Author's Note. For Week 2 Storytelling, I decided to choose a creative writing style: Facebook! I chose it as a means of retelling the story in a modern, fun way that would be understandable, yet equally entertaining to all who read it. My main goals for this story were to portray what each character was going through and what their true feelings were in certain situations. I did not alter anything significant in the storyline. I simply retold it in the form of posts and comments [I did create one character, Ranaki, a nurse, that was not in the original story]. In this storytelling assignment, I wanted to retell the part of the Ramayana where King Dasharatha was going to name his next heir. There are those in the Kingdom who are overjoyed by who he plans to appoint as his successor (Rama!). Not everyone is pleased with this, though. Bharata's (Dasharatha's other son) old nurse, Manthara, once offended by Rama long ago, has held a grudge ever since and is wholeheartedly against his becoming king. She relays this information and warns Bharata's mother, Kaikeyi, that she needs to act swiftly and tell Dasharatha to name Bharata as king instead, while imploring that Rama be exiled from Ayodhya as well. As Dasharatha owes Kaikeyi a favor, he has no choice but to comply with her demands, though he does not want to exile his son. Although everyone in the Kingdom is sad that their beloved Rama has to leave, he understands the situation and, being the every-dutiful son, follows the command to go into exile. My post will end with the immediate effects of the entire situation, Dasharatha's dejection, the countrymen's reactions, and the strain that this all puts on Dasharatha's and Kaikeyi's marriage. I hope you all enjoy!
King Dasharatha decides to appoint his heir (Facebook Source).
Manthara's reaction (Facebook Source).
Kaikeyi must act fast (Facebook Source).
Prince Rama is dutiful as always (Facebook Source).
It was bound to happen (Facebook Source).
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Relationship Status: It's complicated. (Wikimedia Commons)
Bibliography.
"Ramayana" Public Domain Edition by various authors. Web Source: Ramayana PDE
"Indian Myth and Legend" by Donald A. Mackenzie (1913). Web Source: Ramayana PDE
"Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists" by Sister Nivedita (1914). Web Source: Ramayana PDE
"Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists" by Sister Nivedita (1914). Web Source: Ramayana PDE
This is an awesome way of retelling the story! This actually deserves a WOW! It is the first time I have ever seen a story told through Facebook. I feel like it was a good idea to portray this story through modern social media communications. Posting stories in this manner could be a good way to teach stories. I feel like more people would actually pay attention since the format of the story itself is something almost everyone around us uses now a day. Did you have a hard time formatting the story this way? What if you did not use this exact format? I am interesting in finding out what other ideas you had in mind! I think you should make more stories this way. I do not have actual feedback on what you should do different because this was perfect! If anything I would suggest adding more of the story in this format. Its like reading a high school drama!
ReplyDeleteWhat a neat way to retell this part of the story. I think choosing the Facebook post format is a great way to connect with younger readers, since a lot of us spend a lot of time on social media and that is how we mainly process information. I noticed that the Facebook 'users' did not have a profile picture, so I wonder what each character would choose as their picture. A lot of avid social media users take a lot of time to choose their profile pictures because it is the first thing other users will see, so I think that is a cool way to get some insight into the character's personalities. I really liked how you incorporated the character's relationships into the posts. For example, Manthara replies to Bharata to make sure he is eating well just as a caring nurse might do in real life as well. I look forward to your other stories and how you creatively format them in the future.
ReplyDeleteHa! I love it! Such a modern twist on an epic. Well done. At first I actually thought you made facebook accounts for everyone then I looked at the number of “like” and thought no way you went to all that trouble, but low and behold a Facebook status generator. What a cool thing. I do like the idea however I don’t think it would have made much since without reading the Ramayana.
ReplyDeleteGreat job Bayan! That was so fun reading. I can tell how well you are going to do in this class from this post. You can tell how much time and effort you put in to entertain us all. I loved how you were able to portray each character efficiently! I felt like these characters were actually real people on Facebook that post away things about their day to day life. Most likely those people would hidden or blocked from my profile but still a great laugh. I almost spit up coffee when I read the relationship status of Kaikeyi and wanted to comment saying "Preach it sista!" You wrote the comments in a way that was easy to follow as well as your other posts. Teach me your ways! I take forever trying to make my posts flow and in the end it never does. You are definitely a creative mind and I can't wait to read more from you!
ReplyDeleteI would have never thought of making a Facebook story, but you absolutely nailed it. In this day and age it is very common to communicate through social media, so your take on this story puts a refreshing modern twist on the tale. I really liked the post where Manthara writes a smilie face when Kaikeyi is expressing her dread, signifying her part in causing Kaikeyi's pain. Great job on this!
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