Reading Notes: Twenty-Two Goblins—Reading A

Twenty-Two Goblins

Background Information

• Brahmans: Brahman (or Brahmin) is the highest-ranking social class in India. They are priests and teachers, above warriors, tradesmen, and laborers. Brahmans appeared much more frequently in these stories than other castes and were viewed as more respectable by the King, goblin, and voice of the story.
• Goblins: I couldn't find much information online, but the goblin in this story is different from goblins I know from Western stories. It inhabits a dead body, has magical powers over the king, tells great stories, and seems to be the wisest creature in the story so far.
• Ujjain: This city is the setting for many of the tales in Reading A. Located in Madhya Pradesh, it is a holy site for many pilgrims. It was the capital of the ancient Avanti kingdom.

Favorite Storytelling Elements

• Character names: I loved how each character's name related to their personality or role in the story. Good characters have names like Patience, Moonlight, Victory, Merit, etc. When I retell this story, I will change the names, but keep them indicative of their personal qualities.
• Repetition: This story is very repetitive, with each tale beginning and ending with the goblin in the tree. I may not keep the exact scenario the same in my version, but I like this consistency. The types of riddles the king must solve are also similar, with the king needing to choose the most suitable of some characters.

Character Notes

• King Triple-Victory: I became most interested in this character, because only he (and the goblin) appear in each story. I was curious about where his name, triple-victory, came from, or what battles it referred to. As it is written, this king is exceedingly brave, wise, and dutiful. He's not scared to carry the goblin-inhabited corpse, he gives away gems instead of hoarding them, he does the favor for the monk, and he answers each riddle in the correct way according to the story. As I rewrite the story, I might give him a few character flaws. I also found it interesting that the king made judgements based primarily on the expected roles people have in society. For example, he made the man who acted most like a "lover" a husband, even though others did more impressive deeds. He also chose a swordsman to marry another girl, because that is a more manly occupation. I might change his rationale a little in my version of the story.

Story Source: Arthur Ryder, Twenty-Two Goblins.

Image Information: Photo of Ujjain, where many of the stories take place, by Amre on Flickr.