Reading Notes: Twenty-Two Goblins Reading B

Twenty-Two Goblins

Favorite Sentences: Sentences with metaphors and personification caught my attention and made the writing more interesting.

"As he wandered, the summer came on him like a lion, the blazing sun its mouth, and the sunbeams its mane. And the hot wind blew, made hotter yet by the sighs of travellers separated from their wives. And the yellow mud dried and cracked, as if the lakes were broken-hearted at the loss of their lotuses. And the trees, filled with chirping birds, seemed to lament the absence of the spring, and their withering leaves seemed like lips that grow dry in the heat."

I love the extended metaphor comparing the summer to a lion because it showed the negative effect the heat had on the main character. The author was able to convey the same sense of loss that the protagonist was feeling by describing the scenery as "broken-hearted," "[lamenting] the absence of spring," and with leaves like "lips that grow dry in the heat."

"After a time, the lion of spring came dancing through the forest and slew the elephant of winter."

Like the previous quote, this sentence stood out because of the metaphor comparing seasons to animals. The word "dancing" to go with spring works well because of feelings associated with that season.

"And the king saw her, and his whole being was shaken. He felt her beauty sinking deep in his heart like a victorious arrow of Love, and he fainted."

Though this folktale is from India, the "arrow of Love" idea reminded me of Cupid. The metaphor helped give a sense for how hopeless the king was against his attraction to her.

"Their eyes are blinded by the hurricane of power, and they do not see the road."

This poetic sentence ties power to a hurricane, which is strong, destructive, and blinding. I enjoyed the imagery and word choice and thought it added a lot to the story.

"The righteous man finds happiness, the unrighteous man finds unhappiness because of his unrighteousness, and for no other reason. If you made up your mind to this because of unhappiness, practice righteousness instead."

For context, this line is said by someone trying to convince another character not to kill themselves. It stood out to me because it seems like a universally applicable piece of wisdom; if you are unhappy with your life, try improving yourself before blaming others or thinking nothing will get better.

"Thus, if fate opposed, even a virtue that has been painfully acquired does not profit, but rather injures. But the tree of manhood, with the water of intelligence poured into its watering-trench of conduct about the vigorous root of fate, generally bears good fruit."

The mention of "fate" in this story was interesting, because I don't remember it appearing in other places. The metaphor of virtue/manhood to a tree that is cultivated by the water of hard work and intelligence bearing good fruit, if it has good roots, resonated and showed the effort needed to grow virtue.

"So the old relatives gathered and said to the father: "Brahman, life is imaginary like a city in the sky. Do you not know this, you who know things above and things below? The kings who enjoyed themselves like gods upon the earth, they have gone one by one to cemeteries filled with processions of weeping ghosts. Their bodies were burned by the flesh-devouring fire and eaten by jackals. No one could prevent it in their case. How much less in the case of others? Therefore, as you are a wise man, tell us what you mean by embracing this dead body."

The line "life is imaginary like a city in the sky" stood out because of the unique imagery of a city in the sky. Also, the idea that life is "imaginary" is so foreign to Western ideas that the whole line jumped out.

"His veins stuck out like cords to bind him, as if afraid that he would break in pieces."

This line effectively showed the old age and fragility of the man in a creative way. I liked the personification of the veins, calling them "afraid."

"In the morning, the blessed sun arose in the east, stretching out his rays like hands to warn the king not to go into the forest where robbers lived."

I liked the personification of the sun, especially the rays as hands. It reminded me of some other origin stories where the sun, moon, and other elements of nature are personified.

Image Source: Photo of sun rays through a forest by Dale Nibbe on Unsplash.

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