I’m not sure why but the reading this time around seems much
harder to follow. Like it’s either denser or maybe it’s just that we’re being
constantly introduced to new characters very quickly and there’s a high amount
of changeover with each new scene. It’s leading me to certainly have to read
and re-read the pieces in order to get the full jist of the material and I keep
having to check the Wikipedia links again and again to stay on task with who is
who and why people/things are important. It’s gotten a bit dense. From just a
pure writing perspective, it’s good from a more objective stylistic point of
view but to a modern reader, it’s almost too historical. I definitely think I’ll
take a more narrative tone and style during this week’s storytelling. While the
historical style can appeal to some because it feels truer to the piece, I feel
like I’ll want to take a more modern stylistic approach and that would be more
in line with my writings already anyway.
Thematically, I’ve been drawn to the sort of ambivalent and
more random nature that life plays with people. It comes up time and time again
that the characters in these tales befall misfortune beyond their control. The
beggars at the lac palace are burned to death while sleeping. It’s definitely
something I want to try to emulate. I want my story this week to really play up
the unpredictability of life (and this is even in a world with gods that
directly interact with it). If I choose to use gods in my stories, I want to
make sure that even they can fall victim to mistakes and chance. I find it very
interesting how the story often portrays the gods as distinctly human in their
faults. It’s very interesting.
Bibliography: PDE Mahabharata Link
(Escape of Pandavas from Fire accident, Wikimedia commons)
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