Week 10: Narayan's Mahabharata (pp. 83-179)

Assignments - Reading Guide A - Reading Guide B - Mahabharata 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 If you are doing the traditional analytical essay, you may quote a key phrase or a few words from the text, but do NOT quote anything longer than a few words.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:

Draupadi
Traditional Essay Option: Write an essay comparing the character of Draupadi to the character of Sita from the Ramayana. What is similar about their situations? and what is different? Do they have any character traits in common? What do you see as the most important differences between them?
or
Creative Writing + Analysis Option: One of the scenes that Narayan describes only in passive is how, after Kichaka's death, the crowd was prepared to burn Draupadi on Kichaka's funeral pyre, when she is rescued by Bhima. Imagine this rescue scene from Draupadi's point of view: what is she thinking and feeling as all of this is happening? Describe the scene in detail, and imagine just how it could have happened that Bhima was able to rescue her. After you tell your story, don't forget to include some analysis of Draupadi's character and the character traits that you tried to emphasize the most in your account of this incident.

Yudhishthira:
Traditional Essay Option: Write an essay comparing the character of Yudhishthira to the character of Rama from the Ramayana. What is similar about their situations? and what is different? Do they have any character traits in common? What do you see as the most important differences between them?
or
Creative Writing + Analysis Option: Draupadi comes to King Virata to denounce Kichaka, but Virata ignores her. Yudhishthira also does not say anything - Narayan says only "he felt shocked, and checked himself" (p. 97). What went through Yudhishthira's mind at that moment? What are his thoughts? His feelings? After you tell your story, don't forget to include some analysis of Yudhishthira's character. How does his inability to respond in this situation fit into a larger pattern of Yudhishthira's role in this epic?

Dhritarashtra
Traditional Essay Option: Write an essay comparing the character of Dhritarashtra to the character of Daśaratha from the Ramayana. What is similar about their situations? and what is different? Do they have any character traits in common? What do you see as the most important differences between them?
or
Creative Writing + Analysis Option: You have seen that Dhritarashtra wants to hear Gandhari's opinion about the upcoming war with the Pandavas, but at the same time he does not follow her advice. Imagine a private conversation between the two of them far away from anyone else. What would Dhritarashtra and Gandhari have to say to one another in total privacy? And then imagine that Duryodhana stumbles upon the two of them: how would the discussion continue in Duryodhana's presence? After you tell your story, don't forget to include some analysis of Dhritarashtra's character. What are the different personality traits that you tried to emphasize as you imagine this conversation with Gandhari and with Duryodhana.

Arjuna
Traditional Essay Option: Arjuna is the Pandava brother who has the most independent adventures of his own. Take a look at the different situations where you have seen Arjuna acting separately from the other brothers. What are the characteristics of Arjuna that are emphasized in these situations? What are his distinguishing features? What are the features that make Arjuna different from Yudhishthira, for example? What makes him different from his brother Bhima?
or
Creative Writing + Analysis Option: Remember that Arjuna must continue to be in disguise as a eunuch living with the women of the household for a brief time after he returns from the cattle raid. Describe how Brihannala tells the women about the cattle raid. What version of the story will Brihannala tell to the women? How will he describe his exploits and the exploits of Prince Uttara in the battle: After you tell your story, don't forget to include some analysis of Arjuna's character: why is it so important to see the greatest warrior of his age disguised as a eunuch dancing teacher among this group of women?

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