Thinking About Your Thinking

Metacognitive Reading Worksheet

R.K. Narayan's The Ramayana — Chapters 8, 9 & 10

“Memento from Rama” • “Ravana in Council” • “Across the Ocean”

NAME

DATE

A DAY

B DAY

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BEFORE READING: Preparing My Mind

1. Think about a time when you saw someone surrounded by people who only told them what they wanted to hear — who agreed with every decision, praised every idea, and never pushed back. What happened? Why do you think people do this?

2. Imagine someone came to you and said: “I just left my family because I believe they are doing something wrong.” Would you trust them? What would make you more likely or less likely to believe them?

DURING READING: Monitoring My Understanding

Comprehension Check-In: Rate your understanding of each section as you read (1 = confused, 5 = clear).

Section	1	2	3	4	5
Ch.8, Part A: Hanuman searches Lanka; mistakes Mandodari for Sita; finds Sita in Asoka Vana, unkempt and guarded; watches Ravana attempt to win her over; she refuses; the guards menace her; she prepares to die
Ch.8, Part B: Hanuman reveals himself; gives Rama’s ring; Sita gives him her memento jewellery; Hanuman destroys Asoka Vana; is captured by Indrajit; warns Ravana; tail set on fire; burns Lanka down; returns to Rama
Ch.9: Ravana’s war council — the range of advice from flattery to honest warning; Kumbakarna’s blunt realism; Vibishana’s speech about the three ancient curses; Ravana rejects him and calls him a traitor; Vibishana leaves Lanka
Ch.10, Part A: Vibishana arrives at Rama’s camp; the monkey army suspects him; each adviser says reject him; Hanuman gives a different view; Rama’s decision and reasoning; Vibishana welcomed and given the crown of Lanka in exile
Ch.10, Part B: Vibishana shares intelligence about Ravana’s forces; Rama prays at the ocean for seven days; demands the sea god make way; the sea god offers a compromise; the army builds a bridge; the squirrel’s small contribution; the army crosses into Lanka

Double-Entry Journal: Choose one moment from Chapter 8 and one from Chapters 9 or 10.

Describe the moment in your own words. Include a page number if you can.

The moment (in your own words, with page number if possible)	My reaction: what did this make me think or feel?

Honest Advice Tracker: Chapters 9 and 10 both feature a group of people giving advice to a leader. For each adviser below, describe what they say and what happens as a result.

Notice the pattern: what kinds of advice get rewarded, and what kinds get punished?

The adviser	What do they actually say?	What happens to them as a result?
Ravana’s generals (Ch.9) — most of them
Vibishana (Ch.9) — Ravana’s youngest brother
Hanuman (Ch.10) — in Rama’s council about Vibishana

AFTER READING: Reflecting on My Understanding

3. Look back at your Comprehension Check-In ratings. Which section was hardest to follow? Be specific about what caused the difficulty. What did you do, or what could you do now, to clear it up?

4. In Chapter 8, Sita is a prisoner with no way to escape. She has been there for months. When Ravana comes to her, she refuses him. When the guards torment her, she calls out for Rama. She prepares to die rather than give in. Why do you think Narayan shows us all of this before Hanuman arrives? What does it matter that we see it?

5. Most of Ravana’s generals say some version of “you’re too powerful for this to matter.” Vibishana says the opposite, and is called a traitor. Why is it so hard to give an honest opinion to someone who holds power over you? What does it cost Vibishana to say what he believes?

6. Rama accepts Vibishana against the unanimous advice of every other person in his camp. He says: “I would rather be defeated having done the right thing than win by doing the wrong thing.” Do you agree with that principle? Is there a situation where you would not agree with it?

7. Thinking About Your Thinking: Go back to your Before Reading answers. How accurate was your prediction about people who only tell leaders what they want to hear? And thinking about Vibishana’s situation — does your answer to Before Reading Question 2 still feel right to you, now that you have seen what it actually costs to leave your family for a principle?

The Ramayana Unit — Metacognitive Reading Practice Chapters 8, 9 & 10 Monitor. Question. Clarify. Connect.