Social hierarchy is a civilization's categorization of people into degrees of political power and social influence based on factors such as occupation, wealth and social prestige (Oxford). The Arabian Nights: The Arabian Nights is famous for its series of tales narrated primarily by Scheherazade, whose insufferable husband, King Shahryar, married and executed women every night in hopes of gaining the honor he once had lost when his main wife had cheated on him. . Arabian Night's plot about King Shahryar's pursuit of honor is so significant because of the notation throughout the story that states that social hierarchy is established by one's social prestige; so with the king's actions in recovering his identity and honor by executing women, he would naturally gain a more significant hierarchy within his society. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Honor is essential to the characters in these series of stories because it is the most priceless recognition of the achievement of their morals and prestige. Since hierarchy was an essential cultural aspect in the story and honor was necessary to achieve hierarchy, the only normal and natural way for the characters in this story to achieve social hierarchy is through honor; which allows characters to conduct life-threatening actions and choices in order to obtain a prestigious social hierarchy. King Shahryar's quest for a social hierarchy guided by the influence of honor motivates him to make immoral decisions. Of course, King Shahryar makes decisions with little to no regard for traditional “right” and “wrong” standards of behavior. Shahryar is clearly the highest in the hierarchy due to his prestige and honor of being a king and ruler of his civilization. However, an additional way King Shahryar gains hierarchy and authority over others is through his actions through marrying and murdering countless women. When King Shahryar finds out that his wife is cheating on him, he says in disgust: "How could he do this deed on my part? How could he bring about his own death?" As this quote reveals, King Shahryar is not displeased because of his wife's immoral act of betrayal, but more offended by her dishonor to his name. When King Shahryar catches his wife with another man, he shows no sign of remorse. Instead, he quickly claims that she "had just arranged his death." This is because when King Shahryar's wife cheats on him, Shahryer loses some masculine traits such as assertiveness, strength and power. When the king's masculinity is put in jeopardy, he loses his identity because his prestige is the only thing that defines him. Faced with the threat of losing his masculine personality, he carries out his plan to marry a woman every night and kill her the next morning because he is undoubtedly unsure of his identity and is willing to break his morals to win her back; “He also swore with a binding oath that whichever wife he married, he would cut off her virginity at night and kill her the next morning to ensure his honor; (16). Killing thousands of women gives him a sense of honor, because by asserting his honor; he becomes a representative figure of strength and authority thus making him a representative figure of hierarchy over women. These actions to gain hierarchy are only conducted in a time when the king's identity was in danger, hence the perpetrators and the translator of The Arabian Nights: The Arabian Nights illustrate that the actions taken by King Shahryar to defend the.