Week 3: Famous Last Words

Whew- this past week has certainly flown by.  This past Saturday, my parents came in for the day so my boyfriend and I got lunch and dinner with them which was really nice.  It was also fun to see all the game-day stuff around OU and we stopped by a tailgate in the afternoon.  Sunday, I was originally going to buckle down and study, but my friend was really sick so I stayed with her to make sure she was doing okay.  Monday was really fun for a couple reasons.  One, it was my boyfriend and my 1.5 year anniversary, our group of friends had a massive water balloon fight and potluck, and my youth group had a pool party.  I studied a little bit that afternoon and then that night, so I caught up to some degree.  I also looked into some more physician assistant programs that I’d be interested in applying to after college.  I have this big spreadsheet on my computer of different requirements, deadlines, and preferences of the schools so I like to make sure it’s up to date every once in a while.  On Tuesday, I had rounds and desk duty.  Unfortunately, the fire alarm went off in Couch so everyone had to evacuate.  Thank goodness it was just a false alarm and no harm was done.  Wednesday and Thursday were not bad days by any means, just not too exciting.  However, I've really enjoyed most of my classes this semester- as of right now, all of them share common themes so it's cool to get different perspectives on topics from different professors.  Anyways, as for today, I got up early this morning because I had a nightmare last night so today has been a more productive day since I did homework before classes even started this morning.  I’m looking forward to relaxing a bit this weekend and also seeing my friend off tomorrow before she goes to England to do ministry.  As for the rest of my weekend, I imagine I’ll go to church and youth group on Sunday and then do lots of studying- I have some pretty big exams next week and the week after that, then projects due a week after that. 

This is a personal photo of my puppy from March 2012- 

I hope to be doing what she's doing this weekend (sleeping)

Storytelling for Week 3: Abduction

Once upon a time, there was a simple yet beautiful wooden cabin in the woods which sat in a sun-lit clearing among the wilderness.  In the surrounding wilderness, rabbits sprung over twigs, butterflies flew with the soft breeze, and the crystal clear creek softly trickled in the background.  Inside the cabin resided Sita, Rama, and Lakshama.  The time was simple, but the love was strong.  One sunny day, Rama's beautiful bride Sita glanced outside the window to see a beautiful, delicate deer that glinted in the light as if it was made of jewels.  Sita was in awe and ran to her husband.  She cried, "Rama, honey, would you mind catching that sweet deer I saw outside my window?  It is exquisite and I must have it!"  In a loving manner, Rama replied, "Of course, honey."  However, Rama's brother Lakshama was very hesitant and suspicious of the light-footed and delicate animal they had seen.  He urged Rama to be cautious, but Rama disregarded his concerns saying, "My wife deserves the very best, and I shall provide the very best."  Rama instructed Lakshama to tend for his wife while he was gone and Lakshama promised to do so.  A couple hours later when the afternoon turned to evening, Rama still hadn't returned.  Sita was a bit more on edge and listened to every single thump in the forest as any of them may have been her husband returning with the sparkling deer.  When she heard his voice from the forest crying for help, her stomach turned upside down and she felt queasy inside.  She urged Lakshama to check on her husband and again, he was cautious and tried to focus Sita's attention on how strong and capable her husband was of defending himself.  Needless to say, Lakshama ended up leaving the cabin to make sure Rama was not in peril and while Sita was alone, an elderly man wandered upon her cabin.  Sita was very hospitable to the man and invited him inside and offered him the meat she had freshly cooked over the fire and offered him a glass of cool water from the stream.  He graciously refused but began to talk about a powerful, handsome young man who would make her a goddess if she would come with him.  Sita refused and felt increasingly insecure as this stranger was trying to take her away.  The elderly man eventually gave off his true identity and Sita was shocked! The elderly man turned out to be Ravana and he scooped her up by the dirt under her feet (he cannot touch her against her consent or will perish on the spot due to an ancient curse) in hopes that she would eventually forget her husband and fall for him instead.  

The Deities of Sita source: Wikipedia

More Information about Sita

Author's Note:  I chose this story because of the drama- epic displays of love and deceit all compacted into one story.  I think there's several contrasting things- the beauty of the deer and the ugliness of the deceit exemplified by Ravana.  Sita's loyalty to her husband is definitely highlighted and is to be commended.  I added more detail to the story but did not want to take away from the qualities highlighted by the story so I didn't add any new events.  I did, however, add my own dialogue.

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

Week 3: Reading Diary B

I'm glad Hanuman realized that the first woman he found was not Sita.  It was also good, in a way, for him to see Sita refuse Ravana's advances so he can testify first-hand to Rama about it if need be.  As for Sita, it's good she trust Hanuman, but if someone had my husband's ring, I would think that person killed him.  However, thank goodness Hanuman found her when he did or she may have committed suicide.  I wonder why Hanuman did not just try to take Sita back then and there.  Perhaps it was because he knew he couldn't successfully rescue her so he would rather not make it worse for anyone and instead wait for Rama and the others to try to rescue her- there would then be a much greater chance for success.  Skipping forward, when Rama listens to Hanuman about whether or not to protect, I really appreciate that Rama listens to Hanuman.  First of all, it shows that he values everyone's opinion regardless of whether or not they seem "qualified" or not.  Also, it shows that Rama is open-minded and not prejudiced.  To the others, it may make Rama look somewhat foolish for listening to a monkey but on the flip side, Rama looks at the ideas themselves, not who they are necessarily attached to.  I think if people in today's world acted more like Rama did in this instance, we would all be better off.  Also, it's definitely an added bonus that Vibishana was able to inform Rama of Ravana's troops/weapons so that they would be more prepared.  On another note, I think it's nice that Rama sent a messenger as a heads up to Ravana that he was coming and it wasn't too late to make things right, but I can't recall a myth/story from history in which that ever worked out... During the battle, I wonder why one of Ravana's women, Trijata, tried to encourage Sita in the fact that her husband wasn't dead.  Do Ravana's women despise him?  And if so, wouldn't Ravana have died because of the curse that kills him upon touching women without their consent?  Later in the battle, one of Ravana's sons reminded Ravana that he had "Brahma's gift of invincibility"- really?  I don't recall that.  However, I do recall Hanuman's brother having that or at least something similar.  I see that his heads/arms grow back, but he still gets weaker.  I think it's strange that he has the power of invincibility but is not completely invincible.  Maybe a more accurate term to describe his powers would be the power of healing.

Week 3: Reading Diary A

Jumping back into the story, I think it's a little absurd that Ravana thinks that eventually Sita will give consent and he would be able to touch her without instantly dying.  I don't think that by abducting her he has given her any reason to trust him further.  It's so ironic that Ravana claims that it's too unfair for him "to confront a mere human being," but he has no problem abducting an innocent woman against her own will.  After Ravana defeated Jatayu and he carried Sita off on his shoulder, why didn't he die?  I would assume Sita would not give consent to be carried off by Ravana...?  Skipping ahead, I wonder why Rama felt "an instinctive compassion" towards Sugreeva as soon as he laid eyes on him.  Regardless, perhaps Sugreeva mentioned his own exile as a way to console Rama and show him that he's not alone in his suffering.  After reading Sugreeva's story, I feel really bad for him.  Like Lhakshmana, he had the right idea in mind and was heavily persuaded by others to do differently and then faced negative consequences as a result.  It's nice to see how Hanuman and Sugreeva are going to help Rama- is this only because Rama is helping them as well?  I wonder why Rama's mission gets priority considering if Sugreeva leaves the mountain he will supposedly be killed right away.  Oh, never mind. Hanuman says on the next paragraph that tey will vanquish Vali first. The description of Vali as he hears the call for battle is frightening to some degree.  Is he in the form of a human or what?  He sounds massive! Oh, he's a giant monkey...duh.  During the fight when it mentions the god of death (Yama)- was he actually there/watching from afar or is this meant to be more figurative?  The last exchanges between Vali and Rama are quite moving- I sympathize for Vali in a way but also understand Rama's side of the story.  I hate that another wife (Tara) will be without a husband now.  I'm glad that by the end, Vali and Rama come to some sort of understanding.  Any death is sad, but it is better that it was made in a peaceful way at the end regardless of the initial stimulus to death.  Skipping forward, upon describing the end of the rainy season, it refers to a "rare creeper known as vanji"- what is that?  I don't know...  Then, Rama makes so many threats...would he actually destroy every monkey in the world or is he just saying that?  I certainly believe he's capable, but I also hope that he would know better than that.