Week 2: Topic Brainstorm


Figure 1: Hanuman Wikipedia


Figure 2: Sun Wukong Wikimedia

Ganesha, The Elephant Headed God - I was originally interested in Ganesha for one reason. I love the story about how he "walked around his world" and got married; however, I can't seem to find the version that my Indian friends told me. I'm curious to learn other versions of this myth, and if I were to tell a story, it would be a mess of conflicting accounts regarding his marriage from different points of view where nobody remembers anything accurately.

Hanuman- When I was younger, my favorite picture book was one about the monkey king. I think that examining one of his main inspirations would be useful. I'm curious to learn more about the literary similarities between them. I also wonder how their abilities and characterization vary, especially in regards to the monkey king's more mischievous traits. I would probably place him in stories where he interacts with the monkey king.

Jataka Tales - Many people are critical of "overused tropes" but I consider tropes to be solutions to literary problems that were useful enough to see continued use. I think that at the time, Jataka tales where not overused or tired at all, and I find the idea of retelling them in more effective ways to be appealing. I know that Jataka tales describe the past lives of the Buddha, but I notice the prevalence of monkey incarnations and intend to discover why they were so prominent. I also really like that super brutal one where he incarnates as a whale then beaches himself to feed a starving village, and then he keeps himself alive through sheer force of will so that his flesh won't rot while the villagers hack him to bits and eat him. Metal.

Creation Stories - I find different cultures' conception of the world to be fascinating. I also think that the reason that these stories are believed is that they are useful ways to conceptualize reality. As such, I would tell a story where an older man tells this story literally, only for the young boy hearing it to misinterpret it as solely metaphorical, then gain the benefits of seeing the world as such. I know that Brahma , but that's about it. I'm specifically interested in how their view differs from our material and energy model.

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