Week 6: Buck's Ramayana (pp. 219-324)Assignments - Reading Guide A - Reading Guide B - Ramayana Resources |
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Your assignment is to write a Character Essay about one of the characters listed at the bottom of this page. If you want to write on a different character, contact me first (make sure you do that at least one day before the deadline so that you can receive an answer back in time). Each week you can take one of two approaches to writing your Character Essay:
Quotations. If you are doing the traditional analytical essay, you may quote a key phrase or a few words from the text, but do NOT quote anything longer than a few words. The words of the essay should contain your thoughts and ideas, not quotes from the book.
Title. You need to include the words "Character Essay for Week ___" in the title you give to the post, along with a title for your actual story (for example, "Character Essay for Week 2: Rama, My Hero")
Length. Your Storytelling post needs to be a minimum of 300 words long (maximum 1000 words). Make sure you do a spellcheck and a word count, and that you proofread your post by reading it out loud.
Image. You are required to include at least one image with the story, along with a link to the webpage where you found the image, plus information about the image. You are free to re-use the images you find at the course website, or you can choose some other image to use that you find on the internet. Remember: even if you are re-using an image from the course website, you need to provide image information about it.
When you are done, complete the Gradebook Declaration.
PLEASE READ CAREFULLY: I have published a blog post with the words "Character Essay for Week ___" in the title, along with a specific title for my essay. My post is between 300 words minimum and 1000 words maximum. I have spellchecked and proofread the post. I have included an image, along with Image Information. |
LIST OF CHARACTERS FOR THIS WEEK:
Hanuman:
Traditional Essay Option: Obviously the central character in the reading for this section is Hanuman. Hanuman is a character you already know well by now, but what are the specific incidents in this reading selection that captured your attention and/or surprised you the most about his character? What new aspects of his character emerged that you had not fully appreciated before? What specifically do you think Buck is emphasizing in the way that he narrates Hanuman's visit to Lanka? What do you think are the strong points of Buck's narrative? Weak points?
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Creative Writing + Analysis Option: Focus on Hanuman's experience being a cat, since this is a new form for him to take on. You know already that Hanuman can change his size, but what does it mean to him to change into a cat. Write the inner thoughts of Hanuman in the form of a cat: what does he think? how does his being a cat affect his character? what does the world of Lanka look like through the eyes of this cat? Work with the physical details provided by Buck, and supply the inner monologue to go with it. After you tell your story, don't forget to include some analysis of Hanuman's specifically monkey characteristics and how you think his monkey character is, or is not, changed when he takes on the form of a cat.Mainaka:
Traditional Essay Option: Although Mainaka is not a major character in the plot of the story, it is certainly unusual to have a "mountain" who is a character in the story. What kind of opportunity does this give to the storyteller? What are the cultural consequences of telling this kind of story about a mountain and making the mountain into an actual speaking and acting character in the story? Think about the physical details and what you imagine in your mind as you read this story: what kind of mountain do you see? what are the wings like? what is it like when a mountain talks? How would you describe Mainaka's personality? How does Mainaka compare to other characters you have met in the Ramayana and why is Mainaka a good character to introduce at exactly this moment in the story? And, just out of curiosity, can you think of any other stories in which a mountain is an active, speaking character in the story?
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Creative Writing + Analysis Option: Retell the story of Mainaka as an aetiological story that focuses on explaining where the clouds in the sky come from, using the question "Where do the clouds comes from?" as a way to tell the whole story of Indra, Mainaka, and Hanuman. You will need to imagine the storytelling scene, who the storyteller is, and who prompts the story by asking this question about the clouds. After you tell your story, don't forget to include some analysis of how Mainaka fits into the overall cast of characters in the Ramayana, and why the story of Mainaka is a good story to include at this point in the plot of the Ramayana.Indrajit:
Traditional Essay Option: You might remember from the beginning of Buck's book that he is very taken with the character of Indrajit. What did you learn about Indrajit from this week's reading? What kind of character is he? How can you fit Indrajit into the other cast of characters that you see surrounding Ravana at Lanka? What are Indrajit's goals and motivations? What are his values? What kind of role do you expect Indrajit to play in the coming battle, based on what you have seen of his in this episode of the story?
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Creative Writing + Analysis Option: Imagine that Indrajit and his father Ravana are having a conversation in the smoking ruins of Lanka after Hanuman has escaped. What would they say to each other? What would Indrajit want to reveal to his father? What might he prefer to keep secret? How do you think Ravana regards Indrajit after the events connected with Hanuman's visit to Lanka? After you tell your story, don't forget to include some analysis of Indrajit's character and how he compares/contrasts with his father Ravana.Ravana
Traditional Essay Option: In this episode you get to see Ravana's persistence in his efforts to win over Sita. What do you think sustains this obsession? What does Ravana see when he looks at Sita? Why is it so important for him to win her over? What gives him the impulse to go out there each morning first thing and speak to her!? What clues do you get from the specific things that Ravana says to Sita? What strategies is he relying on to win her over? And what exactly is it that causes him to lose his temper? When you see Ravana going to Sita in the morning to woo her, does this change your basic assessment of his character, or does it fit perfectly into the way you imagine Ravana's personality and his motivations?
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Creative Writing + Analysis Option: This is kind of a scary option, but I would like you to imagine what Ravana is dreaming as he lies there asleep. Provide a detailed account of his dream: what he seems, hears, feels as he is sleeping. Is this the same dream he has every night? An unusual dream? If you want, you can also describe his feelings immediately on waking up, as he thinks to the dream and tries to understand its meaning (or dismiss its meaning, as the case may be). After you tell your story, don't forget to include some analysis of Ravana's character and how you used his specific character traits to create your idea of his dream.
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Modern Languages MLLL-4993. Indian Epics. Laura Gibbs, Ph.D. The textual material made available at this website is licensed under a Creative Commons License. You must give the original author credit. You may not use this work for commercial purposes. If you alter, transform, or build upon this work, you may distribute the resulting work only under a license identical to this one. No claims are made regarding the status of images used at this website; if you own the copyright privileges to any of these images and believe your copyright privileges have been violated, please contact the webmaster. Page last updated: January 15, 2005 1:35 AM |