An Analysis Of ' Ramayana ' By William Buck

The original The Ramayana is a great epic that has stood the test of time, and has been influential yet controversial throughout history. R.K Narayan’s version has been the same; his composition of stories adds another layer to the already plentiful themes, leaving the reader satisfied with his brilliant description and insight. Through Narayan’s constant comparison that parallels Rama to a perfect specimen, he is demonstrating a “Straw Man” argument. Its effect illuminates Rama’s flaws rather than his seemingly perfect composure. Narayan consciously chooses moments at Rama’s darkest hours to transform him into the relatable human figure he was meant to become.

The Ramayana is an Ancient Indian epic poem that follows the story of a young prince named Rama who is a mortal incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu. The plot follows a narrative that starts from his first time outside the royal palace, through his banishment from the kingdom and his quest to save his beloved wife Sita from Ravana, the evil King of Lanka, all the way to his coronation as King of Ayodhya, the kingdom from which he was originally banished. Throughout the whole narrative, there is one factor that remains constant, the role of women in the culture. The acceptance, or rejection of these cultural values by the women directly corresponds with how their character is perceived by the reader and how their role directly influences the

shows characteristics of great piety to his parents and the lack of desire to be

In today’s society men are expected to have only wife and not multiple and it is also the same for a woman and if that is broken then it is considered cheating which is a unacceptable thing. That was not the case in the Ramayana. In our current time men and women rule. An example of this is the ruler of England Queen Elizabeth II is the current leader of England and is a female. Also America had a women run for president and even though she didn’t win there is out to be a time soon that a female will become the next president for the United States. This would of never been heard of in the time of the Ramayana. For war and battle it is acceptable for a women to be enrolled into the army with men now. There are quite a bit of women

As Rama obeys his father, Sita, Rama’s wife, convinces Rama that she shall go with him, thus fulfilling her dharma s being a

You all must be aware of the epic tale of Ramayana that begins as Lord Rama was exiled to a forest for 14 years with his dear wife, Sita and brother Laxman. To get to the main point straight away, Sita, the epitome of grace and beauty was abducted by the main antagonist of the Ramayana written by Valmiki- Raavan. My mention on Valmiki as the writer is on purpose because it was according to him that Raavan was termed as the villain but in reality,

Ramas first mistake was to hunt the deer. The deer was Ravana in disguise. To kill the deer Rama left the ones that was depending on his protection the most, and this made them weaker as a unit. The hunt for the deer leads to the abduction of his wife, Sita. The battle would probably not have been so difficult if he had his wife safe

The epic story of Rama and Sita, as portrayed by Valmiki’s Ramayana and the modern day film Sita sings the Blues are two different versions of the same story which contain several contrasts as well as similarities. The Ramayana is the ancient version which was written by a sage named Valmiki in 550 B.C.E, featuring a love story between an ideal prince and an ideal woman. It outlines the adventures of Rama in his journey to find his abducted wife Sita. Rama is portrayed as an avatar, being the eighth incarnation of one of the Hindu gods Vishnu, while Sita is representing Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of light. The modern day version of the Ramayana is seen in Sita Sings the Blues, where the animator Nina Paley is relating her love story to that of Sita’s predicament. This paper will compare and contrast the epic story of Valmiki’s Ramayana and Sita Sings the Blues in the quest for power, honor, faithfulness and the conflict between good and evil.

Art is a form of expression that lives on for centuries but changes in interpretation over time. What may be relevant in this time period may make no sense to the upcoming generations. Nina Paley’s film "Sita Sings the Blues" brings two cultures, traditions, values and time periods together to convey her message and bring relevance of her art across many cultures and generations. The Ramayana by Valmiki on the other hand is a very traditional epic which depicts the ideal of every relation, one ideal example being the wife of Rama, Sita. Idealistically, a wife in Indian culture is to stick to her husband no matter how harshly she is treated by him, she should be calm in every situation and

Heroes, kings and presidents, for so long men are the protagonist of the stories. Across the world and through the centuries, women have always been situated below men. Women were considered the weak sex, they are portrayed as delicate, obedient, naive and passionate. “Never trust in women; nor rely upon their vows” (44). As the wives of the kings on The Arabian Nights, whose passion brought them to cheat on both their husbands. They ended up being executed because they threatened the kings’ power. Or bringing danger into the families, as the wives of Kasim and Ali Baba, who wouldn’t think of the consequences of their actions and would act by the pure instinct of greed and naiveness. Yet, seldomly acknowledged, women have had to step up to fix troubled situations, the few stories told of women of scarce resources who have manage to triumph over the standardized society. This not only shows how women take advantage of the resources at their reach but how their

Women have frequently been one of the victims of the stereotypical and judgemental society. Every action and step that’s taken by them are critiqued by society. If women are seen to be involved in such activities that violate modesty, they get shunned and negatively viewed, whereas if a man commits the same action equal amount of critique isn’t given. In many places around the globe, women are considered inferior. They are underestimated and are always seen to be dependent on men. What some often fail to acknowledge is their significance. The Epic of Gilgamesh was widely subjected on the heroism of two friends and the journey of transformation of a mighty king, but it did convey the significance of women and the important roles that were played by them nonetheless. Without the assistance and vision of women, the Epic of Gilgamesh wouldn’t have been so epic.

In an imperfect world torn apart by religious wars, cultural differences, and a more recent social disconnect, perpetuated by the rise of technology which has helped to isolated individuals rather than globally unite them, it becomes apparent that evil is prevailing. It appears as though the modern individual has reason to fear the “other”, rejecting those different from their selves. Such demonization and aggression towards one another has allowed the evils of the world or “Ravana” to arise. Never before have people needed a reason to believe in a figure who could help rid the world of corruption, greed, desire, and ego created by Ravana, more than they do now. In William Buck’s version of the Ramayana, he retells the ancient epic of

Ravana, the villainous king of Lanka, hears about the beauty of Sita as his sister describes her as being ‘the most beautiful woman in the world’ thereby inciting him to kidnap her. She describes her physical attributes by comparing her skin, eyes, hands and ‘her breasts’ to ‘juicy lotuses’. Sita, who resembles the animated cartoon character Betty Boop, has been objectified throughout the course of the movie . This not only happens in the movie but is something that is generally seen to happen in the society. In the Ramayana it is mentioned that Sita’s eyes ‘resembled the petals of a lotus’, she ‘wore dark curly hair and was endowed with fine hips.’ Ramayana enjoys such an exalted status that all its narrations are seen as source of teachings and truth. It is inexplicable for such a sacred epic to objectify woman. And if it does so, what can be expected from the huge number of people who seem to harbour blind faith in its

With the ability to transform into the most beautiful woman imaginable, besides Sita herself, Soorpanaka knows she can snatch him up and make him her husband. She waits until dark to finally seduce and propose to Rama. He is easily enchanted by her good looks, but refuses her offer because he knows he has to remain faithful to Sita. Because of her great beauty, he promises her a special spot in his future kingdom, once again proving that physical beauty was the only important trait in a woman. Rama offers her as a wife to his brother, Lakshmana, but he also refuses because of her domineering and slightly masculine personality, the complete opposite of what would be considered a "good" wife.

In Sita Sings the Blues, Paley has an alternate, customized picture of Sita. All through the motion picture we see that Sita is crying, and is assuming the part of the casualty instead of being solid and following the Dharma of Indian culture. Paley conflicts with the conventional understanding and overlooks the possibility of Dharma in general and social perspective. The account of Rama and Sita in Ramayana goes ahead and Rama who was viewed as the perfect child and spouse, abandons Sita after she was captured, trusting that she was touched by another man making her debased and not deserving of him. She is surrendered by her significant other to live in a timberland while she was pregnant with Rama 's twin young men. Regardless she remains faithful to him and brings forth two young men and shows them to love their dad and regard him like a God.