O. Henry’s A Madison Square Arabian Night: A Cross-Cultural Dialogue

In this paper, the assertion of cross-culture in the American literature is studied and put for discussion. Aside from the inspiration of the American writers of the Arabian Nights, the inspiration of the Arabian Culture is inspired as well. O. Henry is given as an example in his short story “A Madison square Arabian Night”. The first part of this research is going to highlight the importance of the Arabian Nights in the American literature. It tries to give a brief idea about the Arabian nights and according to this it is divided into five parts to give enough information as possible about these nights. The first part includes the understanding of the Arabian nights from different perspectives those found in some encyclopaedias, like the Encyclopaedia Americana, the Encyclopaedia Britannica and the Encyclopaedia of Islam. For the necessity of historical background about the contents of the Arabian Nights, the paper deals with the authorship of the stories of the Arabian nights and the contents which includes a short summary of the story of the Arabian nights. A general idea about the origins of the thousand nights and a night is widely explained. The last part is dedicated to stereotype something about the influence of the Arabian nights on the other literatures. O. Henry wrote most of his major works in short story. Thus the short story is the most outstanding literary genre in this age and its explanation has a space in this paper in the sense that it gives a comparison between Baghdad and New York from O. Henry’s point of view. This paper deals with his major work A Madison Square Arabian Night since it is the work in which a very clear example of comparison between Baghdad and New York is composed. His thesis in this story reveals the cross-cultural dialogue and his tendency towards


INTRODUCTION
Reading O. Henry's short stories arouses the attention immediately to the too much resemblances of his works to the Arabian Nights (Thousand Nights and a Night); works like: The caliph, cupid and the clock, the trimmed lamp and especially in his major work A Madison Square Arabian Night. For that reason this paper is devoted to the influence of the Arabian Nights on the American literature in general with particular reference to O. Henry's A Madison Square Arabia Night This paper sheds lights on the use of crosscultural dialogue in his selected short story in which the author reflects his innermost feelings towards the Arabian culture.
Arabian Nights or thousand nights and one night or could also be called Alif Layla wa -layla, is the title of the most famous Arabian collections of fairy -tales and other stories. Firstly, let's see what the Encyclopaedia of Islam asserts about these fairy tales (Arabian nights): "One often read or hears nowadays like a fairy tales from the thousand -and -one nights and, indeed, the fairy -tales are the most striking part of the collection" (358). Arabian nights as appeared in the Encyclopaedia Americana is "A collection of tales, of undefined extent and identify that in the west ranks among the classics of literature" (164). But the Britannica has another perspective regarding the definition of the Arabian Nights when it makes the topic as 'Thousand and one nights' been defined as "collection of stories of uncertain data and authorship whose tales of Aladdin Ali Baba and Sindbad the sailor have almost become part of western folklore" (733). Reading and imagining the definitions those add a new information to the reader about the meaning of the Arabian Nights is a mechanism in which the reader can expect different meaning derived from these definitions. It may arouse to the mind that the Arabian nights or Alf layla wa -layla is a collection of tales written by an unknown author and would be developing gradually by all interests for the best.
The study can raise different questions about the relationship between O. Henry as an American writer and the Arabian cultures which he made as a subject for some of his stories including the selected story. What makes O. Henry refer to the Arabian culture absolutely generous as compared to the Western? If he suffered from poverty and lack of respect, then he looked for a culture that improve the idea of neglecting the poor people and assuring their existence in the society. The circumstances that he suffered during his early life effected his opinion about the Western and made his assert the idea of Ancient rulers as generous people whom representing the Arabian Culture. In this case, if O. Henry is not interested in his culture and the conduct of the rich people of his community, then he tried to reveal his suffering from the same in comparing his culture to the Arabian one. But the main question is that: What makes O. Henry interested in the Eastern culture in particular and the Islamic one? When he refers to this culture in particular as a generous one and dreamt of being in a city which is full of generous people, then he supports this culture and enlists people of his community to behave like the people of the meant culture in his stories.
The aim of this study is to show to what extent the Arabian culture is effected by the Westerns. As an example O. Henry in his selected stories and one of which is "A Madison Square Arabian Night". The study can take various different actions to achieve this aim and some of them are the examples given in the extracts that O. Henry passed through his characters. His interest is quite clear in his quotations and the philosophy implied. This can help the reader frame a very interesting idea about the cross-culture dialogue that O. Henry implied in his selected story. What makes this study is unique is the theme of the story that O. Henry used in this story. It may be clear in the last sentence when he left to bed and wished dreaming of Baghdad and at the same time hoped that his dreams could be turned into truth. Thus the purpose of this study is to introduce the two cultures, as compared by a person from the Western culture, to the reader to have a look at the similarities and differences between the two. Its importance is accomplished in the reference to American Literature in particular and the comparison of the Western culture as appeared in this literature to the Arabian Culture.
So many previous studies have gone through the idea of influence, in the sense of influencing the Arabian Nights on the English literature and English writers. But very few of them mentioned the American literature in particular. Amongst them in Michael Awad who succeeded in making a connection between the Islamic age and the contents of the Arabian Nights. This link was achieved by a study in 1962 entitled Arabian Nights is the Mirror of the Society and Civilization in the Islamic Age. He paid great attention to the link between two civilizations as a new study that dealt with the clash of civilizations. The intersections of the different societies and the social conventions was the core of Awad's study. In 1982, Al-Somadi, Abduljabar M., wrote about the influence on the European Literature in his book The Influence of the Arabian Nights on the European Literature. He stereotyped the most recent English works in 1982 and the influence of the Arabian Nights on their style of writing. The latest study about this subject has been done by Fahd Mohammed Taleb Saeed Al-Olaqi in his article "The Influence of the Arabian Nights on English Literature: A Selective Study" (2012) when he asserts the aim of his study: "The influence of the Arabian Nights is frequent in its impact on English writer in making his\her literary work (385)". In 1966 Al-Qalamawi, Suhir. In her book Thousand Nights and a Night tried to highlight the conjunction between the fairy stories of the Arabian Nights and the new writings of literature.
Some other writers like Dadley Miles, Clarence Stratton, Robert C. Pooley and Edwin Greenhow (1936) in their book Literature and Life, James D. Hart (1948) in The Oxford Companion to American Literature, Frances Connolly (1955) in The Types of Literature, Jamil Jabair (1961) in American Literature in Different Ages, Elinor Chamberlain (1965) in O. Henry's American Scenes and Howard Mumford Jones and Richard M. Ludwig (1972) in their book Guide to American Literature and its Backgrounds since 1890 were so interested in stereotyping the American literature and showing the influence of its contents on the other cultures. They have not shown at all the interest of the aforementioned writers by the other cultures like the Arabian one. They tried their best to hail their culture forgetting to refer to the others' influence on them.
To go further to the history and background of the Arabian Nights and its origin, we may dig deep in history that takes us back round 1073 years back to know that "the first known reference to the nights is a ninth century fragment. It is next mentioned in 947 by al -Masudi in a discussion of legendary stories from Persia, India and Greece, as the Persian Hazar Afsanak, (A thousand tales) called by the people, thousand nights" (733). But the development of the Arabian Nights continued to reach 987 when According to what is said by Ibn an -Nadim and regarding Abu Abd Allah Ibn Abdus al -Jashyari who began collecting the Arabian Nights to make them reach 1,000 stories with popular Arabic , Persian , Greek and other tales. Unfortunately, he died in 942 and could not manage more than 480 stories. In this case the stories seemed to be uncompleted and thus needed someone to go through them first and to put fingers print to the completion of the same.
According to the contents of the Arabian nights, the encyclopaedia Americana has its own point of view when it looks at it as; "Arabian nights is a classic example of the frame story similar to the frame stories found in Chaucer and Boccaccio" (164). The framework of these tales is based on a ruse when the newly married Scheherazade tried to preserve her life by her skills as storyteller. The encyclopaedia Britannica has also its own attitude toward the scene of the Arabian nights by saying "its scene is central Asia or the Islands or peninsula of India and China" (733). King Shahryar kills his wife after discovering the fact that she is betraying him. After that he decides to kill those with whom she has betrayed him. Then loathing all the womankind, he marries and kills a new wife each day until no more candidates can be found. Scheherazade and Dunyazad are his vizier two daughters. Scheherazade, the elder daughter decides to marry the king and make it as a challenge. Scheherazade is so intelligent that she devised a scheme by which she may save herself and other women. She insists that her father marries her off and gives her to the king. Each evening she compose a story, leaving it incomplete and promising to finish it the following night. The contents of stories are so entertaining and making the king so eager to know the end that he makes him put off her execution from day to day and finally he decides to abandon his plan of execution.
Many of the stories are thought to be of Indian origin and to have undergone Persian translation and remoulding, both before and after the advent of the Islamic period in the Seventh century A. D. for the other stories, however, quite different times and places of origin are plausibly adduced -ancient Egypt, Babylonia, Greece, Arabia itself and north Africa, to name only a few. That is what the encyclopaedia Americana states about the origins of the Arabian nights: The stories are supposed to have been first written down comprehensively in Mamluk Egypt by about the 15 th century where their original linguistic form can be recognized through progressive collection they exhibit mainly Egyptian -Arabic elements and much of their social background belongs to Egypt rather than Baghdad of the 8 th and 9 th centuries, where they are so often circumstantially located. (164) But the truth about the characters of the Arabian Nights is derived from Persian culture while the frame of the stories a derived from Indian culture. The Arabic names, however, at the same time is represented in the Britannica: "the largest proportion of names is Arabic the tales variety and geographical range of origin -India, Persia, Iraq, Egypt, Turkey and possibly Greece" (733). The encyclopaedia of Islam tried to shed lights on the origin of the Arabian nights by asserting that: Like all Orientals the Arabs from the earliest time enjoyed imaginative stories, but since the intellectual horizon of the true Arabs in ancient times before the rise of Islam was rather narrow the material for these entertainments was borrowed mainly from elsewhere from Persia and from India. We know then that in the common form of the nights there are a Baghdad and Egyptian part. (361) All the references stated that the European translation of the nights, also the first published edition, was made by Antoine Galland. Let's have a look at the opinion of the encyclopaedia Britannica which provides us with enough information about the influence of the Arabian nights: Gallands main text was a four -volumes Syrian manuscripts, but the later volumes contain many stories from oral and other sources. His translation remained standard until the mid -19 th century, even being re-translated into Arabic the Arabic texts was first published at Calcutta. The source for most later translations, however, was the so-called vulgate text, an Egyptian recent published at Bulaq in Cairo 1835 and several times, versions, or editions of Galland had added stories from oral and manuscripts, sources, collected, with others, in the Breslau edition by Maximillian Habicht. Later translations followed the Bulaq text with raring fullness and accuracy, John Payne's little -known -full English translation used by sir Richard Burton for 'the thousand nights and a night' based on experience of the seamy side of eastern life. Burton's revision has become the most famous English translation. (733) The very fact that the American literatures, may be the modern one that's not deep rooted in history. As a matter of fact, the most references state that the American literature begins in 1607. As an example, Thrall and Hibbard in their book A Handbook to literature agree to put an outline of the American literary history beginning with the year 1607. This literary history has been divided into relatively arbitrary period and historical subdivisions within these periods are designated as ages. It gives a few historical facts and general statements about the characteristics of periods and ages. To give more information about the American literature, we have to mention something about short story, can enhance the idea. O. Henry is considered one of the notable short story writers. Moreover, it is the most widely read of all modern genres, and favoured by many distinguished writers of fiction. But as a form, it has been relatively neglected by literary historians and theorists. Good books about the novel are legion: books of any sort about the short story are very scary. The New Encyclopaedia Britannica gives us the definition of the short story and compares it to the novel. "The short story is a kind of prose fiction, usually more compact and intense than the novel and short novel (novelette). Prior to the 19 th century it was not generally regarded as a distinct literary form. In short, one can say that in current usage, short story, is generally applied to almost any kind of fictions prose narrative briefer than a novel" (147). According to its origin Ian Reid wants to clarify that it has no one specific founder by saying: Frankly speaking, it seems foolish to name one man as the founder of the short story or to credit one nation with its development. A form which comes to us from the ancient past and was known in both the orient and the accident, which drew its first breath from oral tradition and which has existed as a portion of much of man's literary expression in all ages can ultimately be said to have no origin more specific than the interest creative spirit of man satisfying his desire to tell and to hear stories. (9) Reid tried to clarify that the American writers like Hawthorne and Poe were the notable in writing short story. He adds the origin to the American literature.
In the nineteenth century a group of writers did cautiously formulate short story as an art form, notable among them being Hawthorne and Poe in America. This development flowered with such speed and force in America that the modern short story is often called an American art form, with only minor exaggeration. (Reid,9) In the early nineteenth century, under the impulse of Poe's persuasive statement in his 1842 review of Hawthorne's Twice -told -tales critics formulated a definite structure and technique for the short story. To this was added around the end of the century the tightly constructed surprise -ending -story of O. Henry, and the short story came to be thought of as corresponding to a 'formula' a pattern which is still repeated in endless retellings of its limited variations in the popular short story today. The 9 th century, the modern short story emerged almost simultaneously in Germany, United

States, France and Russia
In the United States, the short story, as in German, involved in two strains; on the one hand, there appeared the realistic story that sought objectively to deal with seemingly real places, events, or person. The regionalist stories of the second half of the 9 th century (including those by G.W. Cable, Bret Harte, Sarah Orne Jewett) are precisionist story. On the other hand, there developed the impressionist story, a tale shaped and given meaning by the consciousness and psychological attitudes of the narrator. Predicated upon this element of subjectivity, these stories seem less realistic in the outward sense of this sort are Poe's tales in which the hallucination of a central character or narrators in The Tell -Tale Heart (1843) and The Imp of the perverse (1845) the narrator of The Fall of the House of Usher (1839), so distorts and transforms what he sees that the reader cannot hope to look objectively at the scene. Looking through an intermediary's eyes the reader can see only the narrator's impressions of the scene.
The appeal of the short story continued to grow from early beginning of the 20 th century. Literally hundreds of writers -including, as it seems, nearly every major dramatist, poet, and novelist -published thousands of excellent stories. In the 20 th century Germany, France, Russia and United States lost what had once appeared to be their exclusive domination of the form. "although the popular writer of the century (like O. Henry in the U.S. and Paul Morand in France) many have continued to structure stories according to plot, the greater artists turned elsewhere for structure, frequently eliciting the response from cursory readers that nothing happens in these stories" (Britannica, 150-1).
William Sydney Porter was O. Henry's penname who was born in Greensboro in 1862 and died in New York in 1910. His schooling stopped at 15, but not his reading and eagerness to write. Thus his short stories entertained millions of readers, put the commercial short story on the literary map, and influenced generations of writers in the United States and abroad.
William Sydney Porter was son of a popular improvident and heavy drinking doctor who had learned medicine in a local drug -store. When his mother died in 1865, William and his brother were educated in a small private school run by Dr. Porter's sister. He left school at 15 to work in his uncle's drug -store, a job he found both humiliating and boring. Five years later he moved to a Texas ranch with Greensboro family; subsequently, he lived in Austin, Texas, where he married, became a popular teller in a local bank and purchased a weekly newspaper. Porter was unlucky. His wife's health was precarious, his child died in fancy, the newspaper he purchased failed. In 1894 he was accused of embezzling bank funds. Many of his friends believed that he was innocent, but he ran away to Honduras. He decided to return back home to see his wife who died in 1897. After that, Porter was committed to a federal penitentiary in Ohio. That place prepared to him the suitable atmosphere to write fiction in earnest. Following his release in 1901 -he received the maximum reduction of sentence for good behaviour. Porter made his popular for the hundreds of stories published under the pseudonym 'O. Henry' a name perhaps derived partly from one of the penitentiary guards. He attempted to bury his past, shunned publicity, and had no intimate friends. Three years before his death he married a boyhood sweetheart, but the marriage was a failure. A gentle alienated alcoholic, Porter died in New York City, his 'Baghdad -on -the -subway' which it was his favourite city.
The first of Porter's stories in a national magazine was published in 1898. The first book he published titled Cabbages and King in 1904 sheds lights on the fantastic characters against exotic Honduras background. After this he published thirteen collections the following are amongst them: The Four Million (1906). The Trimmed lamp (1907). Porter's works were best and what he thought were the best in that volume by saying "If I have succeeded in compiling a list which will whet the appetite for more, I have done my job. And all I can say is, do not be deceived by that word best. Go and read the lot" (10). Moreover, when Howard Mumford Jones and Richard M. Ludwig make their book Guide to American literature and its Background since 1890 they put O. Henry's work severing as a base line among the short story writers.

Turning to discuss O. Henry's A Madison Square Arabian
Night that first published in 1904 issue of the New York Sunday World. To have a look at the text from a formalist point of view and to discuss the text by breaking it into pieces, we can find so many different influences. The influences of the Arabian culture and customs specially after reading the Arabian folk tales in the series of stories told by Scheherazade. Looking at what the formalist literary theory asserts that: In this story, O. Henry tries to use all the preparations that can make him be in Baghdad. The time is night, the servant enters carrying the meal. The using of the lamps and candles in the night. The table contains some candles on it. O. Henry wants to connect the atmosphere in Baghdad and bring it to New York so as to prepare the suitable atmosphere for the Arabian Nights. The author seems to be dreaming of Baghdad as he wants to sleep on feathers exactly like what the people of Baghdad do as one of their traditions. He does not want that to be a dream. He wishes to wake up in the morning finding himself in Baghdad. He farewells the caliph (Chalmers) since he wants to sleep rapidly so as to be in Baghdad as soon as possible the following morning. It is in his words when the hero imagines to be in Baghdad to become like the Caliph. His character words are so clear: "Thanks, and for the very good dinner I shall sleep on feathers tonight and dream of Baghdad. I hope it won't turn out to be a dream in the morning. Farewell most excellent caliph" (Hansen,171).
Most of his characters whom being used in this short story are derived from thousand Nights and a Night. The names used are Arabian or Persian like, Haroun Al-Rashid and Scheherazade. Plumer (the guest) is the man invited by Chalmers (the host) to the dinner. He puts himself in Scheherazade's shoe and compares Chalmers to the Caliph (Al-Rashid). O. Henry, here, used the Arabian characters to refer to originality and generosity. The comparison between oriental and western names is very clear in this story, since O. Henry tries to transfer us to a clear scene between Plumer and Chalmers who are westerns and compares them to Haroun Al-Rashid and Scheherazade who are Orientals. In this comparison O. Henry paves the way to his readers that the two cultures are totally different in the sense that the Caliph practices his authority to manipulate others for his enjoyment. It is in his interest when he tries to enjoy himself after practicing his authority. The case is obvious and it gives the impression that O. Henry is influenced by the Oriental characters. Thus it is clear in his statement: "You are the first Caliph with a genuine Orientals flavour I've struck since frost" (Hansen,168). We have another comparison between the characters used by O. Henry in this short story. Philips, the servant, is compared to a "well -oiled -genie " (Hansen,167). He serves his master in a very proper way and he brings him dinner, lights the pink candles, then he is going to fetch him one of the homeless men from the street. He does these things with complete obedience just like the "slave of the lamp" (167).
In short, Plumer tells Chalmers his real name and identity. Moreover, he tells him his true story. The story of his life that was turned into ruins because he is a frank man. He is unable to hide the fact and in that conduct the calamities are piled. To tell the truth is a very intolerable matter and you need to suffer as to earn you living. Thus the comparison again is shown in the sense that the two cultures; Eastern and Western are clashed as Plumer represents an example of the American society i.e when someone tells the truth or being pure he is going be like Plumer (beggar and homeless). Plumer can tell anybody his real features inside him just when portraying him. Such a man is going to be neglected and hated. O. Henry specifies it in America, when this man tries more than once to portray some people, they neglect and hate him too much since he represents the pure man i.e. he reflects the inner feelings in the person whom he wants to portray.
The influence is not restricted to the idea of this short story, but it is very clear just when reading the title of some of his short stories like, The Caliph Cupid and the Clock, The Trimmed Lamp, A Madison Square Arabian Night and in his work Bird of Baghdad. We can vividly see the comparison between Baghdad and New York just when reading the title of the short story "A Madison Square Arabian Night". Madison square is a famous square in New York while Arabian night refers to Baghdad at al-Rashid age. The square is the place where the apartment of Carison Chalmers, the Caliph, is near to. O. Henry tries giving a picture about life in New York through one of his characters named Chalmers. Chalmers asked hid servant, Philip, about the reason behind making many men standing in rows near the square. The servant replies that they were homeless. The author wants to show us the conditions in which there are many people in America who are homeless. Then he admits the generosity of the Arabs by making Chalmer's behaviour like an Arabian figure called Al-Rashid and inviting one of them to his meal. O. Henry intends to say that it is a very strange behaviour to such people by making the servant stammering when hearing his master saying that: "it was an unusual thing for Carson Chalmers to play the role of the Caliph. But on that night he felt the inefficacy of conversational antidotes to melancholy. Something wanton and egregious, something high flavoured and Arabian, he must have to lighten his mood" (Hansen,169). Praising the Arabian entertainment is very clear in his abstract said by O. Henry in his short story. He wants to pass a message delineating that such Arabian thing must lighten his mood. O. Henry turns to the comparison between Baghdad and New York. He said: "New York is as full of cheap Haroun Al-Rashid as Baghdad of fleas" (169). This is a reference to Baghdad during the period of fleas when he compares the high number of fleas during the period of plague in Baghdad to the high number of cheap people in New York. In New York they are interested in return and stories are examples can be compared to the Caliph who used to listen to his wife stories before giving order to kill her. They will not give you anything as charity. So you have to pay for getting something. "I've been held up for my story with a loaded meal pointed at my head twenty times. Catch anybody in New York giving you something for nothing! They spell curiosity and charity with the same set of building blocks" (Hansen,169). O. Henry gives us an example when he mentions: "Oh, I know what to do when I see victuals coming toward me in title old Baghdad on-subway, I strike the asphalt three times with my forehead and get ready to spiel yarns for my supper" (169). Here, he refers to New York by 'little old Baghdad' and he says that when he once wants to have his supper and see the victuals coming toward him he strikes the asphalt three times with his forehead to remember just a short story or a long speech for his supper. Since they will not give him anything for nothing. This example teaches us that you won't get anything from anybody in New York unless you pay.

CONCLUSION
Despite the American literature being modern and especially O. Henry, the stories told by O. Henry are the magic key to their own brand of Arabian nights. On one hand, the study may pass a message stating that O. Henry is considered to be a big voice that transfers the meaning of Arabian nights to the West. And it can conclude that O. Henry is the ambassador of the Arabian nights for America on the other hand. In this respect there are characters those refer to Baghdad respected by Al-Rashid and Scheherazade and others those refer to New York which are represented by Chalmers and Plumers. We come to conclude that O. Henry refers to the American society as divided into two classes; the middle and low class but the low class are the majority of the people whom derived from the lack of confidence in each other to create out of people as poor, homeless and beggars. This is asserts in the idea that "O. Henry has no interest in the character or the motives of the caregiver... He is simply another city do-gooder who serves as a bit of background local colour in the story of a rich man's relationship with one of the homeless" (Riggio, 25). Plumers is a rich man that his frankness and reality turn him into a poor and homeless. He is a frank and saying the truth; the two virtues that lead to make him lose his job. Moreover, he wants to tell us that the American society is full of homeless people while there are too many rich people there. O. Henry tries to satire the American bad habits and behaviours toward poor people. It is very clear that O. Henry was interested in Baghdad and he washed that the American people become like people in Baghdad of his time. His admiration to Baghdad is very clear when he ends his story with hope of being in Baghdad after waking up from his sleep. The influence is very clear when he remembers Baghdad just when he sleeps on the feathers and eating a very delicious meal. That is a good reference to Baghdad's high entertainments.