Epics of India

Figure 1: Depiction of the Ramayana   Wikimedia As Rama and Lakshmana journeyed through the jungle in pursuit of Ravana, they came across a pair of monkeys. These monkeys were Sugriva, the former monkey king, and Hanuman, his retainer. And then Sugriva said unto the duo. “Howdy” To which Lakshmana replied. “HOLY COW ON A TRISHULA!” As he exclaimed this, Lakshmana jumped high into the air. “THAT MONKEY JUST TALKED!” And then he tripped over himself and fell to the ground in a tangle of his own bowstrings. “Calm down brother, we have encountered many strange things, this is hardly the most unusual.” Rama then turned to the monkeys and sat calmly, he was puzzled by their words. They were clearly speaking, but he was not familiar with their dialect and greeting. Seeing that they carried themselves in a dignified manner despite their rough clothes, and the quality of the weapons they wore, Rama decided to err on the side of reverence in his response...

Figure 1:  Sita and Rama  Wikimedia Seeing as the plot is virtually identical to the previous version of the Ramayana, I'll focus on something else this time. I enjoyed the similes and metaphors that Gould used. They actually remind me of how folk stories are passed down, and the stories that my father told me when I was younger. It really gives the feeling that this is a story naturally spread among people. I also find it strange how Gould modified the story significantly. For starters, he provides far fewer details about the final conflict in Lanka. He also tries to reconcile the character inconsistency when Rama exiles Sita, making Rama clearly anguished at having caved to political pressure and having that weigh on him constantly.  I think it would be fun to reconcile Rama's character to make him more consistent (and honestly better written) sounds fun. I'm not saying the Ramayana is bad, but it appears to be an amalgamation of some other stories, which l...

Figure 1:  Illustration of the Ramayana  Wikimedia Seeing as the plot is virtually identical to the previous version of the Ramayana, I'll focus on something else this time. I find the bit where Gould directly addresses the possible origins of the "Monkeys" in his text. In short, he hypothesizes that they may in fact have been tribal people from southern India, and their characterization as monkeys came later. It might be interesting to depict the interactions between Rama's party and the monkeys where Rama does not strictly think of them as people, and the ensuing tensions. Or possibly his first interactions with talking monkeys  would likely cause some shock regardless.  I was also intrigued by Rama's emotional reaction to seeing Sita's scarf. Rama is usually emotionally inert, and his calmness in dire situations is one of his greatest traits. So I wonder why Gould decided to give him a moment of vulnerability here. I'm surprised that he d...