Context: Hearing from his father, as a kid, he learned about the Hindu Monkey Deity, Hanuman. Known as a sidekick to Lord Rama in his plight to save his wife, Sita from the demon king, Ravana. Hanuman’s childhood was not of the ordinary, he recalls. Being raised amongst a monkey troop, and being curious, he one day flew up to the sun and ate it thinking it was a ripe mango. One of the gods, Indra, was displeased by this, so he struck Hanuman, injuring him and making him fall down back into the Earth. As such, he sustained injuries making him have a unique chin. His dad told him this story with the idea that anything is possible, even if it seems impossible. Eating the sun may not be the easiest thing to do, but Hanuman put his mind to it and was able to do it, almost succeeding. Carrying this same mentality to your goals will allow you to achieve anything your mind and heart desires.

Your Interpretation: From this story, a tale like this involves lunar and external factors where they shape up the story. Rather than a traditional hero and villain dynamic, we see how a character causes physical changes to the main character of the story. Compared to European tales, the environment and setting doesn’t seem to be extraterrestrial or out of the ordinary rather teaching a non-literal truth. Furthermore, it teaches us that children and us, as an individual, have a natural curiosity and innocence that causes us to explore whatever it is unbeknownst of the danger that lies ahead. Going back to the cosmic nature of this tale, by eating the sun he disrupts the natural order of the lunar system that we discussed in class.