Week 6: Reading Diary A

Hanuman’s Jump:

·       I’m not quite sure how I feel about the portrayal of Sampati in this story. At first, it seemed like he was still able the fly. The author even described his “flying shadow” and said that Sampati swooped down. Then he went on to act like Sampati couldn’t fly because his wings were burnt. It just seemed a little inconsistent. I also prefer to think of Sampati and Jatayu as eagles instead of vultures, but I think that I already mentioned that in a previous reading diary.

·       The imagery provided about Hanuman’s jump was great! Even before I saw the picture, I could imagine how Hanuman looked as he prepared for the jump.

·       The description of Lanka also confused me. It seems like she’s both a city and a character, which didn’t make a lot of since to me. She must be some kind of animate creature since she had the ability to kick Hanuman and be punched between the eyes.

·       Every aspect of Lanka, as a city, is described in such great detail! This version of the Ramayana is definitely more focused on providing imagery than the last version was.

·       While all of the added details can certainly help to tailor the reader’s interpretation of the story, sometimes the numerous descriptions distract me from the actual story.

Here I Am:

·       It seems kind of funny that Ravana tries to act nice to Sita even though he’s keeping her prisoner and allowing the Rakshasis to torment her.

·       I don’t really understand why Sita refused to try to escape with Hanuman. It seemed like she was kind of challenging Rama to come and rescue her, as if she didn’t believe that he cared about her. She should have trusted the fact that he sent Hanuman to search for her as proof that he still loved her.

·       While the Rakshasa probably deserved everything that Hanuman did to them, it was not the wisest decision for him to go back and try to destroy Lanka.

The New Moon:

·       I thought that it was funny how Ravana’s punishment for Hanuman resulted in even greater destruction of Lanka.

·       Rama made an unfailing promise to kill Ravana. What a suspenseful note to end the Book of Beauty on!