Why is Rama so inclined to sympathize with Sugreeva? Citing several examples from the latter part of the chapter, defend Rama's and Vali's argument, using your own moral reasoning, then in another paragraph, compare the situation to modern international politics and conflicts.
Rama is inclined to sympathize with Sugreeva because "he was filled with pity" (101) that own brothers would clash and fight against each other. And the fact that Vali had forced Sugreeva to flee to Sage Matanga.
ReplyDeleteI think that Rama helping Sugreeva fight against Vali was the right thing to do. However, I also think that it should have just been a fight against brothers, but that would also entail Sugreeva losing horribly. Vali says, "When two persons are opposed to each other, how can you in support of one, hide and attack the other? What you have done to me is not heroic or an act conducted within the laws of warfare."(109) Vali is saying that Rama's hiding was not fair, and in which using moral reasoning I don't think was fair. If Rama was to be in the fight, I think that he should have been out, and not been sneaking around the bushes waiting to attack. This part was not fair. Rama says, "he feared that you might need help...you misunderstood everything...you assaulted him and pursued him with the intention of killing him...Even now you would have squeezed his life out but not for my arrow..."(110) Rama is saying to Vali that without my help, you would have killed your own brother, even though he had done nothing wrong and been okay with it. However now that you are dying because of my arrow, you are realizing what is maybe right and wrong with this situation. So I think that it was the right thing for Rama to do, so step in a help seeing as though Sugreeva had done nothing but yet Vali still wanted to kill him. Rama says, "You possess enough intelligence to know right from wrong..."(111) Vali is smart enough to realize that killing his own brother is a mistake, and that Rama killing Vali was coming due to the fact the Sugreeva needed help. Lakshmana says, "Rama had made a vow to support Sugreeva...prior promise had to be fulfilled...Rama had come to you face to face you might have made a similar appeal which would have created confusion of purpose. That's the reason why he shot unseen by you."(112) Vali then understands and considers Rama a blessing from God. So in the long run I don't think that hiding from Vali was a good idea, however I believe that Rama helping Sugreeva was the right idea, otherwise Vali would not have seen the other side of the argument and died peacefully, he would have lived on with the fact that he killed his brother, and been okay with it.
ReplyDeleteI think that this argument is a lot like what is happening with the U.S. and Iran right now. On USATODAY it said that "U.S. aims to punish Iran for Saudi envoy plot. Iran supposedly tried to kill Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the U.S. Now even though Iran is a threat, I think that it should be between the U.S. and Iran to sort things out since they have been trying to do that since 9/11 since the attempted assassination was on American soil. However President Obama is encouraging other countries to join in like Europe to help work together against Iran. Yet Iran can't appreciate the help that we are constantly giving them, and they continue to be a threat. I think that if Iran were to see that the U.S. is only trying to help (which they are) that Iran would be better off, and we could pull our troops home, and stop fighting with them. In the end, it would be better for this long continued fight to be done, and to have peace with Iran just like Vali and Sugreeva did in the end.
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