Week 7: Buck's Ramayana (pp. 325-432)

Assignments - Reading Guide A - Reading Guide B - Ramayana Resources

Character

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 If you are doing the traditional analytical essay, you may quote a key phrase or a few words from the text, but do NOT quote anything longer than a few words.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:

Malyavan:
Traditional Essay Option: Buck is obviously interested in the character of Malyavan, and has brought him forward both in this reading and also in the Reading B you did last week. What do you think is the significance of this character? Why does Buck devote so much careful attention to him? Try to come up with several different reasons. Is Malyavan an effective or memorable character for you.
or
Creative Writing + Analysis Option: Buck does not explain exactly how it is that Malyavan knows that he must to go Trikuta Hill to meet Śiva. How does Malyavan know that this is where he must go? What does he expect to find there? Describe the thoughts in Malyavan's mind as he realizes that he must go to Trikuta, and what he imagines will happen to him there. After you tell your story, don't forget to include some analysis of Malyavan's character and why you think Buck puts such an emphasis on him at this point in the story.

Vibhishana and Hanuman.
Traditional Essay Option: Vibhishana and Hanuman are closely allied characters. What do they have in common? What are the major differences between them? Please make sure you think about their differences as well as their similarities! Think about their family backgrounds, their social roles, their relation to Rama, their talents and their personalities. What significance does the relationship between these two characters have for the plot of the epic as a whole?
or
Creative Writing + Analysis Option: It was probably not an easy or obvious decision for Vibhishana to share the secret treasures of Lanka with Hanuman. Write an interior monologue where Vibhishana weighs in his mind the reasons for and against sharing this treasure with Hanuman. What might his fears and anxieties be? And what are his hopes? After you write your monologue, don't forget to include some analysis of Vibishana's character and why his relationship to Hanuman is such an important part of his identity in the epic.

Ravana
Traditional Essay Option: Although Buck does not spend as much time on the battle between Ravana and Rama as Narayan did, he does present a picture of Ravana's activities before going into battle, especially the confrontation with Kala (Time) and the dance under the stars. How does these two events fit into your understanding of Ravana's character? How does your basic understanding of Ravana's character presented here by Buck compare with the understanding you had of Ravana after you complete Narayan's version?
or
Creative Writing + Analysis Option: You know from a previous episode in Ravana's life that in addition to being a dancer, he was also a singer. Imagine what song Ravana would have sung as he danced under the stars before his final battle with Rama. After you write out the words of the song, don't forget to include some analysis of what aspects of Ravana's character are revealed here.

Rama:
Traditional Essay Option: You have seen Rama kill Ravana in this section, and how he is reunited with Sita. What aspects of Rama's character came through to you most strongly as you read this section? How does it compare with the impression you had of Rama's character when you read Narayan's version of these events? How would you say your estimation of Rama's character has changed over the past few weeks of reading?
or
Creative Writing + Analysis Option: After reading Ravana's letter, Buck says: "Rama sighed and smiled. He broke the letter and threw it away. He said quietly, ' Go, go, I do not care what all this means.'" . What are the thoughts that are going through Rama's mind as he reads this letter? Why does he sigh? Why does he laugh? Why throw the letter away? Provide the inner thoughts of Rama as he reads the letter before he speaks and says that he "does not care what all this means." After you tell your story, don't forget to include some analysis of how this episode shows you something about Buck saw Rama's character, given that this is an episode that Buck has added to the story.

Sita:
Traditional Essay Option: Buck presents the reunion of Sita and Rama quite differently than in Narayan's version. How would you compare the presentation of this scene here in Buck with the version you read in Narayan? Do these different presentations of this scene change the way that you think about Sita's character? Overall, do you have the same impression of Sita's character after having read Buck as you had from Narayan's version? Or does SIta seem somehow different in Buck's representation of her?
or
Creative Writing + Analysis Option: Buck explains that Vibhishana brings Sita into the assembly. What are Sita's thoughts as she approaches Rama? Her hopes? Fears? What is most on her mind about the future? What are the events from the past that might crowd into her thoughts? After you tell your story, don't forget to include some analysis of how this episode reveals something of SIta's character.

 

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