One thing I find particularly compelling about folktales and mythology is the role of heroes in them. I have a bit of a Romantic outlook on life and so I've always loved the idea of a hero who is both physically and ideologically superior to the people around them. I like it especially because I don't think it has the same capability to exist today in the world of guns and poisons and a thousand different ways to die that take no talent or ability. I like heroes from these tales most because they are heroes by virtue both of their personal characteristics and their individual capabilities with a sword or bow and arrow, or any other variety of weapon that requires skill. As such, and without much knowledge of Sindbad, I went into this unit kind of expecting more of this. Or even half of this. What I felt like I found was a generally typical man with no extraordinary circumstances who continually found himself getting lucky. He wasn't particularly capable with a weapon or morally righteous, but somehow seemed to always be the last one living. I guess you could argue that this is a skill in and of itself, but I had a hard time seeing it that way. What it ultimately felt like was an old man recounting stories that had grown in splendor and unlikeliness over the preceding 30 or 40 years. I don't think that necessarily says anything about the actual merit of the tales of Sindbad, but it was a stark difference from the Greek mythology I read in the previous unit. I also found that it really failed to teach much of a lesson at all, outside of "do whatever you want because it'll be other people that die". In conclusion, the plot of Sindbad itself was somewhat interesting and had a good amount of variety. Despite this, at the end of the day I felt myself disappointed by the lack of a real hero or lesson.
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