Two papers corrected MLA cites correced and content added for college A+ paper (SMARTWRITER ONLY)
tommyb1972
eng_2205_rsesearch_paper_the_ramayana_and_sei_shonagon.docxRunning head: THE RAMAYANA AND SEI SHONAGON 1
THE RAMAYANA AND SEI SHONAGON 9
The Ramayana and Sei Shonagon
Tommy Bush Sr.
Professor Menon:
September 12, 2013
The Ramayana and Sei Shonagon
Introduction
This is a paper on the world literature and compares Valmiki’s, The Ramayana with Sei Shōnagon, The Pillow Book. In directly the paper will compare Indian literature with Japan literature. Both the books have their own importance in their respective culture. First of all both the books will describe in which century they are created and their founders. The paper will also tell to which country both the books belong.
Next, that paper will describe the summary of each book, their characters, and an overall analysis of both the books. Both the book compare their main characters, roles, themes and backdrop, followed by the thesis statement and a brief statement of the reaction the student felt after reading the literature.
Ramayana is a great Indian epic poem written by Valmiki in the 5th century BC. In the Indian subcontinent, Ramayana is the oldest and the most popular epic. This epic is written in Sanskrit language. Ramayana means, the journey of Lord Rama”. Rama has been shown as a incarnation of God Vishnu and another main character Ravan’s who depicts the evil force. The book shows a final victory of Lord Rama over Ravana for safeguarding the Dharma.
The Pillow Book shows the court life in the 11th century in Japan and the book is written by Sei Shonagon. This is a classic text that represents great beauty in its content and literature and is written when the Heian culture is at its heights. The book contains anecdotes, humorous observations, and subtle impressions. The Pillow Book reflects Shonagon’s royal and religious ceremonies, its nature, its pilgrimage, its conversation and poetry. The writer also explained the character sketches and other things that she loves and loathes. She has a sharp wit with eloquent style of writing. She has beautifully explained the Heian upper class and Ivan Morris's notes and has made a great content for readers and scholars (Morris 1991).
The Ramayana
Ramayana is a Sanskrit word which means the journey made by Lord Ram. This is a great Hindu epic written by Valmiki in the 4th and 2nd century B.C. This is a smriti which is secondary to the authority of Shruti. The Ramayana is spared through seven books and has 2400 verses. Ramayana, first book is called the Book of Youth that explains the childhood of Ram. Ram is the eldest son to the King Dasarath and Queen Kausalya. Dasarth has three wives, to which there were four sons, Ram, Lakshman, Bharat and Shatrughan.
Both the brothers Ram and Lakshman were sent with sage Vishwamitra so that they can help them sages to complete their rituals by killing the demons who are interrupting their rituals. While Rama was living with sage Vishwamitra, he got an invitation from King Janaka who has arranged a Swayamvar for her daughter Sita and many princes from different kingdoms were invited in the Swayamvar ceremony. Sita was the incarnation of goddess Lakshmi. Ram successfully bend Lord Shiva’s bow and had won Sitas’ hand for marriage. In Ramayana, both Ram and Sita were idolized as ideal husband and wife and hence considered as role model for all husbands and wives in the Hindu culture and are worshipped by the worshippers.
Second book is called the Book of Ayodhya. This book tells the story of jealousy by Queen Kaikeyi for Ram. Kaikeyi made a conspiracy and forced King Dasarath to crown her son Bharat instead of Ram and also forced Ram to go for exile for 14 years out of the kingdom in jungle. Third book is called the Book of forest. This book begins with Bharat’s journey to bring Ram back to the kingdom and pleaded Ram to come back to the Kingdom and take his crown. But Rama refuses the request of Bharat and Sais that he will not break his father’s promise. In the meanwhile King Dasarath dies of sorrow and his separation from his son Ram.
In the forest, the demon-ness Surpanakha tries to seduce Rama and fails to do so and brother Lakshmana has cut her nose. Surpanakha was the sister of Ravan and therefore Ravan decided to take revenge from two brothers and send the demon Maricha to lure the brothers and they succeeded to trap them, In the meanwhile Sita was alone in the forest where Ravan abducts her. While Ravan was on her way to Lanka after capturing Sita, Ram’s friend Jatayu saw this and fight with Ravan to save Sita but was killed by Ravan. Jatayu dies in the arms of Ram while narrating the incident.
The fourth book is called the kingdom of monkeys. In this section, Ram was wandering in the forest to locate Sita , where he received help from the king of Kishkindha, Sugriva. But the entire monkey kingdom fails to find Sita. Then they met jatayu’s brother Sampati, who has been gifted with great vision. He used his power and locates Sita sitting in the garden of Ashok trees on the island of Lanka. Now ram has located Sita and the entire monkey army proceeds towards Indian Ocean.
The fifth book is called the Sundara , which means Hanuman. When Ram with his army reached Indian Ocean, they realized that they have no facilities or boats to cross the ocean with the army. Only Hanuman has the ability to fly and therefore he flew over Indian ocean and reaches Lanka to meet Sita. Hanuman met Sita and told her that Ram is on his way to save her. But he was caught by the Ravana army men and they set his tail on fire as a punishment to enter the Lanka premises.
But instead of Hanuman feeling helpless, he flies and set the entire city of Lanka on fire. Then he left Lanka and informed Ram about the entire incidence and his meeting with Sita. Finally the army gets a way to cross Indian Ocean, they used stones to make a bridge, each stone is inscribed with the name Ram so that they do not sink and hence abridge is formed over Indian Ocean.
The sixth book is called the Book of War. Ram killed Ravana and saves Sita. Later on when they both returned to Ayodhya and Ram become the king of Ayodhya. The seventh book is called The Book of Beyond. Ram makes Sita prove her celibacy through a test of fire and also sent Sita to the jungle and lost his credibility. He believed on the gossip and banished Sita. It was believed that this seventh book was not originally written by Valmiki; rather it was added later on.
Readers have learned many things from Ramayana book. The book told about ideal king, ideal husband, ideal wife, ideal brother etc. The entire book was about Ram’s determination towards fulfilling his father’s promise and proved to be an ideal son and king (“Ramayana: Summary”).
The Pillow Book
Some of the earliest and most beautiful literary works in the world are done in Japan and one of the superlative works is The Pillow Book, the first and best written "lifestyle" diary. This book is almost 1,000 years old. The book’s style, syntax and structure has been recognized as the most elegant and accessible in the Japanese language.
“The Pillow Book is a sort of diary that Sei Shonagon kept while she served as a lady in waiting to Empress Sadoko during the last decade of the 900's. The entire text is segmented into six parts. In The Cat Who Lived in the Palace, she writes about a dog named Okinamaro and how he gets banished from the palace for trying to bite Lady Myobu, the cat, who got awarded the headdress of nobility. When the dog came back to the palace, no one knew if it was really him, and he was avoiding betraying himself and letting everyone know it was really him” (The Pillow Book).
She covered all varied topics. She writes poetry in her journal, gossips about the people in the court, and writes about the wonders of nature. The book has no real plot but there are recurring characters and themes. Its few themes are beauty, position, and nature.
Recurring characters are other courtiers, especially the Emperor and Empress. Her life was revolving around taking care of Empress, preparing for festivals and special occasions, and going on pilgrimages to temples. Only at some occasions she visited her family otherwise this palace has become her home (Shōnagon).
In The Hateful Things, she wrote about the people who do not respect others and she personally do not like those people who try to become over smart or people who do gossip or those who interrupts others. In Graceful things, she explained about different things that likes and appreciates. She mentions things that are pretty and elegant to her like Women behind a curtain of state.
The book contains brief essays ranging from observations of nature to witty comments what she faces in the imperial court. The Pillow Book was written by Sei Shonagon who was popular for her beautiful language but at the same time she was known for her controversial topics which she selects at that time. She always highlights social problems and other problems that people like to hide from others, she has also highlighted some beautiful things of Japanese culture and nature. She was the inspiration for many upcoming writers.
In Hateful things, Sei has collected many letters from different people and each letter described a unique action or event or action of people in the culture. She criticizes all those who speak bad to others, or the people who interrupts others while talking or complaining. She also hates those people who tell the story in too much detail. She is good in criticisms but never pointed on particular with their names.
She also believed that people become used to their behavior whether good or bad that they never realized that their behavior is bad and is hurting others. She also believes that tension is continuously breeding between all social relations. “A newcomer pushes ahead of the members in a group; with a knowing look, this person starts laying down the law and forcing advice upon everyone- most hateful” (504) (The Pillow Book). She also forces people to change their behavior if they do not have respect for others.
In the part, Embarrassing Things, Sei explained that there are some people who find it hard to recognize the embarrassment or what is embarrassing and it is very difficult to reproach such people. She came to know that people praise themselves for the things that were funny and did not care about others feeling and thinking about them and are always ready to make fun of themselves in front of others. “It is embarrassing to know that one’s visitor can overhear, But how to stop them?” (504) (The Pillow Book).
In Remember a Clear Morning, she was inspired by Japanese nature and admired it. In this section, she discussed about the Chrysanthemum festival that was about to begin in the ninth month of the year. She has truly explained the morning of this festival with true colors and it shows the real Japanese nature and culture. Her writing in this has attracted people towards the true Japanese nature and its fascination. “It has been raining all night. Despite the bright sun (…)”( 505). “On the bamboo fences and crisscross hedges I saw tatters of spider webs; (…) I was greatly moved and delighted.” (505). “What most impressed me was that they were not at all impressed” (505). (The Pillow Book). All these sentences explain that how beautifully she has described the Japanese nature at that time.
In the Letters Are Commonplace, Sei has shown her excitement of receiving letters from people staying at far places and is someone is special. That was the time when the only medium of communication was letters so she reflected the significance of letters at that time to keep the relation alive. “When one has been worrying about something and wants to tell a certain person about it, what a relief!” (505). Receiving and sending letters was one big part of the life in that period. This shows that people in Japan value relationships and always keep trust upon each other (The Pillow Book).
Readers find that book has encountered all the correct sentiments in right manner. Readers find that Sei has served in the court of the Empress Sadako, one of the most culturally refined courts in the history. She has described the appearance of conducts on the life of each aristocrat around her. She gave beautiful comments on the insight and are often time scathing. Even with the passing time, the book manages to retain its charm and freshness (Genji, Haiku, Rumi, and Tagore).
Through this example, the writer wanted to show that she has observed well-bred people violating the concept of Miyabi which has made its distasteful. The writer evaluates the concept of Miyabi on the basis of social aspects and also tells how to behave socially.
Conclusion
This comparative analysis concluded that both are the books that reflect their own culture which is unique and special. It also shows that both the books are divided into different sections to make the content easy and understandable for the readers. In Ramayana, each section has its own separate theme, story and value and similarly in the, The Pillow Book has a separate section that explains different themes and Japanese nature and culture.
It is good to find that the book reflect the fascinating exploration of life among the nobility when the Heian period was at its peak. It also beautifully explained the superb pleasures of a confined world in which poetry, love, fashion, and whim dominated along with harsh reality. The books has also discussed variety of themes like nature, society etc. The writer has provided a witty and intimate window on a woman's life at court in classical Japan (Shonagon).
Work Cited
Genji, Haiku, Rumi, and Tagore. "Asia's Great Books in the past Millennium." Books in Asia That Changed the Last Millennium. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Aug. 2013. <http://bystander.homestead.com/millenbooks.html>.
"Hateful Things." N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Aug. 2013. <http://www.basicincome.com/bp/hatefulthings.htm>.
Morris, I. "The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon." The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon. N.p., Dec. 1991. Web. 20 Aug. 2013. <http://cup.columbia.edu/book/978-0-231-07337-0/the-pillow-book-of-sei-shonagon/reviews>.
"Ramayana: Summary." Ramayana Summary. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Aug. 2013. <http://www.mythome.org/RamaSummary.html>.
Shonagon, Sei. "Summary of The Pillow Book." Penguin.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Aug. 2013. <http://www.us.penguingroup.com/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,9780140448061,00.html>.
Shōnagon, Sei. "The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon." Book Rags. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Aug. 2013. <http://www.bookrags.com/: http://www.bookrags.com/The_Pillow_Book/>.
