Week 5: Reading Diary B

The Golden Deer:

·       This is kind of unrelated to the actual story, but I think that it’s weird how so many of the characters’ names are spelled differently between these two versions of The Ramayana.

·       It’s funny that Ravana considers Rama’s obedience to his father to be a weakness when everybody else considers his noble ways to be one of his greatest strengths.

·       I prefer to think of Jatayu as an eagle instead of a vulture. Eagles just seem like more majestic animals.

Hanuman:

·       I liked the addition of Indra’s support while Sita was in captivity.

·       The curse that was placed on Ravana by Nalakubara also explains why Ravana didn’t rape Sita, which definitely seemed like something that he’d consider.

·       The story about Hanuman definitely helped to develop his character and provide a greater understanding of his strength.

·       In the previous story, it seemed like only Vali was cursed to die if he returned to the woods, but this version says that all monkeys were banished and cursed. I wonder why Sugriva and Hanuman were able to return to Matanga’s Wood? Perhaps it was because they had renounced Vali.

·       Vali’s final words were definitely better in the last version, but he also wasn’t made out to be quite as evil of a character in this one.

The Search:

·       Once again, it was good to see that Sugriva was more than happy to help Rama.

·       Despite his forgetfulness, he’s definitely a valuable ally with his knowledge of all areas of the world and the size of his armies.

·       This version gave a lot more detail about all of the different parts of the world. The imagery was great.

• I don’t understand why the monkeys and bears resolved to die. I’m sure that they must have been disappointed after failing to complete their mission in the allotted time, but they still could have continued trying to find Sita.