Week 14 Reading Diary B

-Buck is ending the story.
-Bhishma survives the battle.
-He chooses when he will die.
-He does not curse Yudhishthira for fighting him.
-Bhishma dies on the Winter solstice.
-Yudhishthira declares that the war is officially over.
-Dwaravati is flooded.
-Takshana takes Astika took him into the underworld.

Week 14 Reading Diary A

-Duryodhana uses his powers to keep people from entering the lake.
-This caused fighting.
-Arjuna comes in on his chariot after the fighting ends. Drona destroys his chariot.
-Duryodhana and Bhima are dueling.
-Duryodhana dies and tells Ashwattahaman to raid the Pandavas camp.
-Only survivors of the Kaurava army are Kripa, Kritavaramen, and Ashwattahaman.

Week 13 Reading Diary B

-Female warriors are not allowed, this is why gender switching happens
-Sikhandini becomes a man so she can become a warrior.
-Yudhishthira meets with enemy before battle.
-Bhisma lives with a body full of arrows.
-Pandavas seem to be winning the battle.

Week 13 Reading Diary A

William Buck, The Mahabharata pg 191-246
-Begins with Pandavas getting water from the lake.
-However, the lake kills them.
-Pandavas spend years in exile in the Matsya kingdom.
-Yudhishthira enters service as brahmin.
-Story or Karna and Indra.
-Kickaka, general of Virata, longs for Drapaudi.
-Karna wants to fight with the Pandavas

Week 12 Reading Diary A Twenty Two Goblins

Important Plot Findings
-King Triple Victory lives on the Godavari River.
-Monk brings king fruits that contain gems.
-In return, Monk asks the king to go to a tree and retrieve a body
-King has to answer a series of riddles. If he gets is correct, he has to start all over.
-In Brave, Wise and Clever, the story talks about Rama and Ravana (might have to include in my storybook project).
-King decides that he should only give his daughter to brave men.
-In Four Suitors, kings name was Heroic.
-Warriors daughter was given away.
-Three Delicate Wives-wive who was bruised without being touched was the most delicate (strange?)
-The Snakes Poison: Cool story. King killed a man and left the dead man to blame himself for his own death. King gave correct answer, so the goblin was returned to the tree.
-Girl and the Thief: Setting is Ayodhya like in the Ramayana. Girl wants to give up her life with the thief. King wants to make sure his promise to the monk is fulfilled, so he follows the goblin back to the tree.
-Generals Wife: King who died for the love of the general's wife care more about her than the general in the story. Shows the king was more dedicated to the girl than the general. Goblin runs back to the tree again.
-The Four Brothers: King admits he is willing to run back to the tree. The one that gave life to the lions was the one to blame for the lives the lion took.
-The Old Hermit: Hermit leaves his own body and took over the dead body of a boy. Hermit missed his old body, but was happy he now had youth. Goblin runs back to the tree.
-Father and Son, Daughter and Mother: King is confused by the goblin's riddle. When the king cannot answer the riddle, the goblin reveals that the monk is actually planning to kill the king in a ritual.

Week 11 Reading Diary B

pg. 49-91
The Mahabharata by William Buck

Important Things
-Duryodhana asks Dhritarashtra who he believes will rule the kingdom after he resigns. The town says Yudhishthira would look after them.
-Purochana builds a fire trap near where the Panadavas are staying.
-Yudhisthrita builds a tunnel around the fire.
-Vyasa takes Pandavas to the swayamvara.
-Draupada begs Shiva to give him a son to defeat Drona, who captured him.
-Draupadi marries 5 of Pandava brothers.
-The architect god leaves the forest and asks Arjuna's protection from Agni.

Week 11 Reading Diary A

pg 1-49
The Mahabharata by William Buck

-Duryodhana causes "all creatures to be slain and wastes the Earth"
-Arjuna is the "prince of all bowmen".
-Nakula is dark and guards Arjuna's chariot wheel with Sahadeve who is considered fair.
-Yudhishthira is manly and kind hearted.
-Vyasa was the poet and Ganesha was the scribe.
-Ocean was made of milk instead of salt.
-Ocean would churn and leave nectar is immortality.
-Gods emerge from the ocean.
-Shantanu falls in love with Ganga.
-Bhishman was 3 wives: Amba, Ambika, and Ambalika.

Week 10 Reading Diary B

Important Plots
-Pandavas are very powerful and make a lot of peace offerings.
-Duryodhana plans to take Krishna captive, however Krishna disrupts these plans.
-Battle happens and Bhishma is killed.
-Drona is influenced by the enemy, which is strange.
-Drona is told by the enemy that his son is dead and he gives up.
-Bhima drinks the blood of Duryodhana's brother, even though he had killed him.
-Duryodhana cries out to Krishna for his dishonorable behavior. Krishna doesn't care and tells him he had it coming.

Week 10 Reading Diary A

pg. 85-131

Important Facts
-Duryodhana is tempted by the gods
-He is captured by a gandharva and his plan to humiliate Pandavas is ruined.
-Nakula wants to drink from a lake, but the lake comes alive and asks him a series of questions that he must answer before he can drink from the lake.
-He doesn't listen and drinks from the lake. The lake then kills him.
-Others drink from the lake without answering questions. They are killed as well.
-The talking lake is actually the God of death and the questions were a test.
-Susharman, a pal of Duryodhana, is excited when he hears of Draupadi's death.
-He suggests they steal his cattle.
-Uttara and Abhimanyu get married.

Week 9 Reading Diary B

Reading: Narayan's Mahabharata pg. 84-131

Important Facts
-Dhritarashtra is shown to be an open vibrant character at the beginning, but then turns back-stabbing as the story progresses.
-This is similar to Kaikeyi in the Ramayana.
-A game is taking place between the two families.
-Dhritarashtra divides the kingdom between the families.
-Yudhistira makes a bold promise.
-The game that is being played is like gambling and is causing conflict between families.
-Draupadi has to advocate for her freedom in front of the large crowd.

Week 9 Reading Diary A

Narayan's Mahabharata pg 1-39.

Important Notes:
-Devavratha was raised in the river and did not have a dad.
-Raised by his mother.
-Devavratha needs to marry and father's of daughters want to make sure that their daughter will be on the throne.
-Takes vow of celibacy because of a stolen cow and killing mating deers.
-There seem to be a lot of characters in this book and I need to find the main characters.
-Vsaya is the parent to Vidura.
-King is blind.
-Pandu and Madri die.
-Arjuna and Karna are brothers, however, they are unaware of this.

-There seem to be a lot of different things going on within the first 39 pages. I feel like I've highlighted the main points, however, I need to do further internet research to gain a better understanding of this complicated story.

Reading Diary Week 8

I believe that the reading diaries are helpful to outline the reading. I really like reading outlines a lot more than I like reading tedious information with a lot of stuff that is rather irrelevant. I like to quick read because it allows me to catch the main idea of everything. I am able to remember locations within a story, so if I need to go retrieve something specific, I can. As I am quick reading, I will quickly note down important things that happen in a Word document. I like to include things like major characters or new characters that are just being introduced. I also like to include major plot ideas. I think by focusing on the major events within a story allows me to think more in-depth about the overall message of the story, instead of worrying about every little detail that is not relevant to the story. I also like the reading diaries because they are useful for when I am going back to write a story for the storytelling on Wednesday. If I were given a quiz instead of a reading diary, the reading would turn into busy work. I think that the reading diaries are better than quizzes because they are more useful. I have used my reading diaries to remember specific stories, especially when I am reading other people’s stories or thinking about my own stories for the storybook project. I think it would be cool if I started including a picture in my reading diaries from now on. I think this would allow me to visually connect with a story when I go back and look over my reading diary when writing the storytelling stories. Also, I just think pictures bring the stories to life and look a lot better on a blog!

(Wishbone, one of my favorite TV shows as a kid, and his books. Credit TVTropes.org)

Week 7 Reading Diary B

Pg. 374-442
The Ramayana by William Buck

Important Things
-Rama and Sita take a flying chariot home.
-On the way home, they stop to see where they hurried Jatayu. In order to announce that they are on their way home, Rama sends Hanuman ahead to tell his brother so he doesn't kill himself.
-When Rama arrives in town, the town is very excited. They give him presents.
-After a long period of time, Sita becomes pregnant.
-Because she has been with Ravana, she is considered not innocent. Rama sends Sita into exile.
-Valmiki hears of this and agrees to take care of Sita in her time of need.
-Sita eventually gives birth to two sons, Kush and Lava. They grow up hearing tales of Rama.
-Rama has a big festival in the forrest, where he eventually realizes that Kush and Lava are his kids.

Week 7 Reading Diary A

Pages 325-373
The Ramayana by William Buck

Important Parts
-Rama and Ravana are still fighting to get Sita back.
-Ravana is becoming more and more cocky and gets mad at the time God, Kala, who was on his side. Ravana doesn't worry about it too much though.
-Rama and Ravana eventually end up directly fighting each other.
-Rama cuts off Ravana's heads but they keep coming back.
-Ravana disguises himself as Indra, however, Rama sniffs this out. Rama is now ahead.
-Rama eventually kills Ravana.
-Vibhishana takes over as king of Lanka and Rama and Sita get back together.
-Rama and Sita hurry back to Ayodhya because his brother, Bharata, was going to kill himself if Rama wasn't back at the end of his exile.

Week 6 Reading Diary B

Pages: 270-324
The Ramayana by William Buck

-Hunuman tells Rama what he discovered about Sita's kidnapping across the ocean in Lanka.
-They decide to build a bridge so Rama can get to the city
-The bridge was built by Nala, the sea monkey.
-Rama and his group make a plan to go across the bridge to get Sita from Ravana.
-However, Ravana has Shuka, a hawk, watching Rama the entire time.
-Ravana uses magic powers to show Sita a fake head of Rama so that she thinks he is dead and that Ravana has killed him.
-However, Phrahasta enters the room with Sita and Ravana and lets Ravana know that Rama has entered the city. This gives away Ravana's ploy with the fake head of Rama.
-Ravana and Rama fight. In the process, Kumbhakarna (Ravana's brother) kills Rama's forces, however, Rama ends up killing him. He also kills Ravana's son, Indrajit.
-Now the only people left to fight are Ravana and Rama.

Week 6 Reading Diary A

Pages: 219-270
The Ramayana by William Buck

-Hanuman tells the story of Sita's brutal abduction to Jambavan.
-Sampati is Jatayu's brother and Jatayu overheard the story Hanuman was telling. Jatayu is sad because his brother, Sampati, was killed.
-Jatayu provides insight to the Sita abduction. He said he saw Ravana leap across the ocean to a town called Lanka.
-Hanuman and the people searching for Sita decide that Hanuman leap across the ocean.
-Hanuman encounters many different obstacles as he leaps across the ocean. He was eaten by Sinhika, but escaped through her ear. He finally makes it to Lanka.
-Hanuman takes on the role of a cat while in Lanka so he can move around undetected.
-Hanuman finds Ravana's house, but does not find Sita there. Ravana's wives tell him to search in the ashoka grove.
-Ravana is trying to convince Sita to like him, but Sita refuses. When Ravana leaves, Hanuman makes contact with Sita. Sita tells Hanuman a message to give to Rama.
-Hanuman decides to burn down Lanka, but manages to tell Sita that Rama will be back to save her.

Week 5: Reading Diary A

Reading diary for pages 110-161 of The Ramayana by William Buck.

-Rama is still in exile and Dasaratha is dead.
-Bharata sets out to hunt him down.
-Rama, Lakshama, and Sita are still actively meeting other people during the exile. They meet Atri, and he tells them the story of Mandakarni.
-They also meet Agastya, who is a warrior who defeated two demons and brought down the Vindhya Hills.
-Valakhilya warns Rama of the demons in the forest and asks for his help.
-As Rama is discussing the issue of Kardu and Vinata's eggs with Sita, a demon takes Sita.
-The demon is Viradha and Rama and Lakshama defeat him

* I would like to use the story of Rama defeating Viradha in my Storybook.

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.

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.