Saturday, February 2, 2019

Reading Notes: Rama vs. Ravana

The Battles Begin

Ravana watched from the top of Lanka as an army approached.
This army, at the edge of the sea, started to organize themselves.
The story says nothing about Ravana being worried.
He seems to have a calm composure as he departs from watching the approaching army to talk to his prisoner Sita.
He told Sita that Rama was dead even though he wasn't
He showed her a fake head of Rama.  Because he was a magician, it was not difficult for him to make the head look real.
Sita's heart sank as she believed that Rama was really dead.
One line that I thought was particularly well written was "easy enough to fill the soul of the tortured princess with terror and to plunge her heart into the lowest depths of grief." the picture painted in this writing is so vivid.  Especially because almost all people know what it feels like to have their heart drop.
Ravana wanted Sita to love him.  Showing her the dead head of Rama did not help him.
Sita cried so hard that one of her guardians felt bad and told her that it was just a trick.
The guardian goes on to say that Rama is with the army that is on the shore just outside of Lanka.
Sita thanked the monster and was relieved.
The army, which consisted on monkeys destroyed Ravana's men.
They offered peace to Ravana and all those in Lanka if Sita was freed.
Ravana refused.  He had magic and evil gods on his side.  This made him difficult to fight.
He defeated the monkey army but Rama was not done yet.
Because Rama's mission was to destroy evil, he was able to get back up and join the fight.
Perseverance is an important quality of every great hero.  Almost every good story also has an element of perseverance.  Overcoming difficult situations is something that the human heart is attracted to.


The Epic Battle: Wikimedia Commons

Bibliography

The Battle Begins from "Rama's Quest" by Richard Wilson

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