of Diamonds. Web Source: Behance.