Epics of India

This week for the story lab assignment, I chose the EmpoWord assignment, reading Chapter 2 on the guide to telling a story. I loved the last interpretation of the Doctor Who quote on the first page: “Our individual stories have no definite conclusion until we can no longer tell them ourselves. How can you tell a piece of your story while it’s still up to you?” Off all the interpretations the author provides for the quote, I enjoyed this one the most because it seems the most impactful and implies more so than the others that you can control your own story.  One idea from this article I’d like to apply to my own writing is the use of sequence and pacing to signify importance. Giving certain events or ideas more time than others, and even placing them out of order on occasion, can really help create an impactful moment for the reader and help them understand why I’m writing. Freytag’s pyramid is the common method for storytelling, but I’d like to experiment with other methods...

On reading D for this week, I wanted to focus on plot and mainly the ending, because that was fairly frustrating for me. Rama, being this person who is described through most of the Ramayana as a person with flawless morals and actions, seems to make a very stupid judgment call and lives the rest of his life somewhat in sadness because of it. After everything he had been through with Sita, he banished her to the woods because she was kidnapped. He claims that her body is no longer pure, although from the viewpoints we were given, it seems that all she did was sit trapped underneath a tree with no man, including Ravana, really making any physical contact with her. She then gives birth to his two sons and he doesn’t even know about it because she is in exile. It was powerful at the end when Rama asked her to come back and she left to go be with the gods. It felt fitting and that Rama had that coming, since he had been horrible to her all for the sake of preserving the people’s view of h...

On reading C for this week, I wanted to focus on setting. First, the description of Ravana’s court and Lanka was quite interesting, with the town being very expansive and spread out, full of rakshashas, and also having the Ashoka grove where Sita was being kept. Lanka, being hidden by clouds and separated by water, is attached with a mysterious and looming vibe, and is also deemed to be powerful given all of the palaces and treasures that are associated with it. The Ashoka grove is fairly contrasting to that though, and a part of this is likely due to the fact that it is where Sita is staying, and palaces full of rakshashas wouldn’t be fitting. The Ashoka grove isn’t described in much detail though, so I’m curious as to how Hanuman was able to talk to Sita in secret.  The setting for Ravana’s hall is also not described in great detail, although you are given the impression that it’s a large room full of tension and anxiety, and that all are fairly fearful of Ravana. The set...