Week 3 Reading Diary A: Rama and the Monkeys
The animals in epics always intrigue me, and as a result I enjoyed reading about everything Rama went through with the monkeys Sugreeva, Vali, and Hanuman. The character Vali (page 92) caught my interest very quickly. He possess unlimited strength and anyone who stands against him loses half of their strength to him! That sounds like an impossible battle, yet Rama still stood against him. That is incredibly bold and admirable, yet I am unsure if I agree with Rama killing Vali. A being of such great strength ruled the monkeys very well, and although he treated Sugreeva unfairly I don't believe he should have been killed. I believe Rama would have been better off approaching Vali peacefully and attempting to sort out the problems between Sugreeva. Taking advantage of Vali's unlimited power seems like a better strategy than eliminating him completely!
After Vali is killed (page 104), I couldn't help but feel like Sugreeva used him. Although he had been treated unfairly, the death of Vali brought Sugreeva into a position of great power and he became lazy and disconnected from Rama during the rainy season (page 111). I couldn't help but feel frustrated when Sugreeva forgot to send an army to Rama's aid. Although it was apparent that Sugreeva regretted his ways and swore away from wine, I believe that Vali would have proven to be the better ruler of Kiskinda.
I found myself supporting Hanuman and his endeavors. I see him as more powerful than Sugreeva, and even think he would have been a great ruler of Kiskinda! When Sampathi showed Hanuman his true stature (page 120) I felt even more respect for him. He now had such great power, and could even walk across the entire earth in one stride yet he remained humble and did not abuse this in the slightest. He remained sensitive, seeking to help Rama and comfort Sita. He even allowed himself to be captured to taunt Ravana rather than crushing the entire city beneath him! Hanuman was certainly one of my favorite characters in this reading.
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