I think the story of Ramayana is very similar to a fairytale. Like we discussed in class, there are many attributes that are similar to the plot of a fairytale. There is a prince and his princess and like many Disney movies the prince has to go off to save the damsel in distress. There is an evil stepmother, Kaikeyi who works with an evil hunchback to remove Rama from being crowned prince. And if you analyzed it closely, Rama has step brothers who aren’t necessarily bad but it reminds me of Disney’s Cinderella in ways. And when Rama is exiled it reminded me of the fairytale Snow White because Snow White is sent off in the forest to be killed because she is standing in the Queen’s way of being the fairest of them all. While Rama is being exiled because he is standing in the way of Kaikeyi and Manthara’s way of being in a higher place in the royal family. Kaikeyi and Manthara are looking out for their selves by insisting that Bharata be crowned prince so they will be taken care of.
To me Rama is a superhero. He may not have a costume or magical powers but to me he has other qualities that make him a superhero. He has a love interest (his wife Sita) and he has values. Rama wants to obey his parents which is why he went freely when being exiled. His values are his Dharma and Karma. He is publicly known for being the prince of the kingdom and he is brave and has courage because he took on a demon and won. Which many people would not be able to do, that alone shows his strength. In class we said that since Rama doesn’t have super powers and no costume he isn’t a superhero. But he is similar to Batman; Batman doesn’t have super powers he is just got good at using gadgets. Batman is basically an average man who fights crime he has a costume yes but if he didn’t I think he would still be able to fight crime. Another issue there was with assigning Rama as a superhero was the fact that he went to save Sita but then instead of believing that she remained faithful to him, he puts her through several tests so she can prove her fidelity. I don’t think he had the right to do that but still I don’t think that alone can rule him out as a superhero. If I was Sita, I wouldn’t do any of the tests and if he doesn’t believe me then that’s his problem. I think it was unfair for her to have to go through something so traumatic and have her husband question her about her fidelity.
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I'm curious how Bharat reminds you of the wicked step-sisters. He's Rama's half brother and I don't see any malice in him.
ReplyDeleteSo, despite what he put Sita through, you believe that Rama is a superhero? That can work, but it seems to put you in the minority in class.