Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse, 1998 Edition
The tale of Siddhartha focuses on a young and handsome man named Siddhartha. He lives in a small village with his best friend, Govinda, and his father, who is a spiritual leader in the town. Siddhartha is expected to become a great Brahmin like his father but he questions the teachings taught to him. He does not understand why those in his village have not found enlightenment yet and concludes that their path is not the correct way.
One day, a group of traveling monks, the Samanas, passes through the village and Siddhartha chooses to go with them. And so, dragging Govinda along, he renounces all worldly desires and joins them, hoping that is the way towards enlightenment. However, Siddhartha soon realizes that many of the Samana elders have not reached enlightenment despite years and years of training and discipline. While with the Samanas, Siddhartha hears a rumor about a holy man named Gotama who had been said to have attained spiritual enlightenment. Siddhartha and Govinda leave the Samanas to seek Gotama.
Siddhartha and Govinda eventually find Gotama and are accepted as his students. Govinda is immediately impressed and captivated by Gotama’s method of teaching while Siddhartha is less than pleased. Siddhartha notices contradictions in Gotama’s words and chooses to leave while Govinda stays behind to learn from Gotama.
Abandoning his quest for enlightenment, Siddhartha chooses to cross the river by ferry. He eventually meets a woman named Kamala who teaches him the way of love but will not accept him unless he can fit into the material world. When making the choice between love and enlightenment, Siddhartha picks love and abandons his spiritual path. He becomes an incredibly wealthy merchant, but he is not content with life. After months of being dissatisfied, Siddhartha leaves Kamala and his new life behind.
Siddhartha falls asleep by the river and wakes up to find a monk watching over him. The monk makes note of how much Siddhartha has change and Siddhartha immediately recognizes him as Govinda. Siddhartha tells Govinda that he wishes to renew himself. Govinda soon leaves and Siddhartha seeks out the ferryman, Vasudeva. The ferryman had acquired an aura of peace that Siddhartha wishes to attain to which the ferryman states he learned from the river. Thus, Siddhartha decides to study the river and its ways.
Years pass, Kamala and her son come to take the ferry across the river while on their pilgrimage to see Gotama who is dying. Along the way Kalama is bitten by a snake and on her deathbed she tells Siddhartha that the boy is his son. Siddhartha wishes to care for his son but the lavish lifestyle has made him spoiled. Siddhartha is appalled by his son’s attitude, but attempts to provide him. Regardless of his efforts, Siddhartha’s son runs away. Vasudeva tells Siddhartha to listen to the river to soothe his aching heart.
Many more years come and go and Siddhartha realizes the lesson the river has been trying to teach him; that all things, dead or alive, are intertwined and connected to one another in an endless cycle. That all aspects of life and the emotions that come with it are necessary to understand it. Believing that he has done all he can to teach Siddhartha, Vasudeva leaves and Siddhartha becomes the new ferryman.
Govinda comes to the river to seek out a wise ferryman whom he believes is the key to his enlightenment. Not realizing it is Siddhartha at first, Govinda pleads with him to teach him the wisdom, but Siddhartha refuses saying that is not something that can be taught but something that has to be learned. Siddhartha then tells Govinda to kiss him on the forehead and when he does Siddhartha’s vision is transferred to Govinda. The two friends have now both reached enlightenment.
While the central theme of Siddhartha is clearly the quest for spiritual enlightenment, I find myself more drawn to the reoccurring theme of abandonment. Over the course of the novel, Siddhartha constantly chooses to abandon beliefs that have been instilled upon him by spiritual leaders. He chooses to leave these ideas behind in order to search for the answers he seeks himself. Not only is this theme reflected in his spiritual actions, but also in his family. Tired of his luxurious life, Siddhartha leaves Kamala to live with Vasudeva. Later on, his son ironically also chooses to abandon Siddhartha after Kamala dies. In a sense Vasudeva abandons Siddhartha after the river teaches him everything there is to know. The theme of abandonment is crucial to the story’s plot as it transitions each event to the next and provides incentive for Siddhartha to continue on his journey.
The overall tone of Siddhartha is best described as formal. The characters respectfully address each other and are polite to one another. This is shown when Siddhartha first meets Gotama, “Siddhartha said: ‘Yesterday, O Sublime One, I was privileged to hear your marvelous teachings.’”(Page 18) Upon meeting Kamala, the tone of the novel shift to a more joyful tone before becoming sullen and full of despair as Siddhartha tires with his new life, “Then Siddhartha knew that the game was over, that he could not play it anymore. He shuddered all over his body, and inside him, and he felt that something had died.” (Page 45) As the novel begins to conclude, Siddhartha’s words and thoughts have become much more philosophical compared to those at the beginning, “’When someone seeks,’ Siddhartha said, ‘it is all too easy for his eyes to see nothing but the thing he seeks, so that he is unable to find anything or absorb anything because he is always thinking exclusively about what he seeks, because he has a goal, because he is obsessed by that goal. Seeking means having a goal. But finding means being free, remaining accessible, having no goal. You, venerable one, are perhaps really one who seeks, because, pressing after your goal, you fail to see many a thing that is right before your eyes.’”(Page 75)
Hesse uses many different literary devices in Siddhartha, symbolism being one of them, the most important symbol in the story being the river. The river represents unity and eternal life as its water cycle is never ending, ultimately allowing Siddhartha to reached salvation.
The river is also a metaphor for time and existence. It is immortal like everything else in the universe and, having no end, is a representation of that immortality.
Hesse uses personification to portray the river as a teacher to Siddhartha. He must watch and listen to the water, wait for it to divulge its secrets. Vasudeva describes the river as being alive and will only teach to those willing to listen.
Imagery is a major component in the story. Hesse describes the water of the river in various different ways depending on the stages of spiritual enlightenment Siddhartha has achieved. At first, the water is merely water but later it becomes alive, swirling and flowing through the land. As Siddhartha recognizes its life, he begins to understand its lessons.
Siddhartha is considered to be an allegory. Over the course of the story, characters face spiritual and moral challenges, gaining knowledge after each conflict is resolved. The journey reflects the internal struggle many face within themselves; to do what society believes is right or what they believe is right for them?
Irony is subtlety present in the novel as well. At the start of the novel, Siddhartha chooses to leave his father in order to go on his quest. Later on, Siddhartha meets his own son and believes the two will live together for the rest of their lives. This dream is shattered as Siddhartha’s son leaves him just like Siddhartha left his father.
In the beginning of the novel, Siddhartha states that he is able to accomplish anything he sets his mind on, including love and reaching salvation . This foreshadows the ending of the book as Siddhartha has reached his goal of enlightenment and became Kamala’s lover before her death.
The author uses third person omniscient point of view to tell the story. While Siddhartha is the main protagonist of the novel, secondary characters such as Govinda and Vasudeva are crucial to the plot. The author provides us with insight into their thoughts and actions to give us a better understanding of their motives.
Hesse also compares and contrasts the two very different live Siddhartha lead. One was very religious with no worldly connections while the other was one full of sins and luxuries. Both were completely on different spectrums with little in common besides Siddhartha not finding happiness with either of them.
Siddhartha is a clear example of a dynamic character. At the end of the novel, he comes to a major realization; the answer he has been seeking was not one had can be taught but has to be learned by oneself. This realization changes his view and opinion of the world, ultimately changing his character and morphing into a completely new one.
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