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Who is the main character of "Aladdin"?

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[quote="Salukfan"]I was going to finish this and send it today, but I totally forget where I was going with the whole thing. :lol: So, I'm just posting this as it is.

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[quote] *is surprised Samantha hasn't said something yet* SA'LUK SUCKS!! There, she should be here any minute now[/quote]

I'm here! I'm here! I know your Journal post was an elaborate attempt to lure me here. :lol:

[quote](It actually makes me wonder what exactly his mother or someone told him happened to his father. Especially with Cassim telling Aladdin's mother to give him the dagger once he was born)[/quote]

I've often wondered about that too.  I see Cassim as almost an Odysseus-level storyteller, able to come up with tales quickly and use them to pretty much get whatever he wants.  I don't think it's overly far-fetched that Cassim would hide his true identity from his wife, especially if you believe, as some do, that his wife was a wealthy woman ala "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves".  There's such bitterness in his "...to stare up at the palace and no you deserve more" speech that he might have felt the need to exaggerate his identity/make himself look better in order to gain any respect.  So the person that Aladdin looked up to might not even be close to Cassim's true identity.

That's another issue I'm interested in---what Cassim told Sultan/Jasmine about who he was. I mean, it's likely to come up at some point.  The Forty Thieves would need a good reason to make Cassim a "prisioner".  That conversation would bring about a level of BS the likes of which you and I have never seen, :lol:

[quote]The man he wanted to have show him how to raise a family ran away from his own before Aladdin was even born. ...But then Jasmine convinces him it's worth a shot and to think about all the things he can learn about his past--stuff he has been wanting to know for a while now. [/quote]

I always interpreted his quote about the dagger to mean that Aladdin was already born when he left. *Shrugs* But, man, the way Jasmine built up how great Cassim must be really ups Aladdin's pain when he meets him.  It's a lot like the scene in HoND when the Gargoyles sing "A Guy Like You" to Quasi, then Esmeralda and Phoebus come in and start kissing in front of Quasi. Just...ouch.

[quote]You’d think he’d find another way to save his son, but since he was just called out as being weak, I guess that would be the best time to prove that he's not by putting his own son’s--who he has not seen in for 20 something years--life on the line. [/quote]

I think that Cassim's decision to initate the Challenge was more about getting rid of Sa'luk than saving Aladdin.  Cassim could have gone the mercy route--actually, I believe that he would have, had Sa'luk not spoken up.  When he does speak up, Cassim realizes that the men are starting to turn on him a bit, and see the truth in what Sa'luk is saying.  To sustain his power, Cassim initated the challenge, knowing that Sa'luk would bite in order to show him up.  I don't think it was a reckless decision as it relates to Aladdin, though.  According to Kapok, Aladdin is famous throughout the desert and Cassim knew that he could find a way to defeat Sa'luk.  During the challenge, however, Sa'luk hurts Aladdin and Cassim realizes that he shouldn't have thrown Aladdin into that conflict.

I think when Aladdin climbs up after "killing" Sa'luk, he realizes that Cassim had used him.

[quote]“You don't understand. You don't know what it's like to have nothing. To stare up at the palace and know you deserve more….to be called ‘street rat’.” Ok….so…how would he not know if Cassim’s who reason behind leaving was he wanted the best for his family, didn’t want to be poor anymore and wanting to change it for his family? [/quote]

Cassim's speech about being called "street rat" and wanting "the best" for his family don't necessarily mean the same thing.  Yes, he was poor, but, to me, the search for the HoM says that he was more interested in being the biggest thing in town then providing for his family.  There's several points in the movie where his motivations are more important than everyone elses.  The wedding raid-- the whole thing was designed to give him a chance to get what he wanted; the Forty Thieves were glorified decoys (sorry, that's my Sa'luk fandom coming in), the challenge--getting rid of Sa'luk more important that protecting Aladdin, going back to Agrabah---the Oracle more important than his son, etc. Now ,I don't think he deliberately stepped on Aladdin's heart to get to the Oracle, as he seemed surprised when Aladdin tried to run to him after his arrest, but anyway...

Cassim just doesn't see the big picture.  It's about his pain, his struggle, his journey... I don't think he considered what his leaving would do to his wife and son. Especially if his wife was already wealthy--they would get by, and he could return and make them the wealthiest people in Agrabah.  When he returns to Agrabah, however, he realizes that his wife is gone and that he failed, as a husband, father, and treasure-hunter, which adds to the shame factor that we see when he speaks with Iago.

I think Cassim has a love-hate relationship with his status in the group.  He obviously enjoys it, which we see during "Welcome to the Forty Thieves", and it's also a comfort zone for him, the one place where he doesn't have to hide his identity.  It's the code change, however, that makes me think that there is some shame in there. I don't believe that he was king right away-- I think he spent years as just a member of the group and was forced to do the violent crimes that he bans when he gets his power.  He doesn't want to be in Aladdin's world because he doesn't feel as if he is good enough; not only did he fail to get the best for his family, but it's the way in which he tried to get respect that makes him feel negatively. He becomes king and changes the code, no longer having to do the crimes that shame him, making his methods seem...purer, I guess. His wife is dead, but he struggles to prove that his quest wasn't totally in vain; he won't feel like as much of a failure. His greed keeps him in, but he (tries, at least) to justify it.  The same greed sends him to Agrabah.[/quote]

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