Answer TWO of the following:
Q1: As we discussed on Monday, Narayan is having some fun with his adaptation of the great epic, rather than striving for a strict, academic translation. This allows him more latitude to interpret the story and add his own interpolations and glosses. Where does he do this in Chs. 3 and 4, and how does it add to the story—esp. for a modern audience?
Q2: In Chapter 3, Rama claims that “A word given is like an arrow, it goes forward. You cannot recall it midway” (54). What situation is he responding to here, and how does this underline the fundamental concept of dharma (which translates to “the essential order of things, an integrity and harmony in the universe and in the affairs of life that cannot be disturbed without courting chaos”)?
Q3: What role do women seem to play in The Ramayana? From Sita, to Kayeki, to the demon Soorpanaka, they all share certain characteristics and emerge as very distinct characters (maybe more so than the men). As Western readers, do we read these portrayals as somewhat misogynist (anti-women)? Or are they merely playing the roles required of them in this culture? Do they relate at all to women such as Penelope, Circe, and Calypso?
Q4: In Chapter 1, Rama has to kill a female demon, and in Chapter 4, his brother, Lakshmana has to mutilate Soorpanaka. Both deeds can be seen as quite horrific and certainly beneath the hero of a great epic. How does the work justify these acts? How could men, traditionally the protectors of women in this culture, inflict such savagery upon them?
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