Ms. Johnston, Period 4, Michael Carleo, English 4 HNR

Michael Carleo 9/21/09
Ms. Johnston – Period 4 English 4 Honors

In the history of the world, there has always been a struggle between good and evil. At the battle of Rama and Ravana in Ramayana, many people can consider this an epic battle between good and evil. The story of the battle between Rama and Ravana is one of the most popular epic stories in the Hindu culture and religion. In addition, one can compare this battle tale to a modern battle between good and evil. The series of movies, television shows, and books about the story of Star Wars is a great example that will show there is a modern way to express the battle of good and evil. Because Ramayana showed the aspect of the struggle between good and evil in the ancient times, one can compare that to the modern struggle in Star Wars.
When compared to each other, Star Wars and Ramayana are very alike. Both stories have two opposing sides that fight against each other until death. In the ancient epic, the good side is consisted of a warrior and a charioteer, and the bad side is consisted of the same. Also, there are gods on both sides of the battle that help each warrior in this epic battle. In the modern epic, the dark side consists of the Sith Lord, his apprentices, and rebels against the republic of democracy who have taken the Jedi Force and put evil into it. The good side consists of the Jedi Knights that keep the peace in the galaxy who are in a constant battle with the Sith and his followers. Both of these stories have two opposing sides that are in a battle to be the best, so each side will do whatever it takes to win. Like Ravana, the dark side was always the one on the offensive, rather than the good side and Rama. Violence was the last thing Rama and the Jedi’s wanted. During the ancient epic, Rama was the one who would always defend rather than attack. In the modern epic, the Jedi’s were the ones defending the republic rather than seeking out for war. Even though the ancient epic has less people in the story as in the modern epic, they are still related in the sense of the battle of good and evil.
Both of these two epic stories have great ways of showing the battle and struggle of good and evil together. Ramayana and Star Wars both have that tension between the opposing sides, and that is what makes an epic story so great. They represent what people in everyday situations go through in making moral decisions. Evil can be just the decision to turn away from God, like killing another human being. Like the Jedi’s, Rama showed that heroic code in battle after he defeated Ravana. Even though the evil side always seems to have the power in numbers and in momentum, the good side never fails to win the war at the end. Comparing both of these two stories from the ancient times to the modern ages shows that the struggle of good and evil still exists and hasn’t changed from generation to generation.