Week 4 Reading Diary B

Today the reading assignment was to continue reading The Ramayana by William Buck pages 60-109

Important Notes: 
-Dasaratha decides that Rama it to become King. This is interesting to note because Dasaratha has many sons and chose Rama over them.
-Dasaratha has many wives, and when he chose Rama over his other sons, one of the wives, Kaikeyi became very angry.
-Kaikeyi wants her son, Bharata, to be king and not Rama. Dasaratha owes Kaikeyi wishes, so Kaikeyi uses her wishes to send Rama in exile and to make Bharata king.
-The fact that Dasaratha honors Kaikeyi's wish that he owed her is important because it shows he is a trustworthy person.
-Rama leaves in exile. The town, Ayodhya, is upset that he is leaving. Sita and Lakshmana want to go with Rama, but the people of Ayodhya flood the river so they cannot leave.
-As Rama is wondering in exile in the forest, he runs into Guha, who is the Hunter King. He embraces Rama and Guha's followers bring food out for them to eat while Rama tells them the story of Shiva. They continue to tell stories. Guha tells a story about Kaikeyi who demanded that Dasaratha teach her how to speak the language of the animals, a secret that was supposed to be guarded and kept secret.
-Rama and his group (Sita and Lakshmana) leave Guha's forest, they run into Bharadwaja who convinces them to stay in Chitratuka. Lakshmana sets up a home for the group.
-Dasharatha dies after Rama leaves. As he is dying he envisions a kid dying in the forest. He compares this to how he sent his own son in exile into the forest.

Reading Diary A Week 4

This week we read Buck's Ramayana. For part A, I will outline important parts from pages 1-59.

Important Characters:
1. Vishnu: Vishnu is considered to be the Soul of the Universe. Basically, Vishnu is present in every aspect of the universe.
2. Kusha and Lava: Sons of Rama and Sita. Rama does not know that the kids are his, though.
3. Valmiki: He is a poet who tells poems to Rama's kids. Saves Sita after she was sent into exile by Rama.
4. Ravana: King of the Demons.
5. King Dasaratha: He is the King of Ayodhya who is initially sonless. He wants to have a son so that he can inherit the Kingdom of Ayodhya.
6. Shatrughna, Lakshmana, Rama, and Bharata: King Dasaratha's four sons.
7. Indra: King of Heaven.


Important Notes:
-Ayodhya is a city filled with abundances and is protected well.
-Ravana is the King of the Demons and brings malice to Ayodhya.
-Indra cannot defeat Ravana. At one point in the story, Indra is summoned from heaven by a priest of Dasaratha. He does not defeat Ravana.
-Indra asks Vishnu for help defeating Ravana.
-Indra is already in human form.
-Ravana attacks many other people. But most importantly he attacks Indra's heaven (Amaravati).
-Back on earth, Rama marries Sita and they settle into Ayodhya.
-Rama is asked for help by Vishwamirta in defeating Ravana. Dasaratha allows Rama to leave.
-Rama is very strong and he breaks to bow of Shiva.

Famous Last Words Week 3

I got behind last week because I was completely thrown off because of labor day. I need to get back on track this week and will get every assignment turned in. I know I need to do better on remembering when the assignments are due and how to complete them in a timely fashion. This weekend I went to the University of Tulsa vs. OU football game. It was rainy and cold, but it was fun, even though the game was a blow out. I’m really looking forward to the OU vs. Tennessee game next weekend. So far my other classes are going well too. I really haven’t had that much homework to do in other classes. Because I’m a senior, I’m not in that many hours, so I feel like there is no excuse to not dedicate enough time to this class. I feel like my webpage assignment last week turned out good. It is a website about the current OU football season. Here is the link to my website https://sites.google.com/site/2014oklahomafootball/home. I thought it was fun creating a website because I’ve never actually made a website before. I did not know it was that easy to create a website and that it was free using Google. I think it would be useful in the future to know more about how to create websites and how to make them more advanced. This week, I am going to complete all the assignments on time because there really isn’t an excuse not to complete all the assignments. I guess I just got sidetracked this week with other things and completely forgot about the assignments for this class. It will not happen again and I will make sure to completely read the directions and submit excellent work. 

(Final score: Bleacher Report)

Week 2 Storytelling: The Love of Sita and Rama

Love at First Sight: Sita and Rama 

Once upon a time, a beautiful woman named Sita sat in a lush garden and began to dream about her future life. She was a single woman, but she still longed for a loving husband and beautiful children. She believed in love at first sight, however, she was unsure if that special moment would ever happen in her life. When she woke up from her dream, she saw a man across the garden. He was unlike any man she had seen before. He was very masculine with a gentle, compassionate look about him. The two made eye contact and Rama walked across the garden to talk to Sita. 

As Rama made his way over, Sita felt a strong, powerful feeling come over her. Was this her love at first sight moment? Sita wanted to make sure her feeling was real. She was not going to let Rama into her heart easy. The two conversed for hours, as Rama told tales of the beats he had killed. Rama had an instant connection with Sita and continued to swoon the beautiful coquette. 

After that day in the garden, Sita could not get Rama off her mind. As days past, she longed for Rama more and more. She knew Rama was to be her husband. She felt a connection to Rama, even when he was not around. One day while at the market, Sita caught a glimpse of Rama leaving the King’s palace. From across the market, the two lovers met eye to eye, and instantly knew fait had brought them together. 

The two continued to converse, this time about more intimate, personal details. Sita asked Rama about his ideal family. Rama wanted to have strong boys to continue to defend his honor and protect the community. He wanted to have beautiful girls who grew up to be queen. Most of all, he wanted to have a loving relationship built upon trust with Sita. He wanted to love Sita with all of his heart. Sita wanted his love as well. She began to blush and threw herself into the waiting arms of Rama. 


Although Sita played hard to get in the beginning, she knew that Rama was the love of her life. The two got married, and even though Rama had been exiled from the kingdom, the two continued to love and honor their marriage, even though they were miles apart. And they lived happily ever after. 

Authors Note: Although some creative details were added, I decided to give the story a Greek theme and incorporate aspects of Rama and Sita's love life into the story. My goal was to show that long distance relationships can work if love is foundation of the relationship. 

(Rama and Sita)

Bibliography: Narayan, R.K. (1972) The Ramayana

Week 2: Reading Diary B The Golden Deer

Important Facts to the Plot
-In the previous post, Kaikeyi was in the process of betraying Rama
-Rama's punishment was unjust. Everyone supported Rama but didn't like Kaikeyi.
-Rama has a half-brother, Lakshmana, who stays by his brothers side.
-Rama's exile hurts the King.
-Kaikeyi is responsible for the empty throne.
-Everyone wants Rama to return to the throne.
-Kaikeyi has a son who is also Rama's half-brother. His name is Bharatha.
-Kaikeyi cleared the throne for her son, however, Bharatha believes that Rama should take the throne.
-Bharatha rules only until Rama's return.
-Even though Rama is in exile, he and Sita still continue their love.

Week 2: Reading Diary A: Rama and Sita

Important Characters:
-Dasaratha: King of Kosala
-Rama: Avatar of Vishnu in the flesh to defeat Ravana. Although masculine, he still has a compassionate side to him.
-Sita: Wife of Rama. Avatar of Lakshmi who is Vishnu's wife.
-Ravana: Ten headed monster.
-Kaikeyi: Wife of the King. Has a childish personality at the beginning, however, she becomes backstabbing as the story progresses.
-Kooni: servent to Kaikeyi.

Important Facts of the Story: 
-Rama, who is the incarnated form of Vishnu, is seen as hero. He is tasked with killing Thataka, a demon woman. Rama's personality and feeling are seen when he second guesses himself about killing Thataka because she is a woman.
-Rama meets Sita, who is immediately captivated by him. She is constantly described as being madly in love with Rama.
-Kooni, who is the servant to the king's wife, Kaikeyi, is an interesting character because she appears to be on Kaikeyi's side in the beginning but then turns negative.
-Kooni makes random, sneering remarks about Kaikeyi throughout the story. Kooni eventually gets in Kaikeyi's head and turns her into a cold person.

Week 1 Storybook Favorites

Tales of Love

The first thing that I found interesting about this storybook is the background that is on the storybook page. The mystical, dreamy background really brings out the title of the storybook, Tales of Love. After I began exploring the storybook, I realized that this is a unique storybook because it allows the reader to choose the ending of the story from the beginning. I liked the fact that the author provided her own understanding and explanation of love in the introduction. I also like how she introduced the characters in the introduction. I believe this allows the reader to get to know the characters more and base their decision on ending choice after getting to briefly know the characters.

Zoo Animal History 

I really liked the initial appearance of this storybook. The font choice and vibrant colored background really brings the storybook to life. The images look like they are out of a children’s book and help to add to the personality of the story. I like how the author creates a mystical “Zoo Trolley” within the readers mind and acts like she is the director of the trolley. It allows for a more personal interaction between the author and the reader and really draws the reader in. I like how the “Zoo Trolley” takes them to different locations and how she actually instructs everyone to “hop out of the trolley”, maintaining her role as trolley director throughout the stories.  

India Travels 

I like how the author uses a cartoon image of India on the front page of the storybook. It really draws the readers’ attention to the overall travel theme of the storybook. I like how this storybook is different from the others I explored because it focuses on the author’s personal desires and fantasy exploration. I enjoyed the dialog throughout the author’s trip. The dialog, along with the engaging descriptions of places, really helps to paint a picture in the readers’ mind of what the author is dreaming about. I like how the author includes an author’s note on the stories because it allows the reader to engage better with the author because it provides a brief background into the author’s thoughts and feelings while writing.