Epics of India Blog

Quick Notes: The danger of a single story by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichi ( source ) -wrote stories very similar to the British stories she read--> impressionable children -shift after reading new books--> stories aren't just one story you can't relate to but sound like other stories -people have a "single story" towards things they don't know much about -be sure not to show a group as one thing all the time, sticking with what everyone else defines them as - some people read a story and it makes an unrealistic and single line of thinking, making an incomplete story of a topic Imaginary friends and real-world consequences by Jennifer Barnes ( source ) -How long have people invested in fictional stories? -What effect does fictional characters have on us? -Why do we feel so connected to fictional characters--> parasocial relationships -it feels like we feel true connections with celebrities or fictional characters -parasocial relationships can provi...

Over this whole portion of reading, I saw a lot of beautiful imagery through the many fight scenes. In the first portion, we see Ravana's brother Vibhishan side with Rama's forces. Rama learns from the King of the Ocean how to build a bridge to Lanka. Through the course of the battle that ensues, the demons and Rama's army fight many times. Its seems that the demons have an advantage with their arrows that are guided by magic, which is very interesting. In the course his quests, Rama has had quite a bit of difficult when confronted with demons because of this magic. Initially, Rama's armies are wiped out by Indrajit, one of Ravana's sons. But a helpful man named Garuda swoops in (literally) to heal the armies. The tide switches when the demons wake up their biggest demon brother Kumbhakarna. The demons thought their brother should help them win if anything but because of his size. But Rama meets him head on and slays Kumbhakarna. Thenn, yet again, Rama's arm...

The stories in the Part C reading of the Ramayana continued to show the heroics of Rama, and how he made acquaintances with some new characters to help get Sita back from Ravana. In the story of Sugriva and Hanuman, Rama seeks refuge from his exile and inadvertently meets a man in the same situation as him. Sugriva was run out of his own kingdom by his prideful brother who also took his wife as well. Rama saw the injustice in the details of this story, and sought to right the situation by helping Sugriva win back his kingdom and wife. Vali, Sugriva's brother, is very angry at the challange, and not heeding the wise words of his wife Tara, charged quickly into battle. In a strange twist where Rama shoots Vali in the back, Vali was defeated and Sugriva was returned to the throne. Sugriva then agrees to return the favor by helping Rama. He sets up search parties to find Sita, and they are lead by the brother of Jatayu, Sampati, in the right direction towards Ravana's island king...