Reading Notes: The Five Tall Sons of Pandu- Part A

The Indian Story Book: The Five Tall Sons of Pandu by Richard Wilson

• This is the story of the Pandava brothers: Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, and the twins Nakula and Sahadeva.
• Dhritarashtra, Pandu's brother, takes over as king once Pandu dies
•  Dhritarashtra has 100 sons and is blind 
• Duryodhana is the eldest son of Shritarashtra
• Karna challenges Arjuna to a duel
• Karna is the son of kunti, which makes him a half brother to the Pandava brothers
• But, he does not know that 
• Duryodhana is furious when Yudhishthira is named heir
• I thought this was interesting especially compared to the Ramayana where Rama's brothers had no desire for the thrown
• Its a different division of power 
• One element of this story that was changed from the original was that Kunti declared that Draupadi would marry Yudhishthira since he is the oldest
• This is slightly better than the first version where she becomes the wife of all five brothers
• Duryodhana tricks Yudhishthira in a game of dice because he is jealous that he gets his own kingdom 
• I didn't know that Duryodhana needed the Pandava's help when he got stuck in the jungle


• This was an interesting element that I feel could have transformed the entire series

Arjuna versus Karna. Web Source

Reflections and Improvements: Two Semesters Wiser

After taking this class (two different sections) for two semesters now I feel like I have gotten to see some great changes being made! I really enjoyed my time in these classes (Epics and Myth) because it allowed me to write creatively, which is something we don't get to do a lot of in college and because of the great feedback I received throughout the semester.

The biggest change to the class coming into this year was the option to do story planning posts. I loved this change because it allowed me the time to do my research and organize my thoughts on what I wanted to write about. It also helped me to plan my storybook, which I am very grateful for!

Out of the improvement list I really liked the idea to do "thematic reading units." I think this will help expose students to a broader range of topics. While the Myth class already gets exposed to a lot of different readings, this recommendation is mainly targeted at the Epics class. In my epics readings I often had a hard time picking the reading for the week and often read the different versions of the same story over and over. While I liked the new perspectives I think by dividing it by genre, students will be able to find more diverse material!

Another recommendation I have it to make everything due on Sunday. While the due dates throughout the week keeps me on top of my assignments I often had to rush my assignments because I had other work or activities. I think by making it all due on Sunday students will be able to better fit the assignments into their own schedule!

Overall, I have really enjoyed these classes! I feel like I have become a better writer and thinker after taking these courses!


Thank you so much for all of your feedback over the semesters!