ANALYSIS OF THODOROVS

NARRATIVE THEORY ON RAMAYANA

Submitted to fulfill assignment on Folklore

Arranged by:
Deska Setia Nurlaela (147835097)
Class of P2TK

PROGRAM STUDI PENDIDIKAN BAHASA DAN SASTRA INGGRIS

PROGRAM PASCASARJANA
UNIVERSITAS NEGERI SURABAYA
2015

ANALYSIS OF THODOROVS NARRATIVE THEORY ON RAMAYANA

I. Introduction
Ramayana is one of the great Indian epics. Ramayana tells about life in India around
1000 BCE and offers models in dharma. The hero, Rama, lived his whole life by the rules of
dharma; in fact, that was why Indian consider him heroic. When Rama was a young boy, he
was the perfect son. Later he was an ideal husband to his faithful wife, Sita, and a responsible
ruler of Aydohya. "Be as Rama," young Indians have been taught for 2,000 years; "Be as
Sita."
The original Ramayana was a 24,000 couplet-long epic poem attributed to the
Sanskrit poet Valmiki. Oral versions of Rama's story circulated for centuries, and the epic was
probably first written down sometime around the start of the Common Era. It has since been
told, retold, translated and transcreated throughout South and Southeast Asia, and the
Ramayana continues to be performed in dance, drama, puppet shows, songs and movies all
across Asia.
From childhood most Indians learn the characters and incidents of these epics and
they furnish the ideals and wisdom of common life. The epics help to bind together the many
peoples of India, transcending caste, distance and language. Two all-Indian holidays celebrate
events in the Ramayana. Dussehra, a fourteen-day festival in October, commemorates the
siege of Lanka and Rama's victory over Ravana, the demon king of Lanka. Divali, the
October-November festival of Lights, celebrates Rama and Sita's return home to their
kingdom of Ayodhya. Therefore, this paper is written to analyze Ramayana using the
narrative theory of Todorov.

II. Discussion
A. The Plot Synopsis of Ramayana
Dasharatha was the king of Kosala, an ancient kingdom that was located in
present day Uttar Pradesh. Ayodhya was its capital. Dasharatha was loved by one and
all. His rules the kingdom wisely and the people was prosperous. Even though
Dasharatha had everything that he desired, he was very sad at heart; he had no
children.
During the same time, there lived a powerful Rakshasa king in the island of
Ceylon, located just south of India. He was called Ravana. His tyranny knew no
bounds, his subjects disturbed the prayers of holy men.
Dasharatha was advised by his family priest Vashishtha to perform a fire
sacrifice ceremony to seek the blessings of God for children. Vishnu, the preserver of
the universe, decided to manifest himself as the eldest son of Dasharatha in order to
kill Ravana.
Finally, the king who had three wives is blessed with four sons. Rama was the
eldest and his mother was Kaushalya. Bharata was the son of Dasharathas second and
favorite wife, Queen Kaikeyi. The other two were twins, Lakshmana and Shatrughna
whose mother was Sumithra. The four princes grew up to be tall, strong, handsome,
and brave. Rama were taught by Viswamitra. He taught Rama several Mantras (divine
chants), with which Rama could summon many divine weapons (by meditation) in
order to fight against evil.
One day, King Janaka, the neighbor king, invited Viswamitra to attend the
great fire sacrifice ceremony that he had arranged. Viswamitra had something in mind
to get Rama married to the lovely daughter of Janaka. Janaka was a saintly king. He

received a bow from Lord Siva. It was strong and heavy. He wanted his beautiful
daughter Sita to marry the bravest and strongest prince in the country. So he had
vowed that he would give Sita in marriage only to the one who could string that great
bow of Siva. Many had tried before. None could even move the bow, let alone string
it. However, as Rama picked it up, he not only strung the bow, he broke it. Seeing this,
Sita indicated that she had chosen Rama as her husband by putting a garland around
his neck. Their love became a model for the entire kingdom as they looked over the
kingdom under the watchful eye of his father the king.
A few years later, King Dasharatha decided it was time to give his throne to
his eldest son Rama and retire to the forest. Everyone seemed pleased, except Queen
Kaikeyi since she wanted her son Bharata to rule. Because of an oath Dasharatha had
made to her years before, she got the king to agree to banish Rama for fourteen years
and to crown Bharata, even though the king pleaded with her not to demand such a
request. The devastated King could not face Rama and it was Queen Kaikeyi who
told Rama the Kings decree. Rama, always obedient, was content to go into
banishment in the forest. Sita and Lakshmana accompanied him on his exile
Bharata, whose mother's evil plot has won him the throne, is very upset when
he finds out what has happened. Not for a moment does he consider breaking the
rules of dharma and becoming king in Rama's place. He goes to Rama's forest retreat
and begs Rama to return and rule, but Rama refuses. Bharata then takes Rama's
sandals saying, "I will put these on the throne, and every day I shall place the fruits of
my work at the feet on my Lord." Embracing Rama, he takes the sandals and returns
to Aydohya.
One day Rama and Lakshmana wounded a rakshasas (demon) princess who
tried to seduce Rama. She returned to her brother Ravana, the ten-headed ruler of
Lanka. In retaliation, Ravana devised a plan to abduct Sita after hearing about her

incomparable beauty. He sent one of his demons Maricha.disguised as a magical

golden deer to entice Sita. Maricha took the form of a beautiful golden deer and
began to graze near Rama's cottage in Panchavati. Sita was attracted towards the
golden deer and requested Rama to get the golden deer for her. Lakshmana warned
that the golden deer may be a demon in disguise. By then Rama already started to
chase the deer. He hurriedly instructed Lakshmana to look after Sita and ran after the
deer. Very soon Rama realized that the deer is not a real one. He shot an arrow which
hit the deer and Maricha was exposed. Before dying, Maricha imitated Ram's voice
and shouted, "Oh Lakshmana! Oh Sita,! Help! Help!" Sita heard the voice and asked
Lakshmana to run and rescue Rama. Lakshmana was hesitant. He was confident that
Rama is invincible and the voice was only a fake. He tried to convince Sita but she
insisted. Finally Lakshmana agreed. Before his departure, he drew a magic circle,
with the tip of his arrow, around the cottage and asked her not to cross the line and
told her that she would be safe for as long as she did not step outside the circle. After
Lakshmana left, Ravana appeared as a holy man begging alms. The moment Sita
stepped outside the circle to give him food, Ravana grabbed her and carried her to his
kingdom in Lanka.
Rama is broken-hearted when he returns to the empty hut and cannot find Sita.
They searched, and called out her name but all in vain. Finally they were exhausted.
Lakshmana tried to console Rama as best as he could. Suddenly they heard a cry.
They ran towards the source and found a wounded eagle lying at the floor. It was
Jatayu, the king of eagles and a friend of Dasharatha. Jatayu narrated with great pain,
he saw Ravana abducting Sita. he attacked him when Ravana cut his wing and made
him helpless. Then Ravana and Sita flew towards the south. After saying this, Jatayu
died on the lap of Rama.

Rama and Lakshmana burried Jatayu and then moved towards the south. Rama
then sought the help of a band of monkeys offer to help him find Sita. Hanuman, the
general of the monkey band can fly since his father is the wind. He flew to Lanka and,
finding Sita in the grove, comforted her and told her Rama would come to save her
soon. Ravanas men captured Hanuman, and Ravana ordered them to wrap Hanuman's
tail in cloth and to set it on fire. With his tail burning, Hanuman escaped and hopped
from house-top to house-top, setting Lanka on fire. He then flew back to Rama to tell
him where Sita was.
Rama, Lakshmana and the monkey army built a causeway from the tip of
India to Lanka and crossed over to Lanka where a cosmic battle ensued. Rama killed
several of Ravanas brothers and eventually confronted the ten-headed Ravana. He
killed Ravana, and freed Sita, they returned to Ayodhya where Bharata returned the
crown to him.
B. The Todorovs Narrative Theories
In 1969, Todrov produced a theory which he believed could be applied to any
film. He believed that all films followed the same linear narrative pattern. They all
went through a series of stages. The first stage is an Equilibrium where everything is
normal and as it should be. Then a disruption to the Equilibrium- this upsets the
normal balance of life. Meanwhile, something affects the hero- this is the recognition
of the disruption. There is then an attempt to repair the disruption and the
hero continues on with his quest. Finally, Equilibrium is then restored, not exactly the
way it was before but the hero defeats the villain.
Here narrative is not seen as a linear structure but a circular one. The narrative
is driven by attempts to restore the equilibrium. However, the equilibrium attained at
the end of the story is not identical to the initial equilibrium. Like the cycle belows:

These stages can be organized as follows:

1.

A state of equilibrium (All is as it should be.)

2.

A disruption of that order by an event.

3.

A recognition that the disorder has occurred.

4.

An attempt to repair the damage of the disruption.

5.

A return or restoration of a NEW equilibrium

C. Analysis
1. A state of equilibrium ( all is as it should be)
The equilibrium on this opening sequence is Dasharatha, the King of Ayodhya,
had three wives and four sons. Rama was the eldest and his mother was Kaushalya.
Bharata was the son of Dasharathas second and favorite wife, Queen Kaikeyi. The
other two were twins, Lakshmana and Shatrughna whose mother was Sumithra. In the
neighboring city the rulers daughter was named Sita. When it was time for Sita to
choose her bridegroom (at a ceremony called a swayamvara) princes from all over the
land were asked to string a giant bow which no one could lift. However, as Rama
picked it up, he not only strung the bow, he broke it. Seeing this, Sita chose Rama as
her husband. Their love became a model for the entire kingdom as they looked over
the kingdom under the watchful eye of his father the king.

2.

A disruption of that order by an event

The disruption in off of this is when King Dasharatha decided to give his

throne to his eldest son Rama and retire to the forest. Everyone seemed pleased,
except Queen Kaikeyi since she wanted her son Bharata to rule. Because of an oath
Dasharatha had made to her years before, she got the king to agree to banish Rama for
fourteen years and to crown Bharata. Even though the king pleaded with her not to
demand such a request. The devastated King could not face Rama and it was Queen
Kaikeyi who told Rama the Kings decree. Rama, always obedient, was content to go
into banishment in the forest. Sita and Lakshmana accompanied him on his exile
3. A recognition that the disorder has occurred
A recognition that the disorder has occurred is when Rama and Lakshmana
wounded a rakshasas (demon) princess who tried to seduce Rama. She returned to her
brother Ravana, the ten-headed ruler of Lanka. In retaliation, Ravana devised a plan to
abduct Sita, Ramas wife, after hearing about her incomparable beauty. He sent one of
his demons disguised as a magical golden deer to entice Sita. To please her, Rama
went to hunt the deer down and ask Laksmana to protect Sita.but when Sita heard
Rama asking to help, she asked Laksmana to rescue Rama. Before Laksmana did
though, he drew a protective circle around Sita and told her that she would be safe for
as long as she did not step outside the circle. After Lakshmana left, Ravana appeared
as a holy man begging alms. The moment Sita stepped outside the circle to give him
food, Ravana grabbed her and carried her to his kingdom in Lanka
4. An attempt to repair the damage of the disruption.
An attempt to repair the damage of the discruption is analyzed when Rama
sought the help of a band of monkeys offer to help him find Sita. Hanuman, the general
of the monkey band can fly since his father is the wind. He flew to Lanka and, finding
Sita in the grove, comforted her and told her Rama would come to save her soon.
Ravanas men captured Hanuman, and Ravana ordered them to wrap Hanuman's tail in

cloth and to set it on fire. With his tail burning, Hanuman escaped and hopped from
house-top to house-top, setting Lanka on fire. He then flew back to Rama to tell him
where Sita was
5.

A return or restoration of a NEW equilibrium

The return of restoration to a New equilibrium is analyzed when Rama,

Lakshmana and the monkey army built a causeway from the tip of India to Lanka and
crossed over to Lanka where a cosmic battle ensued. Rama killed several of Ravanas
brothers and eventually confronted the ten-headed Ravana. He killed Ravana, freed
Sita and after Sita proved here purity, they returned to Ayodhya where Bharata
returned the crown to him.
III. Conclusion
Ramayana is the immortal tale of Shri Rama that teaches us the values of ideology,
devotion, duty, relationships, dharma and karma. The story of Rama is divided into four
parts: the early life of Rama, Rama's exile, Abduction of Sita (Rama's wife) and Slaying of
Ravana, the abductor of Sita, and Rama's coronation. It depicts the duties of relationships,
portraying ideal characters like the ideal father, the ideal servant, the ideal brother, the
ideal wife, and the ideal king.
After analyzing Ramayana by using Todorovs Narrative Structuralism, It found that
the story follow the stages in the theory. It proves that Ramayana followed the same linear
narrative pattern.

Sources
https://triangulations.wordpress.com/2012/03/25/ramayana-a-synopsis. Accessed on
January 2015