Week 15: Writing

 What did you like best about the writing for this class? What would you like to see more of?

I really enjoyed the commenting on other peoples posts and the option to do the last words assignments. The last words assignment was kind of a relaxing thing for me to do every few weeks because I felt like it allowed me to reflect on what was going on in my life and what I needed to prepare for. I enjoyed the creativity that you left us with for each assignment. That definitely helped make it more fun. 

* Did you choose the Storybook or the Portfolio? Are you happy with your choice? What information should I emphasize to next semester's students when they make that choice?

I chose the storybook. I liked the storybook set up, but I'll admit that I didn't even look at what the portfolio was about. The storybook was more of a website setup and I think the students were able to figure that out from looking at previous storybooks, so I don't really know what else you could say to inform them of what it is all about.

* Do you have suggestions for the commenting process: suggestions about commenting on blog posts? suggestions about comments on Storybooks/Portfolios?

I think that the list you have posted to help students with what to comment is very helpful. The most important information that the future students should know about commenting is that positive feedback is the most important. 

* What kinds of comments did you find most useful as you working on your Storybook/Portfolio?

Honestly, I found your comments the most useful and pertinent. I hardly ever looked at the comment wall for guidance because I knew you would catch anything that needed to be changed. 

* Do you think this class helped you to improve your writing? 

Yes. Improvement of writing was a major thing I noticed happening for all of the students throughout the semester. I made comments about it in some of my last words posts. It was pretty incredible to watch some students improvements!

* What kind of writing do you see yourself doing in your future career? Will writing be important in that career?

I want to go to graduate school, so I am anticipating many research papers in the future. After grad school, I want to go into health administration, which requires a bit of writing but mostly professional letters and things of that sort. 

Week 15: About the Reading

What did you like best about the readings for this class? Are there any general suggestions you would make about how the readings are set up?

I really enjoyed the readings. They were not heavy readings and they were interesting for the most part. At a few points throughout the semester it seemed like a lot to get done, but having the extra credit was always a great solution to missing a reading diary or two. 

* Did you find some new reading diary strategies that you used in the second half of the semester?

The second half of the semester I realized that the reading diaries did not have to be 400 words long... So I started shortening them because I take really good notes in my book and it was always a pain to have to jot them down online on top of that.  

* What did you think of the overall balance between reading - writing - commenting in the class assignments?

The reading was definitely a lot more time consuming than the other aspects of the points system, but it is easily the most necessary part of the course. Commenting on blog posts wasn't too bad, only 60 words, but the comments on the storybooks were a tad excessive. I felt like I was always saying the same general thing on everyones storybooks toward the end. 

* Do you think I should offer a reading assignment extra credit option? 

There is definitely enough extra credit. I think that if you emphasized more to your students that they should try to do as many extra credit assignments as possible at the beginning of the semester, that would help a few students out. Its the procrastinators that have a problem. If you did decide to offer a extra credit reading assignment worth a considerable amount of points (maybe 20-30?) then I would offer it at the end of the semester for those who have been procrastinating. 

Week 14: Reading Diary B

I really enjoyed the descriptions of what the festival was like and all of the separate events that occurred at it this week. It was Yudhisthira's idea (or so he would want us to think). I would love to have attended this festival because everyone who came was given free food and presents. There was an interesting golden (grains) mongoose... and that was an interesting story. Eventually it actually turned into gold, so that was really lucky considering that was its goal all along.

Week 14: Reading Diary A

Duryodhana was depicted much differently here. This week was pivotal in defining his character. He has 100 brothers... Kind of crazy. Although his right to the throne was taken away, at least someone thinks he is great. Yudhishthira thinks that he is so powerful that he could take on one of the Pandavas.

Week 13: Tech Tip || Google doc dictionary

Here is one of the most commonly misspelled words in our language. If you are not sure if you spelled a word correctly in google docs, you can right click the word and "define" it, or you can highlight it, choose "tools," then "define."

Week 13: Famous Last Words

This week has been very hectic and we have not even had class yet! My sororities formal date party is this Friday so I am trying to get everything done in advance so I do not have anything to worry about come Friday. I have an organic chemistry quiz this Friday, which is rather unfortunate because I wish I could just take the day off to relax from (what I am anticipating to be) a stressful week. This quiz is really important though. Our professor has agreed to use the best 2 out of 3 quizzes from the semester, so I have to do really well on this one. I also have to visit career services and have them critique my resume and submit the finalized version to one of my other classes by Wednesday. I have so much online Italian homework to complete on top of all of that. I do not expect to enjoy much sleep this week!

Here's a personal picture of my ochem textbook!

Other than my usual stress with school, I really do not have much else to comment on! I am really looking forward to our date party, but I am also (almost more) looking forward to getting this quiz over with! I want to have all of my work for this class completed by tomorrow. It was nice to have the snow day, and an extra day to complete our weekend assignments, but I spent most of today studying for ochem anyways.

My third post to my storybook has gone along great! I think that everyone who has read it is able to really envision my characters and get a better understanding of who those characters are and what is important to them. I had a friend read my storybook (so far) and she liked the blog posts even though she has no idea what the Ramayana or Mahabharata are! Sounds like good news to me!

Week 13: Reading Diary B

Wow, the death of Drona was written very well here in comparison to Narayans version. Drona kills Drupada because he is his enemy. While Drona is mourning over the death (or so he thought) of his son, he puts down his defense for one moment and is then beheaded. Kind of messed up. Not a very fair fight.

Week 12: Tech Tip || Google Translate

Admittedly, I used google translate all the time. I take Italian at OU, so I have some pretty serious first hand experience with the Italian-English translations on google translate. I have defintely found the Italian-English translations to be a bit confusion sometimes and even misleading, but it is such a terrific resource. The app for iPhone has a feature where you can speak into the microphone and it will translate what you said--Very useful if you are traveling around a country with a language-barrier to yours!

Here is my translation of one of Aesops fables:

The Fox and the Mask

"A fox entered the house of an actor and, rummaging in the midst of all his costumes, he also found a mask theater artistically molded. He held it up between his legs and said, "A magnificent head! But the brain, nothing." Here's a story for some men beautiful body but poor in spirit."

Week 12: Famous Last Words

So this week has been really hectic for me. It might just be an end of the year thing, but it seems like everything has started to happen really fast. There just is not enough time in the day! I have not been giving this class as much attention as I should. I really need to finish up my third and fourth additions to my storybook but I keep on putting it off! Last weekend I was home for one of my brothers best friends weddings and I stayed home through Monday afternoon because my brothers both came home for the wedding. They are usually in New York and California, so it was a special thing for them to be home and I was not about to miss out on a second of that! But the result of me spending that extra time with them was that I did not publish anything new to my storybook last week! Ah! And I started to feel kind of sick and just unmotivated. I really think its the weather. Anyways, I am making a promise to myself (and my handy-dandy planner) that I am going to finish both posts to this week and get ahead on as much as possible!

I have a HUGE lab practical coming up the Monday after Thanksgiving break and I just know I am going to be stressing hard… and probably procrastinating a little because its freaking Thanksgiving and what else is anyone supposed to do but eat turkey and sleep? So the plan is to finish up/get ahead on as much as I can during this week and weekend. Fingers crossed.

Personal photo: This is what my Thanksgiving plate looked like last year!

I finished all of my commenting for this week earlier today and I just wanted to mention to anyone who is in our class reading this: Everyone has been doing so great. I can’t even put into words how much fun it is to watch everyone grow in their writing abilities and how creative some people have become in their stories! I just love it. Keep up the great work, everybody!!!

Week 12: Reading Diary B

My favorite parts of this section of the reading was Savitri's story and Mount Kailasa. With Mount Kailasa it was really the interest, detail, and significance that Buck expresses here that arise an interest in me. In comparison with Narayan's version, it appeared that Buck is much better at using detail in this section, specifically when Hanuman blocks Bhima's path. I really like Arguna because he seems like he is just one of the good guys-- very moral and strong in his heart. Even when he is learning how to use the divine weapons, it is as if he doesn't want to hurt anyone.

Week 12: Reading Diary A

I really enjoyed this part of the story because we are introduced to a new couple, Nala and Damayanti. I debated using them in my epic love tales storybook... well I have not published my next storybook story, so I'm not going to spoil anything for anyone. I'll admit I am a sappy person, but I was not all that affected by the reunion in the end of this reading after all of the troubles the two encounter. A lot of other events occurred in this section of the story but nothing really happened that I found all that intriguing other than what I have mentioned.

Week 11: Reading Diary B

I really like this version a lot more. I didn't make a post yesterday but I read both readings. It just seems like Buck presents the story in greater detail in both the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. I liked the way he descriptively defined how Duryodhana caused "all creatures to be slain and wastes the Earth"... It was not explained that way in Narayans version and I think this way makes it more clear. The fire trap scene was really alarming for me. I was really happy that Yudhisthrita was warned and able to escape in time. Draupadi married the five Pandava brothers, as expected. It's all the same plot line but is told in a stronger overall tone with more detail. I like Bucks version more so far.

Week 10: Reading Diary A

I can't say I was surprised when I read that the followers chose to stay with the Pandavas and live with them in poverty... after their leader had lost all of their homes while gambling? Sounds like they're making really great decisions.

Dhritarashtra sure does care a lot about his son.. a little too much. And Draupadi is so grumpy.. Rightfully so, but I can't decide if I enjoy or am annoyed by how unrealistic the punishments and other wild actions have been in the Mahabharata.

I did not really understand why Bhima, Nakula, and Sahadeva were so non-complacent. Don't you know what book you're in?!

I noticed the number 13 popped up multiple times throughout this reading and the last two.. I wonder what the significance is...

Oh I also made note of the quote "who is that friend you could count as God given?" "a wife"-pg 91--could definitely use in my storybook!

Week 9: Famous last words

This week has been a tough transition back into real life after spending the weekend in Dallas for OUTX. I had so much fun in Dallas and we stayed at the Fairmont hotel, which was really nice. I was so overwhelmed and terrified when I read of the murders by a student who attended OU. I do not understand how a person could murder anyone, let alone their entire family. The fact that he went to OUTX afterward added even more of a scary aspect to the whole situation because a murderer was walking among us in Dallas all weekend! Obviously, we do not know the entire story but I think that he will definitely end up in jail. I mean, he left his cell phone at Headington while he was committing the murders so he could not be tracked and he had two tweets automatically sent out while he was killing his family… that is just too much for my brain to wrap around. I’ve gotta move on to another subject.

This week was really jam packed with homecoming events but it was fun. I walked in the parade before the football game on Saturday morning, which was really exciting and the first time I was in a parade! I even got to hold the banner. It was pretty fun.

Personal photo: Second from the left! I had so much fun holding the banner at the hoco parade!

I have a busy week coming up, with lots of studying a microeconomics tutoring sessions. I have three exams next week: biology, micro, and organic chemistry. It is not going to be fun. I have been studying the last week but I feel like it’s not helping. This material is really tough. I wish I could have done all of the assignments for this class before the semester started getting more difficult. This class is just so time consuming!

Week 9: Reading Diary B

More with the complicated names and locations... I am just happy that Pandu's sons are exploring the land. I do not like how prominent lying and deceit is in this book compared to the Ramayana. The ethics and morals of every character seem to be off. Bhima is the only one so far.

Duhshasana and Duryodhana suck. I love how the gods protect Draupadi when the two brothers attempt to force her to undress.

I'm sorry, but what kind of a name is Kunti?

Week 9: Reading Diary A

Wow, this story has many more characters than the Ramayana; the names are more difficult to spell, as well. Keeping up with the story was difficult because I kept on confusing the names of characters. The spelling of most of the names was pretty similar too!

I hope that all of the separate plots will come together soon. It seems like nothing is really connected right now.

I was pretty pissed when Shantanu's first wife was drowning all of their babies. What a psycho. But then I just felt bad for the 8th baby that was forced to live its human incarnation out instead of re-joining heaven with it's brothers and sisters.

When Bhishma renounced his throne and his ability to have children for the sake of his father's happiness I felt bad for him. I wondered if he was honestly okay with losing all of that or if he was upset.

Week 8: Reading Diary || a reflection

I have come to enjoy the reading diary posts as the semester has proceeded. They are a simple and effective way of recounting the story and keeping track of your thoughts throughout. Initially, I thought that the required word count was 400, so all of my early posts are on the longer side. I did not realize until a couple of weeks ago that other students were only writing brief posts. Longer posts are definitely more effective, especially since Dr. Gibbs does not want us to only mention the plot. I hope to continue to post longer reading diaries because they are more helpful for me in understanding the plot line and the underlying events.

My main strategies while reading have been to take detailed notes in my book: starring important moments and briefly describing them, highlighting new places and people, and when I am confused about why a situation is playing out a certain way, I write notes to myself and list reasons for why something might be happening. Taking detailed notes makes writing the reading diaries and storytelling post much easier. My reading diaries are usually only a small part of the notes that I took. I would definitely recommend that strategie to any future student in this course.

I wanted to mention that the detailed notes in my books throughout the readings were why I chose to focus on the love between couples as my storybook theme. As I was trying to decide what would be a good topic to cover, I decided to scan through my notes to see what or who I took the most notes about. I discovered my interests lead to love and relationships because I had taken so many notes on Rama and Sita. I think any future student would really appreciate knowing this information before the readings begin because choosing a theme is difficult.

Week 7: Storytelling || Rama and Sita return

“AH, Rama, you have finally returned to us!!!” screamed the crowd that welcomed and awaited Rama as he approached the throne. He saw his sandals that his brother, Bharata, claimed from him 14 long years ago. It seemed like an eternity ago.

Rama approached his brother Bharata who was so overwhelmed with joy that he could hardly speak complete sentences. He said, “Rama, Rama, Rama, you are our one and only true king! Come, sit, let me place your sandals on your feet once again.” Rama sits on the steps next to the throne. Still, he has spoken no words. Bharata begins to tie the sandals back onto Rama’s calloused, dirty feet but, noticing how filthy they were, requests that he be able to wash them. Rama nods and Bharata proceeds to wash them and then tie the sandals onto his clean feet.

“We must plan the coronation!!” shouts Bharata, so loud that everyone in the village would hear.

Meanwhile, Sugriva and Hanuman decide that Rama would just absolutely love to have water from every river in the world, so Sugriva delegates this mission to Hanuman. Hanuman begins his expedition to each and every river, collecting one drop from each. This only took one day with the aid of the Time gods. Hanuman becomes very excited to see how appreciative Rama will be of his gift.

When Rama and Sita were on their adventure of 14 years, they realized that it was only polite to bring back gifts for their friends upon their return. Shortly before they began their journey back to where they started, they made a few stops and bartered with the little cash they had with them to gain some presents for the buddies.

Sita gave a pearl necklace to Hanuman, one that she paid for with three bags of salt. Rama honored Sugriva with many presents, including one that he collected while in battle with Ravana: one of his heads. Rama was kind of messed up like that after the battle.

Rama and Sita, still in love and as beautiful as ever, approached the throne together and sat on it as one hundred of their closest followers bowed down at them and begged to be able to kiss their feet. Rama looked at Sita, eyes full of love and joy, Sita responded with a knowing nod of all of their troubles and their adventurse, they kissed each other in front of the entire assembly--- the first time a public display of affection had ensued!! But then Rama said to Sita, “We need to talk”....

Coronation, Source: Wikipedia

Author’s note: I decided to replay the return of Rama and Sita in a light hearted fashion, almost making fun of the extreme actions taken upon their arrival. I thought it was pretty funny and I hope you did too!

Works Cited:

Buck, William (1976). Ramayana: King Rama's Way.

Week 7: Reading Diary B || the last reading

I really liked all of the symbolism throughout the end of this story. My favorite aspect of this last reading was how everything started to come full circle. As with Rama’s sandals that Bharata had placed on the throne to hold Rama’s spot in hopes for his return. The way Buck narrated it was much more satisfying than the way Narayan did.

As with Narayan’s version, I still do not understand why Rama banishes Sita. Throughout both stories all we read of is the strong love shared between them and it seems as though its unbreakable. Maybe Rama just did not want to start out his dynasty as king with the idea of having a wife who has betrayed his honor by possibly banging other guys (Ravana).

Anyways, Rama bans Sita, and she tried to kill herself and Rama just does not budge? It just confuses me how he could love her so much throughout everything, I mean, risks his life and the lives of others just to retrieve her from Ravanas capture, but now he does not want her anymore? Seems a little over the top to me.

Then Kala and Rama have a meeting where anyone who was not invited and attempts to intrude upon them must die? A bit extreme, but okay Rama. Do the people who intruded and then had to die know of the consequences of intrusion? Was there a sign on the door or anything?

So then Hanuman shows how loyal he is by opening his chest and showing that Rama’s name is inscribed on his bones….. And then they all go to heaven……

Week 10: Typing Test Tech Tip

I did the typing test on rankmytyping.com and it was really hard! I thought I was a relatively good typer, having been forced to take typing classes in middle school and high school! I took another test at typingtest.com and found out that I am only considered a "fluent" typist! How upsetting.

I definitely like the second test more than the first one because it was a easier format to look at and I liked the way they broke down the information.

Week 9: Foreign Wikipedia Tech Tip

Here is the Wikipedia search for Kevin Durant in German! ]

Source: Wikipedia

Week 8: Keyboard tech tip

This is how you say the bakery is around the corner in German! 

Die Bäckerei um die Ecke! 

Week 7: Pinterest Widget Tech Tip

Follow Mary Shallcross's board Portfolio on Pinterest.

Week 7: Famous Last Words

Through reading and commenting on other students blog assignments and what they have completed of their storybooks I have noticed that we have a lot of really terrific writers! So many of my peers storybook introductions are impressive. I really enjoyed reading the ones where you really wanted to know what was going to happen next. I specifically remember one person who came up with the idea to create a hair salon where the ladies of the books we have read come to gossip! I would never have thought of something like that!

My other classes are going pretty well so far. I had a really rough week a couple of weeks ago where I had three huge, difficult exams over a three day period. It was not fun. But I did pretty well on them so I am happy! Some of my classes require a lot of busy work, which is something that I just do not enjoy because I feel like you do not really learn or benefit from it besides easy points. I like this class because the points are relatively simple to earn, but I wish that there was not an assignment due every day. That is a little overwhelming sometimes but the extra credit really really helps! I love that there is so much extra credit in this class. It is really a great idea for online classes because, even though the same responsibility is there on the student to “attend” class and complete every assignment, its nice to have a little cushion every once in a while when its crunch time in other classes! That saved my butt a when I had those exams so close together.

Other than classes, I just became a member of a social sorority on campus and I am over-the-moon excited about that. Also, I find out soon if I will be accepted to be a big sister in the Big Brother Big Sister organization, so thats pretty great too!

PS:
OU TX is in 11 days!

Painted on campus! Source: Wikipedia

Week 6: Reading Diary B || Fight in Lanka

This week I did not make the deadline to post a reading diary for part A and I do not have a long period of time to invest in my reading diary part B, so it is going to be a bit shorter than usual!

As I read the assigned pages for today, I couldn’t help but notice that there was a completely different vibe and inconsistancies between Buck’s telling of this story and Narayan’s. Although it is arguably more realistic, I did not enjoy Buck’s retelling as much as I did Narayan’s.

I felt sorry for a lot of the characters throughout this part. I really did not enjoy how the squirrels were depicted to be such small creatures in comparison to Hanuman while they built the bridge to Lanka. Hanuman is only a monkey, why is he and his race envisioned as such large creatures and the squirrel race isn’t?

As with Narayan’s version, when Rama became mad at the ocean and cursed it, it surprised me. I also became curious as to the extent of his cursing abilities. We saw him curse the person who scared Sita earlier in the story. I do not understand why he does not use this ability to curse people and things more often in his experience in the woods. Is it because he does not want to hurt people or influence them to do things and make decisions based on what they do not believe? Maybe it is because he already knows or at least has noticed that he has the gods on his side? Whatever the reason, it seems like a rather good moment to utilize this ability to cross the ocean. Sounds like a familiar story?  

Another thing I found strange was the description of the interaction between Ravana’s cronies and their attempt to spy on Rama and his followers. They all failed in their attempts and I guess I was just surprised that Ravana would subject these people, who are clearly not intelligent, witty, or creative, to perform a very crucial task in attacking their enemy- discovering their plan! Maybe Ravana just utilizes these people because he has no one else and all of them are pretty much forced to follow him anyways?

I was really upset when I read about Ramas death. After reading Narayan’s version, and observing a different type of storytelling but with most of the same plot lines, I thought that everything would end up the same in Buck’s version. What does the death of Rama mean for Vishnu?

Week 5: Storytelling || Bharata and Shatrughna

Bharata and Shatrughna rode elephants from Ayodhya to the village of Nandigrama alongside the King’s elephant as it adorned Rama’s sandals on his head for the short journey. With the frustration of 1000 suns, the brothers barely spoke during their expedition because of the recent loss of their father and exile of their brother who they desired to be their King. Shatrughna finally broke the silence when he asked his brother to explain how Rama looked when he visited him.

Bharata on his journey to find Rama

“From a far I could see him before I approached him. His hair was very dirty-- beard untrimmed, and his skin was patchy with mud. He was dressed in black deerskin. I do not know how to fashion such garments. I am lucky I was not banished for 14 years, for I would have had a difficult experience.”

Satrughna was pleased with the appearance of his oldest brother Rama. Knowing of Rama’s intelligence and numerous skills in hunting and battle, Satrughna was not worried for Rama’s life, but he was curious about his brothers conversation regarding the throne. Satrughna asked, “Brother, will you explain why you placed Rama’s sandals on father’s elephant? What is the future of our Kingdom?”

“After speaking with Rama, it became clear that he had no intentions of forsaking our father’s word. With the understanding that our people would have to wait 14 years for a proper ruler, and knowing that our ruler would live in the forest with no luxuries for those 14 years, I decided I do not deserve to rest in Ayodhya without Rama. I have brought the throne and I will place Rama’s sandals upon it and I will only rule in trust for our true King.”

“Do you not fear that leaving Ayodhya will cause riots?”

“No, our people are strong. Just as Rama is strong.”

“Do you not fear that resting in another village will force our people to find refuge elsewhere?”

“No, our people are intelligent. Just as Rama is intelligent.”

“Do you have any fears?”

“Only for Rama. There is one thing I have not told you yet.”

“Okay… tell me!”

“If Rama does not return on the first day after 14 years, I will have no reason to continue my life and I have vowed to walk into a fire and let the flames bring death upon me.”

“That is a little extreme, brother.”

“Rama is a little extreme.”

Author's note: I decided to write what I imagined a conversation would be like between Bharata and Shatrughna as if they were sort of like my own brothers. I thought this kind of lightened up their conversation, while also making it a bit more relatable and easier to imagine.

Works cited:

Buck, William (1976). Ramayana: King Rama's Way. 

Week 5: Reading Diary A || Bharata, funeral ceremony, and body markings

At the beginning of today’s reading, Dasaratha dies which results in Bharata experiencing a bad dream where “he saw the ocean dry, saw the Moon fall to the Earth, he saw tusks of Dasaratha’s elephants shatter, and the fires of Ayodhya go out, and saw smoke come from the hills of Kosala” (111). The symbolism here is overwhelming. The ocean drying could represent his fathers life drying up or his own life drying up until the return of Rama in 14 years. The Moon god represents queen, mother, and emotions; his name is the middle name of Rama meaning ‘the person who wears the moon.’ When the moon falls to the earth this could symbolize Kaikeyi’s betrayal of Dasaratha and Bharata’s imminent hatred for her. I did a little research on Hindu depictions of elephants and found that according to Hindu cosmology, the earth is guarded and supported by special elephants who are posted at at the compass points. Elephants also represent wisdom and, if I remember correctly, their tusks represent wealth or power. With all of that said, Bharatas dream could take on many meanings. The above mentioned are only the ponderings of my mind for a few minutes.

Throughout Buck’s version I have noticed that there is much more dialogue, further explanations and stronger descriptions than in Narayan’s. I really enjoy this type of writing much more. The extra dialogue and highlighted importance of description in every sentence allows the reader to become closer to each character and place. We see an example of this on page 114 when Bharata and Kaikeyi have a conversation about Dasaratha’s death and Bharata’s new role.

I noted when the funeral ceremony for Dasaratha was held and we were told there was solid perfumes atop Dasaratha’s corpse. This article on Hindu funeral rituals is interesting, I recommend you take a look at it. There are many specific preparations the family must do to ensure the spirit of the departed successfully leaves the earth, but this article did not mention anything on perfumes. I can only postulate that perfumes and flowers are a way of covering the smell of the decaying body and then the burning body upon cremation.

One final note I thought was very symbolic was when Sita was attacked by the crow and later that day Rama marked her forehead with red dust, which later rubbed onto Rama’s chest and Sita was “very happy with it and would not let Rama wipe it off.” I wonder if this was Sita’s attempt to adorn herself and her husband or if this is symbolic of intellect, a third eye, or the center of spiritual energy.

Week 5: Famous Last Words

Last week my air conditioning went out at my house, where I usually do my homework. I am a late nighter, so going to the biz where I would have to leave by 2 am was out of the question. I asked my boyfriend if I could do my homework at his house, which has a really great kitchen counter with outlets everywhere, and he said it was okay! So last week I did most of my homework over there and I wrote all of my assignments for this class there. I felt like that area was very calming and there were not many distractions so I was being very productive. I wrote my most recent storytelling project on the diary entries of Dasaratha and his wives and I have received many positive comments, so I think that studying over there has been very positive! I also decided to use the blogging style for my final storybook and experimenting with this style was very useful in testing to see if I enjoyed it and if it was something others enjoyed reading also!

For anyone reading this who goes to OU, I am writing this in the NEW Bookmark in the lower level of the Biz! I would recommend ya’ll come down here and check it out!

Personal photo I took of the room I am in at the Bookmark

Outside of this course, which has proven to be much more time consuming than I anticipated, I have a pretty heavy course load this semester. This week I have an organic chemistry midterm Friday, and next week I have a microeconomics exam Monday and a biology exam Tuesday. Needless to say, I wont be getting very much sleep over the next week. I feel pretty prepared for the organic chemistry exam but I am not ready for the other two at all, so I am going to have to dedicate some serious time to those classes this week! I wish that we did not have assignments due every day in Indian Epics but I can understand why it is necessary to do so and cover all of the material Professor Gibbs deems important. Wish me luck!

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Week 4: Storytelling || Diary Entries of Dasaratha and his wives

Dasaratha’s Diary Entry the day before the sacrifice was given:

I long dearly for a son. If the gods would have it, I would sacrifice myself for the sake of the continuance of my legacy. I fear that when I die, which is approaching faster and faster as I write, I will have no one to carry on my Kingdom of Ayodhya. This world will fall to ruin with a ruler who is not educated on the importance of always paying your debts. Who will I leave this Kingdom to?

His wives entries after they became pregnant:

Kausalya:

My love, the King of the greatest of the worlds, the most loyal and honorable man to ever exist, gave me, ME, of all of his wives, the honor of having the first bite of the sacrificial rice! I can already feel the greatness growing within me. I have compared the kicks of my child with the kicks of Sumitra and Kaikeyi’s and mine is so much stronger! I just know that he will be the strongest being to ever exist. With this also comes pressure though.. What if he is deformed or a GIRL! Oh, I mustn't think those negative thoughts!

Sumitra:

My King has given me the greatest gift one could ever receive. I am having two sons! I have heard of identical sons but I desperately hope that they are different. I want to give Dasaratha all that he desires and I would not want to disappoint him with a replicate! I sing songs each night to them, one at a time. I am so pressured by the subject of having Dasaratha’s first born son! Will he favor one of his sons over the others? What if he does not like my children? What if they foresake him? Will he name me as a traitor as well? What if I lose my home because of these children? I love them more and more as Time goes on, but what if he does not!?

           Kaikeyi:

           Although I love my King with the energy of all of the stars in the sky, why would he only feed me one-eighth of the sacrificial rice? Does he believe me to be barren? Is it because I am the youngest that he did not want me to carry his first born son? Was his desire to only supply Kausalya with the most rice in hopes to create the strongest child in her? Why does my Dasaratha favor the others? Are we not all the same? I fear that my King will not love the child inside of me. I fear that he will not be great enough for my King. 

The birth of Dasarathas sons

Dasaratha’s Diary Entry after having his sons:

          At last I have an heir to the throne! Rama is my first born son from my most lovely Kausalya. I knew that feeding her the most rice would produce the strongest son and first born! His eyes are bright green and carry with them the brightest future. I can tell by his stature that he will be the tallest of my sons. There are no words for how much peace I carry in this moment as I watch him rest. Lakshmana, born from Sumitra, is so funny in how he will not rest unless he knows that Rama is with him. Although they did not share a womb, they know they are brothers and will forever be together. Sumitra also gave me Satrughna, who like Lakshmana, will not be at peace unless he is by the side of his brother Bharata. I know all of my sons will be great because they are born of greatness. I have no fear that they will betray me or their mothers, for they know they are all from the same mother. 

Works Cited:
Buck, William (1976). Ramayana: King Rama's Way. 

Author's note: I chose to write diary entries from Dasaratha and each of his wives as they prepared for the births of their sons and one from Dasaratha after he met each of his sons. I wanted to emphasize the relationship between Dasaratha and each of his wives, as well as the wives opinions of each other. I chose to write over this topic because as I read I envision a certain distaste between wives and I wanted to bring that out through this story. 

Week 4: Reading Diary B || Interesting Notes

At the beginning of this weeks reading, we experience the decision to make Rama King and the arguments that follow. I noticed that King Dasaratha spoke with more logic as he explained his desire to make Rama King. On page 61, he said, “the opinions of disinterested men are different from the beliefs of a father.” I do not recall him speaking with such logic in Narayan’s version.

Another thing I noted from the beginning of this book was how the word “Time” was capitalized. We see never see this word with a lowercase letter. I noted each instance of this word throughout the readings and I became curious as to why time was being characterized as a person. In one instance they said, “Time approaches you” or “looking into the water saw Time cast his shadow over Kaikeyi’s heart”, and my favorite “Time causes change.” The few instances I have named here could hold the same meaning if it were not named. Is this a Hindu literature normality? I remember reading the Odessey and other Greek literature where they would often capitalize such words. I would be interested in learning why they capitalize Time, Truth, and Fire, and many others, I’m sure.

On page 62, Dasaratha tells Rama of his strange dreams saying, “I dreamt of stars falling to the ground in daylight with terror and noise.” Buck uses many analogies, but this phrase really stuck out to me. I wondered if it was symbolic of the final battle between Ravana and Rama when the Yakshas and Rakshasas were falling from the sky. It could be simply that he is fearing that his stars, or his youth, dissipates to the earth too early and the terror and noise could be the fear that Ayodhya would no longer have a ruler.

A few instances I noted that were much different in Bucks version was how desperately Kausalya desired for Rama to stay in Ayodhya. I wondered why or how one writer could visualize a character one way and the other writer to visualize her in a completely different way. I also noted how the conversation between Rama and Sita made so much more sense in Bucks version. Sita counters every argument Rama has for her to stay in Ayodhya and finally he decides that her will is not going to falter and he allows her to join him. Allowing her to join him may not have been the greatest decision on Ramas part, but it sure does lead to a great story!