A good friend is someone who is able to move from being selfish to selfless and, through this, prioritize the needs of others before their own. Seen in The Tale of Sindbad the Sailor, Sindbad the Sailor feels he owes Sindbad the Porter the share of the stories of his travels, to teach the Porter the right and wrong actions he has learned from his adventures. Sindbad the sailor sees that during his many travels, not all of his acts were selfless, so he feels the need to share his stories with Sindbad the porter. Similarly seen in “Abdallah the Fisherman” and “Abdallah the Merman,” Abdallah the Fisherman feels that in order to be fair to the baker who helped him in a time of need, he must return the favor and share the gifts of the sea with him . This is an example of altruism shown through the embrace of equality. An individual's ability to notice that when someone does something to help them, the least that person deserves is to receive the same treatment. The reason for the eye for an eye is seen in this constant sense of altruism in equality which is seen both in Abdallah the fisherman's need to share with the baker, and in the need to feel equal in the friendship with Abdallah the merman in the fact that he was even willing to go and see how he lives underwater. Selfishness that transforms into altruism is constantly seen in both stories compared, and therefore it can be said that friendship is seen and grows through equality and altruism between individuals. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Through The Story of Sindbad the Sailor, the reader is exposed to the test of friendship through equality and gratitude that transforms selfishness into altruism. Right at the beginning of The Story of Sindbad the Sailor, when Sindbad the Doorman meets Sindbad the Sailor, it is evident that the two are in different places in their lives. Sindbad the Sailor immediately sees that by forming a friendship with the Keeper, he will be able to share his wealth and stories with him to help the Keeper but also to become a selfless person. Sindbad the Keeper feels embarrassed when he is surrounded by all the wealth accumulated by the Mariner. Just at the moment in which the Doorman mentions his discomfort, the Sailor states: "Do not be ashamed, because you have become a brother to me..." (The Arabian Nights, 305). By calling the Keeper a brother, the Sailor acknowledges that he will work to help him grow and help him through advice and thus be a selfless friend; without expecting anything in return. Preface to the part of his travels with "Porter, my story is amazing, and I will tell you all that happened to me before I reached this prosperity and came to sit in this place, where you now see me, because I have not reached this good fortune and this place saved after hard toil, great difficulties and many dangers…” (The Arabian Nights, 305), the sailor is telling the doorman who was once in his place that he had to face many difficulties and individual growth to obtain the wealth he possesses, almost justifying his accumulation. The friendship pattern begins through Sindbad the Sailor realizing that he can actually help Sindbad the Porter become grateful for the life he has and realizing that he has had to go through many. problems and risks to get to the place where the Porter sees him. Since the basis of the friendship between the Sailor and the Porter is to grow altruistic, the Sailor takes the opportunity to help the Porter (not use him) to become altruistic. Common ground is established when, at the beginning of the story of his first voyage, the Sailorhe tells the Porter that before embarking on the journey he had nothing; all his previous wealth was lost after he lost his father and wasted all his money. This is an example of how he tries to empathize with the Keeper and show him that if he really wanted to, he could go from having nothing, to the wealth the Sailor has to the point of sharing stories. From the analysis of the Sailor's personal growth during the voyages it can be deduced that during his travels he began to go through a cyclical pattern of greed, thinking of himself and his own good before the general good of others, making him a selfish person. Once, during the seventh journey, he realizes that he is doing things to improve his own life, without considering the fact that others are hurt by his actions, he states: "They flew down and, throwing me onto a high mountain, they went." , feeling very angry with me and left me alone. I blamed myself for what I had done and said to myself, 'There is no power or strength except in God the Almighty, the Magnificent. Every time I flee from a calamity, I fall into a worse one” (Arabian Nights, 347). It is then that he realizes that the journeys he undertook were for his own good and from that moment he understands that it is better to be content with what you have and help others realize this, rather than constantly striving to become richer and richer. . By becoming friends with Sindbad the porter, Sindbad the sailor is able to achieve altruism by realizing that his past selfishness was toxic and did not allow him to grow by helping others. Throughout the story of "Abdallah the Fisherman and Abdallah the Merman", friendship based on equality is an important theme, addressed in many ways, in the sense that Abdallah of the Earth feels the need to show gratitude both to Abdallah of the Sea , and the baker, as both men helped him in times of need. The baker's acceptance of the agreement that Abdallah the Fisherman would repay him for the food he gave him "when he could" (Abdallah the Fisherman and Abdallah the Merman, 663) means that he trusts Abdallah of the land, being the trust an integral aspect of friendship in this story. Trust is a social value that makes friends understand that they depend on each other and that the things they do for each other are appreciated and they are therefore obligated not to hurt each other. This trust pays off for the baker as when introduced to Abdallah of the Sea, Abdallah of the Land shares the gifts of the sea with the baker, giving the baker access to things he did not have access to prior to his friendship with Abdallah of the Land. Abdallah of the Sea and Abdallah of the Land use religion to increase mutual trust. Shortly after having agreed on the exchange of the gifts of the land with the gifts of the sea, "they recited the first chapter of the Koran as a sign of their agreement [...]" (Abdallah the Fisherman and Abdallah the Triton, 664); use religion to secure agreement. This is an example of friendship through trust because they are confirming that they will be there for each other and will definitely help each other, as they involve God in their agreement. Abdallah the Fisherman continues to travel to the Triton and after a year asks for permission for a religious pilgrimage. In order for the Triton to grant him this permission, he asks him to demonstrate his devotion to this friendship through an act that Abdallah the Fisherman risked his life. The Triton says to the Fisherman: “I have a deposit to give you; so come with me to my city and my house and be entertained…” (Abdallah the Fisherman and Abdallah the Merman, 686), asking the Fisherman to join him under the water; an environment in which humans cannot survive. Allowing the Triton to cover it in the fat of a.