Analysis of Narrative Elements and Adaptation of Saadi’s Gulistan Tales in Children's and Adolescent Literature

Abstract

Saadi’s Gulistan is one of the classical Persian texts that has attracted the attention of adaptors and rewriters due to its profound educational and cultural content and its eloquent language. Rewriters and adaptors must select appropriate themes from the numerous stories in classical texts for their target age groups. This study, employing a descriptive-analytical method and utilizing library research tools for data collection, examines the narrative elements in the rewritten version of the story "The Recovery of a King from a Dreadful Disease"—Tale 22 in the first chapter of Gulistan—adapted for children and compares these adaptations with the original text. The findings indicate that, while the overall framework of the work has remained largely unchanged, the plot of the rewritten versions has been expanded compared to the original text. Techniques such as increased descriptions of the characters' actions and appearances, expanded dialogues, and, in some instances, the use of internal monologues have been employed to make the story more engaging. The tone of the dialogues has shifted from literary and poetic to a simpler style that aligns more closely with the characters. The authors have not introduced creative names for the characters and have instead used the generic names found in the original text. The language of the rewritten text is simple and formal; however, the presence of difficult words, long sentences, incorrect omissions, and excessive use of the conjunction "and" between sentences has at times compromised the fluency and readability of the text. Although the rewriter has achieved some success in adapting the work, it is necessary for future adaptations to more closely align with Saadi’s artistic subtleties and literary techniques.