Storytelling: Jonathon and the Monkey King

“What are we gonna do today, Jonathon?” Mr. Piddles was sitting on Jonathon’s bed that Saturday morning, waiting to see what was on the agenda. Mr. Piddles was Jonathon's stuffed polar bear, a gift from his grandmother.

“Well, I think it is about time we explored more of the backyard.” Jonathon’s father David had fenced off a section of their backyard for their dog to play in. However, the rest of the backyard had not been explored by Jonathon and Mr. Piddles.

“Oh I like that idea! We should see if we can find some new friends out there too!” Mr. Piddles was always looking for new friends.

“Yeah! Let’s go take a look outside!” Jonathon quickly put on his tennis shoes and they slipped out the back door.

They climbed over the wooden fence and into the new territory. There was a lot of tall grass and bugs buzzing around everywhere. Jonathon looked all around him and up above there were several trees with lots of branches intertwining around one another. They continued to walk further into the wooded area until Mr. Piddles noticed something out of the corner of his eye.

“Look over there! A monkey!” Mr. Piddles pointed to a tree a little bit to Jonathon’s right. Jonathon quickly turned and sure enough, there was a monkey sitting in the tree watching them!

“Let’s go try and talk to him!” Jonathon began to carefully walk towards the monkey, unsure of his intentions. “Hello? Mr. Monkey, sir?”

“Oh hello there, young fellow! My name is Sugriva, the Monkey King! I welcome you to my kingdom!” Sugriva bowed deeply at Jonathon and Mr. Piddles and almost fell out of the tree.

“This is your kingdom? Where are all of the people that live in it?” Mr. Piddles asked, slightly confused as to how a monkey thought their backyard was his kingdom.

“Oh, I only have a few subjects, mostly birds and insects with the occasional other animal. They are free to come and go as they please. After I was exiled from my brother’s kingdom only a few followed me here.” The monkey shook his head and looked back over his shoulder.

Jonathon couldn’t decide if they had accidentally walked into another kingdom- he and his father had just been reading Narnia the night before- or if Sugriva was telling the truth.

“Why did your brother kick you out?” Jonathon had to get to the bottom of this.

“Well, we were out playing one day and he heard a noise, so he dug a deep hole and told me to keep watch. But after three days I didn’t see or hear him, so I thought he had gotten lost or come out on the other side by then.” Jonathon and Mr. Piddles nodded as they also thought this was logical. “So I went back home, but the next day when he came back up he struggled to get out and thought that I had left him there on purpose trying to kill him.” Sugriva looked very sad now.

“Oh no! Well, Mr. Sugriva, you are welcome to stay here and we will help you reclaim your home if possible. Won’t we, Mr. Piddles?” Jonathon felt a fire deep inside of him light, a sign to try and help the Monkey King.

“Of course! This is a very sad story and we cannot have a homeless monkey!” Mr. Piddles nodded and soon the three were planning their next moves.

Author’s Note:

           

I wanted this story to begin developing the relationship between Jonathon, Mr. Piddles, and other characters such as Sugriva the monkey king. I wanted to include Sugriva because I thought that the monkeys themselves were such an integral part to the second half of the Ramayana stories. I really enjoyed reading about their tales and thought it was very ridiculous why Sugriva had been kicked out of his kingdom to begin with. I did not want to end the story with Sugriva going back because I may want to use him in future stories in Jonathon’s backyard. I am glad to have my characters, Jonathon and Mr. Piddles, back for this semester's Portfolio project. It is a bit of a comfort to be able to rely on them for story ideas because there are so many ways you can involve a little boy and his stuffed polar bear. I remember going on lots of adventures as a kid with my stuffed animals because I was an only child (sad but true!). I think that writing about Jonathon’s childhood is a way for me to funnel my own experiences into these stories without having to personally write about myself. I look forward to the next chapter in Jonathon’s life!

Sugriva and Rama

 

Reading Notes: Ramayana Public Domain Version, Part D

I am reading Ramayana the public domain version, which is an anthology.

• This section seems to focus on the battle for Sita. Another battle scene is welcomed because I think that it really shows how the Indian culture viewed war. It is clear that the authors each had their own opinions and ways of describing war.
• The illusions used to try and confuse Sita into thinking that Rama is dead, is an interesting aspect of this story. I think that Ravana is silly for thinking that he could hold up this lie and go to war. This could be a cool thing to include in my story as another piece to bring reference to these stories.
• Again, I love reading about all of the mythical creatures in these stories because I have had such little exposure to them before. The winged mounts used in fighting, the monkeys, the 'living weapons', and the gods and goddesses. 
• The landscape has also seemed to play a large part in all of these stories. I like how the authors continually mention the scenery for each story because it leads to the reader following along better. This is something I have to work on in my own stories because often times I skip over these details to try and fit more plot into the story.
• I have really enjoyed reading this version of the Ramayana because it is an anthology. I originally a little nervous, thinking that it would be confusing having many different people writing on the same topic. However, it has been quite insightful to how so many people viewed the events. I think that writing in verse is a very creative way many authors conveyed this story and I will have to use this at some point this semester because you do not see it in use very often today.

Rama and Sita together at last

Reading Notes: Ramayana Public Domain Version Part C

I am reading Ramayana the public domain version, which is an anthology.

• I enjoyed reading this section because it talks about monkey kings and who does not enjoy that? I think that it is very nice that the authors are starting to make things go in Rama's favor again. I like that they make this an opportunity for both Rama and Sugriva.
• It seems like Sugriva will be an important character because there are many stories with him in this section. I think that Rama helping Sugriva is the right thing to do and it is interesting that they both have the same story. It is also interesting that Rama feels the need to go and fight for Sugriva when they met only a few hours before.
• The fight is interesting and as Laura mentions in her notes, Rama attacks from bushes with the bow and arrow. This is a sneaky tactic and could be a good plot point in the story for this week. But I am glad that Sugriva and Rama win the fight, even though Sugriva mourns for his brother.
• I am glad that Sugriva has offered to help Rama find Sita. I like the mention of the rain season in this story because it brings a bit of India to the forefront of the readers mind. This is another aspect that I think I would like to use for this weeks story. I also very much enjoyed reading Rama's lament because it gave a good look into what he was truly feeling, this could be good for the story as well.
• I like the rest of the stories, although they are mostly short, introduce a lot of new characters and reintroduce some old ones. I definitely enjoy all of the 'mythical' characters of Indian culture. I will have to look at involving some in future stories.

Sampati (the bird) with the monkey and bear army