Reading Part B: Sinbad's Fifth Voyage

Sinbad's Fifth Voyage

For this reading I chose to read Sinbad’s Fifth Voyage.  I really enjoyed this short story because it was kind of reminiscent of the first story that I read. This story is about how Sinbad and his crew of pirates came upon giant bird eggs and then proceed to get attacked by the birds. Of course, Sinbad gets into another wreck at sea but when he makes it to the island he comes across a strange old man.  The old man seems friendly at first but then decides to jump on him and not let go.  This leaves for a very amusing read to the end of the story for sure.

I felt that the plot was too similar to Sinbad: First Voyage.  The reason I say this is because toward the end of both stories Sinbad is on a ship that gets wrecked and he has to cling to driftwood to survive.  When I read the part where it say that he came upon an island and used the roots to hoist himself over the cliffs edge I had to go back and make sure that I was reading a different story form the first one I wrote about. Now I have only read two Sinbad stories but if I were to guess, I would assume that in some of the other stories, he ends up shipwrecked.  I feel that the creator of this myth didn’t have to have Sinbad always getting shipwrecked. Why could he and some of his pirates survive the attack on the ship and down the enemy? There are a few pluses to this story like how giant birds attacked Sinbad and his friends, or the fact an old man fights with Sinbad.  Both of these narratives that are added sure do make the story more enjoyable to read.  I would have to say the most fascinating part was when I read about how limber and quick the old man moved when he jumped on Sinbad.  It definitely made me want to continue reading more and more of his adventures.  I feel that all of Sinbad’s adventures are entertaining and that the audience is kids to young adult with the way everything is told.

Sinbad and the Roc. (1958)

Columbia Pictures. Source:Wikicommons

Bibliography: Gibbs, Laura. Sinbad's Fifth Voyage. Sinbad's Fifth Voyage