“Siddhartha gave his robe to a poor Brahmin he met on the road. Now he wore only a loincloth and an unstitched, earth-colored shawl. He ate only once a day and never cooked food. He fasted for fifteen days. He fasted for twenty-eight days. The flesh fell away from his cheeks and thighs. Fevered dreams flashed from his dilated eyes, the nails got long on his shriveled fingers, and from his chin grew a dry, scruffy beard. His eyes became as hard as iron when he encountered women. His lip curled with contempt when he walked through a town among well-dressed people. He saw merchants bargaining, princes going off to the hunt, grief-stricken people mourning their dead, prostitutes offering their bodies, doctors working over the sick, priests determining the day of sowing, lovers making love, mothers nursing their babies—and none of it was worthy of his glance. It was all a lie, it all stank, it was all putrid with lies. Everything pretended to meaning and happiness and beauty, but it was all only putrescence and decay. The taste of the world was bitter. Life was pain” (Hesse 11-12). In this passage, the first paragraph of the chapter “With the Shramanas,” Hermann Hesse describes the beginning of Siddhartha’s life with the shramanas. In the beginning of the passage, Hesse uses visual imagery when he writes, “Fevered dreams flashed from [Siddhartha’s] dilated eyes, the nails got long on his shriveled fingers, and from his chin grew a dry, scruffy beard” (Hesse 11). This imagery paints a clear picture of how quickly and how completely Siddhartha has lost his identity as the “beautiful brahmin’s son” when he left his family for a life as a shramana. When describing Siddhartha’s outer appearance, Hesse uses diction of sickness and decay. Words such as “flesh”, “fevered”, “shriveled”, and “dry” have a connotation of being a departure from a normal appearance and a normal state of being, suggesting that the shramana life is not the life for Siddhartha. Hesse doesn’t offer any contradicting diction that would suggest that despite Siddhartha’s starved outer appearance, he is a living a peaceful inner life. The presence of only diction with bad connotations makes the reader feel that Siddhartha has made a poor decision in choosing to live with the shramanas and foreshadows his departure from them. This passage also poses the beginning of a contradiction between Siddhartha’s current thoughts and his later actions. Hesse writes, “[Siddhartha’s] eyes became as hard as iron when he encountered women. His lip curled with contempt when he walked through a town among well-dressed people (Hesse 11). Later in the novel, Siddhartha will become one of the well-dressed people that he so despises, and he will pay money to sleep with a woman. The detail in this passage suggests that Siddhartha needs to satiate his desires before can truly leave his ego. Hesse uses a long list at the end of the passage to show that Siddhartha’s brain may have starved along with his body. He lists many things that Siddhartha has seen, ending with the commentary, “…and none of it was worthy of his glance” (Hesse 11). The list ranges from acts that are not particularly loving and honest (“merchants bargaining, “princes going off to the hunt”) to acts that are (“lovers making love, mothers nursing their babies”). Siddhartha cannot distinguish between what is meaningful, happy, and beautiful, and what is not because his weakened physical state has compromised his ability to see beauty and empathize with the people he sees. Hesse orders the list from acts that are the least loving to acts that are the most loving (and closest to the words “putrid” and “lies” in the next sentence) in order to render Siddhartha’s blind judgement more impactful. The weakening of Siddhartha’s body, mind, and spirit is clearly seen throughout the entire passage.
“A heron flew over the bamboo forest—and Siddhartha took the heron into his soul, flew over forests and mountains, was a heron, ate fish, hungered heron hunger, spoke heron croaking, died heron death. A dead jackal lay on the sandy bank, and Siddhartha’s soul slipped into the cadaver, was a dead jackal, lay on the shore, swelled, stank, rotted, was shredded by hyenas, was skinned by vultures, became a skeleton, became dust, wafted into the fields. And Siddhartha’s soul returned, was dead, was rotted, was dispersed, had tasted the dismal drunkenness of the cycle of life, waited in new thirst like a hunter, waited for the gap through which he could escape the cycle, where the end of causes came, where painless eternity began.” (Hesse 14-15) Herman Hesse, in the passage above, utilizes anaphoras, sentence structure, and vivid imagery to convey a tone of desperation and agitation. Hesse’s anaphoras and repetition constitute a rhythm into the passage. Repetition of, “was” with the phrases: “was a dead jackal, . . .was shredded by hyenas, was skinned by vultures,” and, “was dead, was rotted, was dispersed,” contribute to feelings of agitation and tones of Siddhartha’s pursuit of Nirvana. In the last sentence of the passage, anaphoras are accentuated where Siddhartha’s soul, “waited for the gap through which he could escape the cycle, where the end of causes came, where painless eternity began.” Augmenting the tone of desperation, the increasing repetition toward the end of the passage accelerates the rhythm. The syntax in the passage limelights the sense of Siddhartha’s growing agitation. Sentences structured with long lists creates almost a discordant feeling to the reader, furthering the tone of despair. Siddhartha follows the samanas teachings of unselfing and first engulfs his soul with a heron. Herons, and birds themselves, often connotate freedom, because they are not bound by gravity, so when, “Siddhartha took the heron into his soul, [and] flew over forests,” it embodies how Siddhartha was hopeful that the ways of the samanas will achieve Nirvana. The tone immediately transitions into internal desperation starting from the death of the heron, and the motifs of death continue with the jackal. In contrast with Siddhartha taking in the heron, “Siddhartha’s soul slipped into the cadaver.” This distinction reveals Siddhartha’s realization that his return to his ego is inevitable, because instead of taking in the body, the act of slipping into the cadaver is significantly muted. Hesse’s diction becomes graphic with heavy negative connotations with, “stank,” “rotted,” “shredded,” and “skinned,” which perpetuate the tone of despair. Imagery in this passage appeals to sight, scent, sound, and taste, and all these depictions contribute to the reader understanding Siddhartha’s restlessness and yearning for enlightenment. Many humans relate to feelings of despair, and many experience a desire for escape from the harshness of reality and the, “dismal drunkenness of the cycle of life.”
I think that you wrote a really well formed literary analysis on the paragraph you chose. We seem to have similar ideas on Siddhartha feeling agitated and restless but I focused on those feelings in The Brahmin’s Son. The embodiment of Siddhartha’s hope to achieve nirvana when his soul took the form of a Heron was an interesting connection to make. Another example that could support the feeling of restlessness could be in the next paragraph, “ He killed his senses, he killed his memory, he slipped from his ego into a thousand different forms.” (Hesse 15) Siddhartha tried to numb himself so he could stop feeling anything at all, running away from his problems and tried to get away from himself.
I've got a bike. You can ride it if you like. It's got a basket, a bell that rings and Things to make it look good. I'd give it to you if I could, but I borrowed it. You're the kind of girl that fits in with my world. I'll give you anything, ev'rything if you want things. I've got a cloak. It's a bit of a joke. There's a tear up the front. It's red and black. I've had it for months. If you think it could look good, then I guess it should. You're the kind of girl that fits in with my world. I'll give you anything, ev'rything if you want things. I know a mouse, and he hasn't got a house. I don't know why. I call him Gerald. He's getting rather old, but he's a good mouse. You're the kind of girl that fits in with my world. I'll give you anything, ev'rything if you want things. I've got a clan of gingerbread men. Here a man, there a man, lots of gingerbread men. Take a couple if you wish. They're on the dish. You're the kind of girl that fits in with my world. I'll give you anything, ev'rything if you want things. I know a room of musical tunes. Some rhyme, some ching. Most of them are clockwork. Let's go into the other room and make them work.
As much as we all love Pink Floyd, perhaps writing about Siddhartha would be the best way to go if you want to blog?? (The band is just fantastic, that is really what I think... By the way, which one's pink?)
“But Siddhartha did not bring jot to himself, he did not delight himself. Walking along the rosy paths of the fig orchard, sitting in the bluish shade of the grove of contemplation, washing his limbs in the daily bath of atonement, sacrificing in his densely shaded mango forest, with perfect breeding of his gestures, loved by all, a joy to all, he nevertheless bore no joy in his heart. Dreams came to him and fretful thoughts flowing from the water of the river, twinkling stars of the night, from the sun’s melting rays- dreams came to him and restlessness of his soul, smoked from the offerings, breathed from the verses of the Rig-Veda, dripped from the teaching of the old Brahmins.” (Hesse 4-5) This excerpt taken from chapter 1, “The Brahmin’s Son”, is the first passage to describe how Siddhartha feels towards himself. In the earlier paragraphs, Hesse describes how the world saw Siddhartha and how he was like no other. Everyone appreciated having Siddhartha in their lives because he brought joy to all but despite being adored and praised, Siddhartha was not happy. The way Siddhartha sees his life is like a melancholy routine he had to follow everyday and the feeling of being trapped gnawed at him. For example the way Herman Hesse describes Siddhartha “walking along the rosy paths of the fig orchard”, “washing his limbs in the daily bath of atonement” and “with perfect breeding of his gestures”, Siddhartha was bored for he had already perfected all there was to perfect in his life. The feeling of entrapment can be read in , “…dreams came to him and restlessness of his soul, smoked from the offerings, breathed from the verses of the Rig-Veda, dripped from the teaching of the old Brahmins.” (Hesse 4-5). Siddhartha’s restlessness intensified when he had to pray and learn from the holy men and books. This foreshadows him growing tired of his life and feeling the need to find something new to devote his time to, for he was displeased and what he had achieved did not content his soul. As read further on, Siddhartha does leave his home to become one of the Samana in hopes of feeling complete ad whole. In this passage, Hesse uses the word “joy” for a total of 3 times in 2 sentences. I began to question what feeling truly joyous and content is really like and whether I can ever experience such a feeling? The author uses descriptive writing in order to show Siddhartha’s lifestyle by using adjectives such as “rosy” and “bluish shade”. Siddhartha lives a comfortable and serene life. Herman Hesse syntax uses long run on sentences as if to further emphasise the routine life for there is nothing new to say. The use of metaphors such as “ …fretful thoughts flowing from the water of the river” and “ [restlessness of Siddhartha’s soul] breathed from the verses of the Rig-Veda” show that Siddhartha had already exhausted all the ideas and topics he could think about and the agitation is being expressed through having to read the holy scriptures yet again.
Your analysis is really interesting. It made me think about how Siddhartha seems to have the perfect life, being “loved by all, a joy to all”, yet he still remains discontent with his well being (Hesse 4). Siddhartha is characterized as being constantly surrounded by abounding love from his community, but he realizes that this love is not sufficient to achieve enlightenment and a truly fulfilling life. The author writes that this love does not, “please him, gratify him, satisfy him”, emphasizing Siddhartha’s true discontent with life and lack of satisfaction with his community. One would think that a person as deeply loved and praised as Siddhartha would have their life together, however this book provides a different perspective and focuses on the deeper meaning of life and satisfaction in the world.
“..And Siddhartha’s mind returned, dead, rotten, reduced to dust, having tasted the dark drunkenness of the cycle of existence. With a new craving it lay in wait like a hunter for the gap where that cycle could be escaped, where the end of causation could begin, eternity without suffering. He mortified his senses, immolated his memory; he slipped out of his ego into a thousand alien forms, became a beast, carrion, became stone, wood, water – yet each time when he awoke he found himself there again. By sunshine or by moonlight, he was once again ego, was pressed back into the cycle, felt craving, overcame the craving, felt craving anew” (Herman Hesse 13).
In this passage, Herman Hesse is describing Siddhartha’s desperate attempts at attaining atman. Using meditative absorption, he experiences being a dead jackal which symbolizes the last and most devastating aspect of life. He gets a taste of the brutal, cyclical nature of life and death. Hesse describes Siddhartha’s return to his personal conscious with the same words he used to describe the deceased jackal, “dead, rotten, reduced to dust”. This shows how flexible and transformable Siddhartha’s mind is, for he is emotionally and physically affected by the creatures he connects with. The author depicts the cycle of existence through alliteration that signifies numbly going through the motions of life and death. Using a simile, Hesse compares Siddhartha’s mind to a hunter, continually searching for an escape out of the circle of existence. He is searching for a state where there is no suffering and there is nothing that causes anything. In this passage, long lists and dependent clauses add to the simplistic sentence structure present throughout the novel. The extensive use of commas in this way further shows the dull, cycle of repetition that is life. Siddhartha has transformed into the most complex creatures to the most simple; showing the reader how hard he is searching for holy bliss and how even in the most transparent of substances he cannot seem to escape himself. Hesse mentions the ego – a psychological term referring to the part of the mind that moves between the conscious and the unconscious. Siddhartha leaves this behind hundreds of times in order to dwell in nothingness, but despite all his attempts he is still on a quest for atman, with the last line of the passage reiterating the cycle which he struggles through.
"Siddhartha," he spoke, "what are you waiting for?" "You know what." "Will you always stand that way and wait, until it'll becomes morning, noon, and evening?" "I will stand and wait. "You will become tired, Siddhartha." "I will become tired." "You will fall asleep, Siddhartha." "I will not fall asleep." "You will die, Siddhartha." "I will die." "And would you rather die, than obey your father?" "Siddhartha has always obeyed his father." "So will you abandon your plan?" "Siddhartha will do what his father will tell him to do." (Herman Hesse 11)
This passage has a very definite mood, determination; I felt a sense of empowerment and idolization while reading it. Hesse shows characterization of Siddhartha by showing some of his characteristics through physical and mental ability. He is loyal in the fact that he won’t leave his home without his father's permission, but he is also persistent in what he believes. The conflict in this passage is both person vs. person and person vs. God. Siddhartha is attempting to portray his thoughts of leaving his Hindu faith, which indicates that he is going against his religion. His father is also acting the role as the antagonist in this section of the book for going against siddhartha, even though it is for the well being of his son. Siddhartha shows morality play when he says he is more willing to die than go on with his current way of life by proving his morals to his father, which are to become a semana and find himself on his journey. Hesse touches the reader’s emotions by creating pathos in this rebuttal. As a reader, i sympathized for siddhartha as his idea for self discovery was rejected. I wanted to comfort him as he stood alone all night. Not only did i feel i wanted him to be set free, but i also felt a deep sense of love from Siddhartha’s father while reading this by the way he couldn’t let Siddhartha go. It struck me as though he was very close with his son and loved him very much. Hesse also uses a unique form of alliteration in this passage when he writes, “You will…” “I will…” multiple times back and forth. The tone of the alliteration informs the reader that this is an argument between two people, and that Siddhartha is firm on leaving.
“But more than all the others he was loved by Govinda, his friend, the son of a brahman. He loved Siddhartha’s eye and sweet voice, he loved his walk and the perfect decency of his movements, he loved everything Siddhartha did and said and what he loved most was his spirit, his transcendent, fiery thoughts, his ardent will, his high calling. Govinda knew: he would not become a common Brahman, not a lazy official in charge of offerings; not a greedy merchant with magic spells; not a vain, vacuous speaker; not a mean, deceitful priest; and also not a decent, stupid sheep in the herd of the many. No, and he, Govinda, as well did not want to become one of those, not one of those tens of thousands of Brahmans. He wanted to follow Siddhartha, the beloved, the splendid. And in days to come, when Siddhartha would become a god, when he would join the glorious, then Govinda wanted to follow him as his friend, his companion, his servant, his spear-carrier, his shadow” (Herman Hesse 2). Herman Hesse uses bright and cheerful diction to portray to the reader who Siddhartha is as a human and a character. Hesse boasts about how Siddhartha was beloved and admired by all right from the beginning of the story through words and literary devices that create a glorious tone. Hesse conveys Siddartha as this great man you’d either want to know or want to be. Hesse uses an epithet in the middle of this passage, “Siddhartha, the beloved, the splendid”, just to overemphasize his point that everyone adored Siddhartha. However, Hesse use of repetition of the word love, is truly the most drastic literary device, or word, used to exaggerate how Siddhartha was perceived among others. Through Govinda, you learn that Siddhartha is a sharp minded, religious, man full of integrity, honor, and destined for greatness. Hesse uses this paraph to provide the reader a bit of insight into the magnificent life of Siddhartha. The purpose of over exaggerating of how loved and admired Siddhartha was, was to create confusion when you go on to read that Siddhartha was not happy and couldn’t find happiness in his life, even with the love everyone felt towards him. This passage also provides the reader with a bit of foreshadowing into the man Siddhartha becomes. Govinda says he knows who Siddhartha will not end up like, yet, in his journey, Siddhartha ends up falls victim to the lives of sin that Govinda describes.
Another example from the text that would also support your analysis is, “They all loved Siddhartha. He brought joy to all, he delighted them all” (Hesse 2). I think this because you explained how widely Siddhartha was loved throughout his community and this quote exaggerates on how others were impacted by Siddhartha. Not just a few people were impacted by him, but “all” took delight in him. The author repeats, in different words, the phrase “he brought joy to all”, emphasizing Siddhartha’s radiant presence that was acknowledged by everyone in his community. He most certainly was loved, which makes his departure from the town to discover a more satisfying life exceptionally ironic.
“He [Siddhartha] had started feeling that his father’s love, and his mother’s love, and also his friend Govinda’s love would not make him happy forever and always, not please him, gratify him, satisfy him. He has begun to sense that his venerable father and his other teachers, that the wise Brahmins had already imparted their knowledge, that they had already poured their fullness into his waiting vessel, and the vessel was not full, his mind was not contented, his soul was not tranquil, his heart not sated” (Hesse 5).
In this passage from Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha, the author uses repetition to convey Siddhartha’s discontent with life, in turn foreshadowing his quest for enlightenment. By illustrating the love shown for Siddhartha from his family and close friend, Govinda, the author creates a sense of unity and joy in the reader’s mind. However, Hesse then emphasizes Siddhartha’s dissatisfaction with life when he describes that this love did not, “please him, gratify him, satisfy him”. The repetition of similar words highlights Siddhartha’s thirst for something more, a life full of discovery and gratification, foreshadowing his quest for true insight. The author once again illuminates Siddhartha’s unsatisfied heart through repetition when he writes, “the vessel was not full, his mind was not contented, his soul was not tranquil, his heart not sated”. Although taught by the most highly respected teachers and wise men in his community, Siddhartha continually fails to find enlightenment. Hesse’s recurrence of words meaning “dissatisfied” show Siddhartha’s urge to discover a deeper meaning to life. True fulfillment in life must be discovered by one’s self, not through the teachings of others. Siddhartha realizes that limiting himself to being content with his teachers won’t lead to a life of whimsy and genuine knowledge. This structure and syntax stresses an emptiness in Siddhartha’s heart and equipts the reader with insight toward Siddhartha’s journey to find true happiness. Although sufficient in love, Siddhartha's enduring discontent, shown through repetition, foreshadows his journey towards enlightenment and a more fulfilling life.
“But Siddhartha himself was not happy. Wandering along the rosy paths of the fig garden, sitting in contemplation in the bluish shade of the grove, washing his limbs in the daily bath of atonement, offering sacrifices in the depths of the shady mango wood with with complete grace of manner, beloved by all, a joy to all, there was yet no joy in his own heart. Dreams and restless thoughts came flowing to him from the river, from the twinkling stars at night, from the sun’s melting rays. Dreams and a restlessness of the soul came to him, arising from the smoke of the sacrifices, emanating from the verses of Rig-Veda, trickling through from the teachings of the old Brahmins.” (Hesse 5)
This passage provides a window into Siddhartha’s conflicting thoughts that he has at the beginning of the story. He lives a happy life in a positive environment where everyone looks up to him, yet he feels that continuing to live how he is living is the wrong path if he wishes to attain enlightenment. As a result, his thoughts are confused: the positive and negative thoughts that he has are in a constant tug-of-war. Hesse reflects this juxtaposition of positive and negative thoughts in Siddhartha’s mind by juxtaposing positive and negative imagery in the passage. He paints pleasant, peaceful images in the first half of the paragraph, writing phrases such as “the rosy paths of the fig garden” and “the depths of the shady mango wood”. Then immediately after giving the most powerfully positive phrase in the passage, “beloved by all, a joy to all”, Hesse completely disrupts the feeling of the passage, writing, “there was yet no joy in his own heart”. With this line, Hesse artfully shifts to a much darker tone that is reminiscent of clouds rolling in before a storm strikes. The rest of the passage’s imagery continues this new negative trend, particularly in the word “restless” which Hesse uses twice. The word “restless” epitomizes the result of the conflict between Siddhartha’s positive and negative thoughts: they are causing him to grow impatient with his Hindu mentors, anxious to deviate from his tradition and try something new — all very “restless” business. But besides simply demonstrating the inner conflict of Siddhartha through positive and negative imagery, Hesse is also using this clever device to characterize Siddhartha. By revealing that Siddhartha lives in a world full of such positive imagery and yet he still feels unsatisfied, Hesse develops Siddhartha’s key trait of always seeking something more than what he already possesses, always searching for the superior method of attaining enlightenment.
“I have seen a man, one and only one, Siddhartha thought, before whom I had to lower my gaze. Before no other will I ever lower my gaze, no other. No other teaching will seduce me, since this teaching has not seduced me. The Buddha robbed me, thought Siddhartha, he robbed me, yet he gave me even more. He robbed me of my friend, who believed in me and now believes in him, who was my shadow and is now Gotamas’s shadow. But he gave me Siddhartha, he gave me myself” (Hesse 29).
This passage is at the end of the chapter titled “Gotama.” Govinda has left Siddhartha for a life among the Buddha’s followers, and Siddhartha has just pointed out the shortcomings in the Buddha’s teaching to the Buddha. In the first paragraph of the passage, Hesse uses the phrase “no other” a total of three times when he writes that Siddhartha will no longer lower his gaze or be seduced by a teaching. The repetition reinforces Siddhartha’s determination to live an independent life in which he will answer to nobody. The sentence, “No other teaching will seduce me, since this teaching has not seduced me,” is used as foreshadowing. While Siddhartha may truly believe himself to be invincible to all teachings, the reader comes to learn that this is simply not true. Another teaching, the sexual teaching of Kamala, will ensnare him, and the use of the word “seduce” in this passage foreshadows that because seduce often has a sexual connotation. The second half of the sentence, “…since this teaching has not seduced me,” implies that Siddhartha believes the teaching of the Buddha to be superior to all other teachings even though he has rejected it.
Hesse’s use of the word robbed in the second paragraph is interesting because robbed implies that a personal possession was taken. When Govinda is described as being robbed from Siddhartha, he is dehumanized because he is being characterized as Siddhartha’s possession. The word robbed also implies that the party being taken has no say in the matter, but Govinda made a conscious choice to stay with Gotama. Comparing Govinda to a shadow is also dehumanizing because he is being compared to something that is a two-dimensional version of a three-dimensional person and that doesn’t always exist. These two dehumanizing characterizations of Govinda show that Siddhartha believes himself to be superior to Govinda because he won’t let himself be indoctrinated, as he states in the first paragraph of the passage. Siddhartha thinks that Govinda is taking the easy way out by following the Buddha. When Hesse writes, “[The Buddha] robbed me of my friend, who believed in me and now believes in him, who was my shadow and is now Gotama’s shadow,” he uses pairs of words (“believed…believes” and “shadow…shadow”) to show that Govinda’s choice to follow the Buddha doesn’t represent any radical change in his personality. He has simply gone from believing one doctrine to believing another, from being one man’s shadow to being a different man’s shadow. For Siddhartha, however, meeting the Buddha has given him the opportunity to begin his journey again as a version of himself (“But he gave me Siddhartha, he gave me myself”), as he has left his childhood friend and his childhood belief in the necessity of a teaching behind with Gotama.
I completely agree with what you said about Siddhartha dehumanising Govinda. It is almost as though Siddhartha never accepted Govinda as a friend but more of a follower to preach his ideas to and a tool only for company . Even though Siddhartha says that he is happy for Govinda to have chosen his own path, it is hard to believe so because Siddhartha's actions and thoughts don't convey delight.
“The Buddha went his way humbly, absorbed in thought. His quiet face was neither happy nor sad; it gave the impression of a slight inward smile. The Buddha moved quietly, calmly, with a hidden smile, not unlike a healthy child. Just like all his monks he wore a robe and placed his feet precisely, according to precept. But his face and gait; his still, lowered gaze; his still, loose-hanging hand; and even every finger on his still, loose-hanging hand were expressions of peace, of perfection. Seeking nothing, emulating nothing, breathing gently, he moved in an atmosphere of imperishable calm, imperishable light, inviolable peace” (Herman Hesse 23).
The author, Herman Hesse, begins the passage with a gentle, modest depiction of Buddha. He wears an inward smile, symbolizing his contentment in his soul and inner-self. His neutral face displays his preferred way of existing; residing in nothingness. His movements are described as quiet and calm, representing his enlightened mind. His gait is compared to a content child, demonstrating how carefree and liberated he feels since he has found atman and is free from suffering in the cycle of life. Hesse mentions how his attire is the same as his disciples to exhibit his humble disposition and attitude. The robe also articulates his trouble-free lifestyle and his commitment to his philosophy; he doesn’t need money for unnecessary things like clothes and food. Hesse writes that Buddha “placed his feet precisely” meaning that each of his actions are calculated and done in accordance with his principles. In the following line, the repetition of ‘still’ is used to emphasize his deliberate demeanor and actions. The actual act of reaching atman requires a complete stillness within the mind and body. Throughout Siddhartha, the desired state of nirvana is continually described with words of tranquility and calm. The phrase “loose-hanging hand” is mentioned twice, signifying that Buddha is not constrained to anything and his body exemplifies his detachedness. His body language expresses his enlightened status and his peaceful ideology; rather than a clenched hand it lays softly, determined to stay on his harmonious path. Hesse characterizes Buddha as an ordinary and soft spoken person. He is the epitome of Siddhartha’s goal; he has no desires and isn’t influenced by anything. Buddha leaves little physical impact on his environment which is embodied through his gentle breathing. The author ends the passage by acknowledging the eternalness of nirvana’s qualities. Essentially, this paragraph captures the serene essence of Buddha.
“I did not doubt you for one moment. Not for one moment did i doubt that you were the Buddha, that you have reached the highest goal which so many thousands of Brahmins and Brahmins’ sons are striving to reach. You have done so by your own seeking, in your own way, through thought, through knowledge, through enlightenment. You have learned nothing through teachings, and so i think, O illustrious one, that nobody finds salvation through teachings. That is what i thought and realized when i heard your teachings. That is why i am going on my way- not to seek another or better doctrine, for i know there is none, but to leave all doctrines and all teachers and to reach my goal alone-or die.” (Hesse,33-34)
In this passage, the third chapter “Gotama”, Siddhartha is blindsided by his own actions. He had previously benefited from the act of civil disobedience and gained the consent to leave his hometown, his family, and his religion. As of now, he is faced with the man who has attained nirvana through the way he believes to be true, but does not choose to follow him. Using an epithet, Hesse describes Gotama as “The Illustrious One”, meaning he is well known, respected and admired. Siddhartha explains to the Buddha that he acknowledges his teachings as exemplary when he says, “I did not doubt you for one moment.”. He goes further into the depth of his thinking by justifying that he does not believe in the ability to teach enlightenment, especially since Gotama did not have a teacher. Using repetition of the word “though”, Hesse portrays Siddhartha’s thoughts of the rightful direction to follow, “You have done so by your own seeking, in your own way, through thought, through knowledge, through enlightenment.” Achieving this knowledge through a person vs. fate conflict, Siddhartha merely proved his point even stronger and thus exposed a new path for the continuation of his journey. This passage has a mood of both ambition and loss, for Siddhartha is being robbed of a dear friend in his pursuit to find himself. Hesse uses a unique form of situational irony when Siddhartha says, “This is why i am going on my way- not to seek another doctrine, for i know there is none, but to leave all doctrines and all teachers and to reach my goal alone.” The irony exposes itself later in the story, when Siddhartha willingly learns the act of love from the beloved Kamala.
“Siddhartha stood motionless, and for a moment and for an instant of breathing, his heart froze—he felt it freezing in his chest like a small animal, a bird or a hare, when he saw how alone he was. For years he had been homeless and had not felt it. But now he felt it. Always, even in the most faraway meditation, he had been his father’s son, had been a Brahmin, high-ranking, spiritual. Now he was only Siddhartha, the awakened, and nothing more. No one was so alone as he. No noble who did not belong among the nobles, no workman who did not belong among the workmen and found refuge with them, shared their life, spoke their speech. No Brahmin who was not counted among the Brahmins and lived with them, no ascetic who did not find refuge with the samanas.” (Hesse 38)
In the chapter, “Awakening,” the passage above is right after Siddhartha realizes that he no longer belongs to his home and his father. The chapter and this passage is significant to the novel as it represents a turning point in Siddhartha’s life, and Siddhartha has truly begun to seek Nirvana on his own, because, “he was only Siddhartha, the awakened, and nothing more.” Hesse describes Siddhartha as, “motionless,” and uses figurative language: “his heart froze—he felt it freezing in his chest like a small animal, a bird or a hare.” This depicts Siddhartha’s fear of being alone. Siddhartha’s heart is compared to, “a bird or a hare,” because these animals are often in fear of predators, and Siddhartha is now aware of his fear of loneliness. Because Siddhartha realizes that, “even in the most faraway meditation, he had been his father’s son,” and has never left the identity as the Brahmin’s son until this moment. It is interesting that Siddhartha’s pain of homelessness—despite being homeless for years—has just been acknowledged when Govinda left his shadow. Govinda has always idolized Siddhartha and was described as Siddhartha’s,“friend,” “companion,” “servant,” and “shadow” (Hesse 4). The fear of not belonging in a group is revealed with the pang of being alone only being felt after leaving Govinda with Gautama. This divulges that Siddhartha did rely on Govinda’s companionship, but also that it was necessary for Siddhartha to be alone to progress on his journey for Truth. Anaphoras follow at the end of the passage, “No one was so alone as he. No noble. . .no workman. . .No Brahmin. . .no ascetic,” and by using this repetition, Hesse places emphasis on the singleness of Siddhartha. The passage provides transition and signifies a turning point in Siddhartha’s life.
“He looked around him as if seeing the world for the first time. The world was beautiful, strange and mysterious. Here was blue, here was yellow, here was green, sky and river, woods and mountains, all beautiful, all mysterious and enchanting, and in the midst of it, he, Siddhartha, the awakened one, on the way to himself. All this, all this yellow and blue, river and wood, passed for the first time across Siddhartha’s eyes.” (Hesse 39).
This passage represents a shift in Siddhartha's thinking process and his philosophy; no longer is he preoccupied with fasting and his thoughts as he was during his tenure with the Samanas. He is opening up to more worldly pleasures and beginning to enjoy the world that he shut himself out of for the longest time. Hesse’s use of language throughout the passage emphasizes Siddhartha’s newfound perspective on life and the world around him. He employs a simile in the first sentence, writing, “He looked around him as if seeing the world for the first time.” (Hesse 39). By comparing Siddhartha to someone “seeing the world for the first time”, Hesse effectively communicates to his audience that Siddhartha no longer wishes to shut out the world through meditation and self-denial; he now yearns to embrace the wonderful environment around him and experience it in all its glory. In the next few sentences, Hesse goes on describing things that would seem ordinary to a person in the street, writing, “Here was blue, here was yellow, here was green, sky and river, woods and mountains”. Through the use of anaphora with the word “here” at the beginning of each of these observations, Hesse paints a picture in the reader’s mind of Siddhartha hysterically exclaiming at these minor details that most people wouldn’t even notice. To Siddhartha, these everyday sights suddenly seem extraordinary and worthy of fascination. Earlier in the story, Siddhartha would not have thought that these little details in the environment were of any significance or worthy of wonder. But because his reaction is so much more interested, it is clear that Siddhartha has undergone a change in his outlook on life. This newfound love of worldly pleasures foreshadows Siddhartha’s eventual fall into the ways of the wealthy. His appreciation of the pleasures around him is the first step he takes toward seeking more and more pleasures, until he eventually succumbs to greed and lust.
Your analysis also reminded me of the extensive use of color throughout the novel. The colors mentioned in your passage symbolize the bright and promising path that Siddhartha is about to embark on. When he later becomes a merchant, Herman Hesse describes the people who value money and property as "getting gray" (Hesse 55) as if the more you value materialistic things the less aware you become of yourself and your true purpose. As you mentioned in your analysis, Siddhartha later gives into these "unworthy" pleasures and the colors described in those passages give a tone of gloominess and unhappiness.
“I have never seen anyone gaze and smile like that, sit and stride like that, he thought. Truly, I wish I could gaze and smile, sit and stride, so free, so venerable, so concealed, so open, so childlike and mysterious. Truly, a man gaze and strides like that only is he has reaches the innermost core of his ego. Fine, I too will try to pierce to the innermost core of my ego.” ( Hesse 34)
This passage is taken from chapter 3, Gautama. The excerpt was interesting because it gives an insight into Siddhartha’s thoughts and this is the first instance where he was humbled. It is as though he is in childlike amusement which is contradictory to his character development so far; someone knowledgable and uneasily fazed by others. Until now in the book, Siddhartha has been someone with a bloated ego. For example “I have seen one man, thought Siddhartha, one single man in front of whom I had to cast down my eyes.” (Hesse 34). Siddhartha felt this way only after he met the Buddha, before this there was no one in his life he respected and idolised. I consider Siddhartha to be egoistic because he states, “He has robbed me of my friend, my friend, who believed in me and who now believes in him- my friend who was my shadow and is now Gautama’s shadow.” (Hesse 34). He holds himself in such a high esteem that he compares himself to Gautama who has already achieved enlightenment. It was as though Siddhartha is surprised that Govinda chose Gautama over himself, because he was under the impression that Govinda thought so highly of Siddhartha that he would never leave his side. This serves as a realisation for the reader that it will be hard for Siddhartha to reach his innermost ego for it is large but he, himself is not fully aware of this fact.
Grammatically this passage consists of oxymoronic statements which stood out because of their contradictions. For example “gaze and smile”, “sit and stride”, “so concealed, so open” and “so childlike and mysterious.” (Hesse 34). A gaze is a steady look but a smile involves expressions which is contradictory for both of these cannot be achieved at once. A person cannot sit and stride at once and how is one concealed yet open? They make the paragraph sound poetic and create an image of Buddha as someone who is an unrealistic, holy being. He is the epitome of what Siddhartha wants to achieve, but it is too much of an ideal. These extracts can also be considered as exaggerations to show just how magnificent Gautama is. The syntax here is short sentences divided by commas and full stops which made me read faster and the fast pace instilled the feeling of excitement. This is because short sentences are usually quick bursts of thoughts which you aren't in full control of. Usually Siddhartha, speaks in long well thought out sentences but this is unlike his usual style. It is a more raw, emotional form of Siddhartha’s expression. In this passage, the reader gets to experience a different being of Siddhartha.
"In a soft yet firm voice, the Sublime One spoke, teaching the four principles, teaching the eightfold path; patiently he went the wonted way of teaching, with examples, with repetitions; bright and still, his voice hovered over the listener like a light, like a starry sky." (28, Hermann Hesse).
This is a quote explaining how the audience perceived Gautama's teachings. The quote starts out with a juxtaposition that is a bit confusing, "in a soft yet firm voice". This juxtaposition is meant to share with the reader that although Gautama spoke soft, kind, gentle words, he also spoke with a strongness and confidence that inspired, impassioned, and engaged many bodies in his audience. Hesse also uses similes in this paragraph to compare Gautama's voice to a light and a starry sky. You could argue that the light, or starry sky is symbolism, or a biblical reference to the birth of Jesus Christ, where the three wise men followed the north star, or the light to Jesus, the King, the Savior, the new leader. However, lights also represent wisdom and brilliance, so Hesse could be comparing Gautama to a light to display to the reader through symbolism Gautama's respectable brilliance. The purpose of this paragraph, in the end, was to create a stronger, more visual, characterization for Gautama. The visual imagery and delicate diction creates a calm, peaceful tone for the reader.
“‘But there is one thing that the so clear, so venerable Teaching does not contain: it does not contain the secret of what the Sublime One himself has experienced, he alone among hundreds of thousands. That is what I thought when I heard the teaching. That is why I am resuming my wandering--not to seek a different, a better teaching, for I know that there is none; but to leave all teachings and all teachers and to reach my goal alone or die’” (Hesse 32-33).
While explaining his thoughts to the Buddha, Siddhartha has a breakthrough, foreshadowing his decision to leave the samanas and start life anew, discovering his own Nirvana. Nirvana is described as “a state of perfect happiness”, the ultimate goal that Siddhartha desires to achieve. However, in this passage, he realizes that a state free from suffering is one in which he must discover on his own, rather than through a teacher. The author uses dialogue through Siddhartha’s conversation with the Buddha to illustrate Siddhartha’s insight and how he came to the conclusion of starting a new life on his own. This realization marks a turning point in the novel where Siddhartha becomes his own teacher, relying not even on his best friend, not the Sublime One, to discover true peace within himself. Siddhartha is aware that there nothing can teach him sense of self rather than his own insights and discoveries. Because of this he chooses not to seek a “better teaching”, but rather to reach his goal on his own, risking his life in the process. Hesse uses this decision made by Siddhartha to show that one must take risks in order to achieve their goals and that true peace is discovered uniquely in each individual.
I agree that the encounter with the Buddha was a dominant turning point in Siddhartha's quest, but one point that i also noticed in this quote was hidden in the last couple of words, "reach my goal alone-or die." Siddhartha had previously claimed he was willing to die to become a Semana, and is now willing to die to reach his own goal. This shows foreshadowing, as he almost commits suicide in the very river that brings him nirvana.
“Like a veil, like a thin mist, fatigue settled over Siddhartha, slowly, each day a bit thicker, each month a bit drearier, each year a bit heavier. As a new garment gets old with time, loses its vivid color, gets spotted, wrinkled, worn at the seams, and here and there begins to show weak, threadbare spots, in the same way Siddhartha’s new life, which he had begun after his separation from Govinda, had grown old with the passing years and lost its color and luster, accumulated spots and wrinkles; and here and there, already poking through in an ugly fashion, waited the disappoint and revulsion that lay hidden beneath. Siddhartha failed to see it. He noticed only that the bright and confident voice of his inner being, which had once been awake within him and which in his times of brilliance had been constant guide, had gone still” (Herman Hesse 61-2).
Figurative language is woven throughout this passage by Herman Hesse. It begins with a simile to describe the emotional strain put on Siddhartha. In the context of the novel, this fatigue is engendered by his compliance with the superficial and materialistic culture that surrounds him in the city. The accumulation of his weariness is described as “a veil, like a thin mist…slowly, each day a bit thicker, each month a bit drearier, each year a bit heavier” (Hesse 61) revealing how he gradually starts to lose his sense of self and his path to enlightenment. Color is mentioned in this passage to represent the bright and purposeful life Siddhartha once lead, while the veil in this passage sets a tone of bleakness and despair. As the veil loses its luster, Siddhartha’s life strays more and more off his original path to find atman. The wrinkles and spots found on the symbolic garment display his enjoyment in gambling and trivial objects. This cloth shows “weak, threadbare spots” (Hesse 61) which illustrates the lows Siddhartha feels during his time with Kamiswami. These lows are when he completely loses the voice in his head that told him to continue on his path and to not become enthralled in the one-dimensional life of a merchant. Under the veil hides the shame and disgust Siddhartha feels for himself. The veil symbolizes the mask that he wears to fit in as a merchant and to gain the wealth he needs to be with Kamala, but soon the mask sticks to him and it becomes harder for him to peel it off and see the childlike foolishness that the people around him have. The motif of the veil comes alive again when Hesse writes of the voice of his inner being going still. The word ‘bright’ is used to depict this inner voice, further enhancing the color dynamic of the passage. The dark veil is encompassing Siddhartha and his life, while his life before was colorful and radiant. This transition is evident through the quote “the world was beautiful, full of colors, strange and enigmatic” (Hesse 32). After Siddhartha leaves Gotama and discovers his true path, he is reawakened and sees his surroundings as if for the first time. The description shows how marvelous life is for him in that moment. In this passage all the vivid colors are gone and replaced with a dark, thick veil that covers his true self.
I agree with your explanation of the extended simile that Hesse uses to describe the decay of Siddhartha’s new life. I liked that you pointed out Hesse’s emphasis on the garment’s loss of color and compared that to earlier descriptions of Siddhartha’s appreciation of color immediately after leaving Govinda and Gotama. I would also like to point out the sentence, “Siddhartha failed to see it.” This sentence is emphasized because it is the shortest one in the passage, which is full of very long sentences of almost equal length. With this sentence, Hesse emphasizes the fact that Siddhartha was blinded to how he was gradually sinking into the life of the child people. He didn’t notice that he himself had become a child person until the voice of his inner being had gone completely silent. He didn’t notice how “soul sick” he was becoming until it was nearly too late to save himself.
“Smiling, they said their good-byes. Siddhartha smiled with happiness over the ferryman’s friendship and kindness. He is like Govinda, he thought as he smiled. Everyone I meet on my way is like Govinda. They are all grateful, although they themselves are due the gratitude. All of them treat me with deference; they would all be happy to be my friend, they would be glad to obey me without having to think too much. People are children” (Hesse 40).
The events in this passage occur after the ferryman has taken Siddhartha across the river on his raft. This passage shows a slight shift in Siddhartha’s thoughts about Govinda. Previously in the novel, Govinda has been compared to a shadow, but Siddhartha now states that Govinda deserves gratitude. If Govinda is deserving of gratitude, Siddhartha must, at least to some extent, value him and the companionship he offered Siddhartha in the past. However, Govinda is later compared to a child at the end of the passage, showing that Siddhartha still does not count Govinda as an equal.
In the passage, Hesse writes, “…they would be happy to be my friend, they would be glad to obey me without having to think too much” (Hesse 40). This is a description of both Govinda and the ferryman, which is ironic considering the ferryman’s role in Siddhartha’s later life. The ferryman says, “You too, shramana, will come back” (Hesse 40), foreshadowing when Siddhartha does return—though not as a shramana. When Siddhartha chooses to stay with the ferryman, he learns much from the ferryman, and Vasudeva does not blindly obey Siddhartha. When Siddhartha states that people are children, he is saying that they cannot think for themselves and need someone else to guide them. This generalization raises some questions. Siddhartha thinks that he is superior to most people, so he must not think that he, too, is a child. Does he then think that he is somehow more than a person?
Throughout the passage, Hesse creates a matter-of-fact tone with a lack of figurative language. Hesse uses the phrase “smiled with happiness” and words such as “friendship,” “kindness,” “gratitude,” and “deference” to tell the reader what Siddhartha is thinking and feeling instead of showing him or her with other literary devices. This matter-of-fact tone implies that Siddhartha’s observation about people being like children is just a simple, irrefutable fact. The straightforward tone also shows that Siddhartha is not yet able to see shades of gray within people. At this point in the novel, he sees the ferryman only as a child, but he will eventually come to know him as a very wise man.
“Content, he did as he was told. Accustomed to the forest, he slipped soundlessly out of the grove and over the hedge. Content, he returned to the town, carrying the rolled-up cloak under his arm. At an inn where travelers were put up, he stood at the door, silently begged for food, silently received a piece of rice cake. Perhaps by tomorrow, he thought, I will no longer beg for food. Suddenly pride blazed up in him. No longer was he a samana, no longer was it seemly for him to beg. He gave the rice cake to a dog and remained without nourishment.” (Hesse 54)
In the chapter, “Kamala,” the above passage foreshadows the rotting of Siddhartha’s soul with worldly desires. Siddhartha’s refusal of the rice cake is significant, because it symbolizes his loss of humility—his willingness to go without food because of his pride. The beginning of the paragraph opens with, “Content, he did as he was told,” and it continues, “Content, he returned to the town,” (Hesse 54). Hesse’s use of anaphora creates emphasis on the description that Siddhartha was appeased. This emphasis on Siddhartha’s contentment contrasts with his discontent from the act of begging, and the juxtaposition reveals his transition from the tone of wonder: “He looked around as if seeing the world for the first time,” (Hesse 37) to the foreshadowing of his spiritual death: “slowly filling it and rotting it, worldliness and slothfulness had crept into Siddhartha’s soul,” (Hesse 68). At the inn’s door Siddhartha, “silently begged for food, [and] silently received a piece of rice cake” (Hesse 54). The repetition of, “silently” stresses to the reader of Siddhartha’s reluctance to beg and that he did not give gratitude to the giver. His silent acceptance of the rice cake foreshadows Siddhartha’s future loss of benevolence to beggars in the chapter, “Samsara” (Hesse 71). Although this passage may seem insignificant, when Siddhartha’s, “pride blazed up in him,” it forbade his vice for greed and gambling, as pride and greed are considered two of the seven deadly sins. Hesse applies anaphora again, using the phrase, “No longer,” underlining Siddhartha’s rejection of humility to beg. When Siddhartha, “gave the rice cake to a dog,” (Hesse 54) it foreshadowed Siddhartha giving up his “voice” and smothering his soul in, “Samsara” (Hesse 68). Thus this passage, while signifying a transition in Siddhartha’s journey, also foreshadowed the lethargy of his spiritual being and soul.
“During the night, as he slept in a ferryman’s straw hut, Siddhartha had a dream. He dreamt that Govinda stood before him, in the yellow robe of the ascetic. Govinda looked sad and asked him, “Why did you leave me?” Thereupon he embraced Govinda, put his arm around him, and as he drew him to his breast and kissed him, he was Govinda no longer, but a woman and out of the woman’s gown emerged a full breast, and Siddhartha lay there and drank; sweet and strong tasted the milk from this breast. It tasted of woman and man, of sun and forest, of animal and flower, of every fruit, of every pleasure. It was intoxicating. When Siddhartha awoke, the pale river shimmered past the door of the hut, and in the forest the cry of an owl rang out, deep and clear.” (Hesse-48)
In this passage, the 6th chapter Kamala, Hesse uses Expressionism through Siddhartha’s dream to symbolize the loss of a dear friend, and yet also a rebirth of himself. Thinking of Govinda, Siddhartha feels nostalgic, and may even feel envious of the path Govinda has chosen when he dreams, “Govinda stood before him, in the yellow robe of the ascetic”. This added detail may seem trite, or overlooked as unimportant, but it can also provide an understanding of the fact that Siddhartha feels alone, and without anyone by his side with the same beliefs as he, while Govinda has thousands of brothers. Embarking on his individual quest, the dream also symbolizes Siddhartha’s transformation from a young boy to a lusting man when it reads, “he was Govinda no longer, but a woman, and out of the woman’s gown emerged a full breast, and Siddhartha lay there and drank”. Siddhartha’s physical awakening of the world caused his unconscious mind to transform his childhood friend into a woman that he desires, foreshadowing that he is seeking a female companion, the Beautiful Kamala. This longing soon becomes Siddhartha’s hubris, as it leads to greed and the abandonment of his morals. While Siddhartha awakens from the dream of his path to achieving enlightenment, Hesse mentions the river in which Siddhartha later finds nirvana, “the pale river shimmered past the door of the hut”. The river is both a foreshadow, as his answer has been in front of him the whole time, and a symbol of enlightenment, for the river is Siddhartha’s final instructor.
“No,” said Siddhartha, “that is not the reason. Kamaswami is just as clever as I and yet he has no inner sanctuary. Others have one even though they have the minds of little children. Most people, Kamala, are like a falling leaf, that wafts and drifts through the air, and twists and tumbles to the ground. Others, however, few, are like stars: they have a fixed course, no wind reaches them, they have their law and their course inside them. Among all scholars and samanas, of whom I knew many, one of them was perfect in that respect: I can never forget him. He was Gautama, the Sublime one, the proclaimer of that Teaching. A thousand disciples hear his Teaching every day, follow his rules every hour, but all of them are falling leaves, they have no law and no teaching within them.” (Hesse 64-65)
This extract taken from part 2, Among the Child People, is from a conversation Siddhartha is having with Kamala. Siddhartha talks about how it is important for people to decide their own path with a code of morals and values they experience or realise for themselves. He believes that people who follow others are weaker by comparing them to a falling leaf which can be manipulated by nature, as read in “Most people, Kamala, are like a falling leaf, that wafts and drifts through the air, and twists and tumbles to the ground.” (Hesse 64). Siddhartha thinks that he is one of the few people who are determined and nothing will phase them because they are independent. For example when he says “A thousand disciples hear his Teaching every day, follow his rules every hour, but all of them are falling leaves, they have no law and no teaching within them.” (Hesse 65), it is implied that Siddhartha cannot be a falling leaf for he listens to himself only. Siddhartha is also categorising himself in the same group as Gautama, because Siddhartha too is finding his own path to enlightenment and creating his own teachings.
This is contradictory to what happens in the chapters ahead because Siddhartha loses his original, fixed path to achieving enlightenment by becoming a wealthy merchant and submerging in petty desires. All his laws and teachings he learnt from himself had become faint memories. He is no better than any other being.
In this paragraph, Hesse utilises similes to make Siddhartha’s ideas clearer to the reader. By comparing people who are followers to falling leaves, is saying that these people hardly have their own personality for a leaf is light and lacking mass. The sentences flow into one another, which convey the feeling that Siddhartha is speaking without too much thought. This paragraph acts as a summary of Siddhartha’s believes so far. This can be interpreted as an act of foreshadowing because through restating the belief, the reader remembers Siddhartha’s purpose and then compares it to what has become of him at the beginning of the following chapter.
“Into her shadowy grove came beautiful Kamala, At the entrance stood the brown samana, Deeply, upon sighting the lotus blossom, He bowed. Smiling, Kamala thanked him. Lovelier, thought the youth, than sacrificing to the gods Lovelier is sacrificing to beautiful Kamala.” (Hesse 53).
In the chapter “Kamala”, Hermann Hesse uses Siddhartha’s poetry to characterize Kamala through symbolism and repetition. While reciting his poem, Siddhartha uses the metaphor, “upon sighting the lotus blossom”, when referring to Kamala. A lotus flower symbolizes fortune, purity, and most importantly, enlightenment. Hesse’s metaphor symbolizes Siddhartha’s relationship with Kamala as a reflection of his journey in spirituality. Kamala is a lotus flower in Siddhartha’s life in many ways. First, fortune symbolizes the material world, foreshadowing Siddhartha’s life with Kamala will be centered around wealth. Second, purity is another thing Siddhartha sacrifices in his commitment to Kamala. He submits his purity to her, bringing their relationship closer, as well as his relationship and worship of the material world. Lastly, Siddhartha’s commitment to Kamala reflects his path in achieving enlightenment. By repetition of the term “lovelier”, the author shows Siddhartha’s feelings for Kamala and displays his affection as a sort of idolatry. Siddhartha believes that sacrificing to Kamala through his actions and living for her will teach him the path to enlightenment, thus bringing him to worship the material world on his journey. Through his relationship with Kamala, Siddhartha realizes that the material world isn’t where true enlightenment is found and the author once again illustrates that similar to Siddhartha’s relationship to Kamala, one must experience enlightenment for himself rather than find spirituality through the teachings of another.
“ “You are talking about him again,” she said. “Again you are having Samana thoughts.” Siddhartha was silent, and they played the game of love, one of the thirty or forty different games which Kamala knew. Her body was supple as a jaguar and a hunter’s bow; whoever learned about love from her, learned many pleasures, many secrets. She played with Siddhartha for a long time, repulsed him, overwhelmed him, conquered him, rejoiced at her mastery, until he was overcome and lay exhausted at her side.” (Hesse 72)
The pure captivation and will to submit that Siddhartha feels towards Kamala is revealed in this passage through Hesse’s clever use of metaphors and similes. After Siddhartha had been rambling about how amazed he was at Gotama’s level of wisdom, Kamala demonstrates her power over Siddhartha by merely stating that he is “talking about him again” to make him stop reminiscing on his Samana past. Hesse elaborates on this influence that Kamala possesses by describing Siddhartha and Kamala’s interaction as “the game of love, one of the thirty or forty games Kamala knew”. The fact that Hesse compares Siddhartha and Kamala’s interaction to a game shows that their relationship is not true love, only a game in which Kamala is trying to win against Siddhartha. This point is further emphasized with the line “one of the the thirty or forty different games Kamala knew”, which suggests that playing games is all Kamala does with her time; she does not seek genuine relationships. She only aims to interact and use people for her own benefit. In the next sentence Hesse informs readers of why Kamala possesses so much manipulative power through the use of simile, writing, “Her body was supple as a jaguar and a hunter’s bow”. This simile effectively causes readers to create an alluring image of Kamala in their minds, because jaguars and hunter’s bows conjure up connotations of finely built, exemplary animals and machines. Therefore, it makes sense that Siddhartha is so enthralled by her. The idea of Kamala sharing qualities with a jaguar is continued in the next sentence, when Hesse writes, “She played with Siddhartha for a long time, repulsed him, overwhelmed him, conquered him”. Like a jaguar, Kamala toys with Siddhartha for a while then reveals her true colors and overcomes him. Thus, through the metaphor of the “game” and the simile about Kamala, Hesse is able to effectively demonstrate just precisely how Kamala influences such intense infatuation in Siddhartha.
"Under high-piled black hair, he saw a very clear, very clever, very delicate face, bright- red lips like a freshly broken fig, eyebrows plucked and painted in wide arches, dark eyes clever and alert, a long, radiant neck rising from a green and gold gown, bright, xresting hands long and slender with wide gold bracelets on the wrist" (Hermann Hesse 48). Hermann Hesse uses fantastic imagery, similes, the use of color symbolism, and characterization in this passage to portray to the reader Kamala's effect on Siddharth and his drastic change in mindset/ how Siddhartha perceives the world. Siddhartha has began to appreciate the beauty in nature and the physical world itself, rather than trying to find meaning and purpose in every aspect of life, "All this had always existed, and he had never seen it, he had never been present. Now he was there, he belonged to it. Light and shadow ran through his eyes, star and moon ran through his heart" ( Hermann Hesse 44). When Siddhartha encounters Kamala, he sees her as something more than just a woman. Although he talks immensely about her physical qualities, there's something more to her than previous woman Siddhartha encounters. Siddhartha's first encounter with a woman, he strongly rejects her as he sees her as an animal who wished for a physical act. The reader then knows that due to Siddhartha's aspiration to learn and grow from Kamala, that he sees her as more than just a animal. Hesse uses descriptive imagery and similes to paint a picture of what Kamala looks like physically, "bright- red lips like a freshly broken fig"(48). You're able to clearly see the color of her lips through imagery and comparison of her lips to a broken fig. Hesse's also uses imagery and similes to create descriptive characterization. Hesse describes Kamala as a woman with eyebrows plucked and painted in wide aches, which not only creates visual imagery, but tells the reader that kamala is a woman who cares about her appearance and what others think of her, or her beauty. Hesse also uses color symbolism to magnify the new mindset of Siddhartha. Siddhartha now sees and appreciates the world's natural physical beauty which is why Hesse uses natural, earthly colors while describing Kamala's outfit. Hesse wants to wrap the reader's attention back to the fact that Siddhartha is no longer over thinking or searching deeper.
I agree with your analysis of this scene. While reading this I also thought that the comparison of Kamala's mouth to a "freshly broken fig" symbolized a new, exciting start for Siddhartha. In addition, the color red is used to describe her lips, which often is used to symbolize seduction. This imagery foreshadows Siddhartha's inevitable surrender to the ways of the "child people". Although Kamala is the reason he becomes involved in the materialistic, merchant lifestyle, she is still the first woman to teach Siddhartha about love. Hesse describes Kamala using endearing and adoring terms to reiterate that she and the main character will always have a special, intimate relationship.
“There was no more purpose; there was nothing more than a deep, painful longing to shake off this whole confused dream, to spit out this stale wine, to make an end of this bitter, painful life. There was a tree on the river bank, a cocoanut tree. Siddhartha leaned against it, placed his arm around the trunk and looked down into the green water which flowed beneath him. He looked down and was completely filled with the desire to let himself go and be submerged in the water.” (Hesse 88).
This passage comes at a pivotal point in the rising action in the story: distraught and confused about his life as a merchant, Siddhartha leaves the town with no purpose in mind other than to escape the materialism that haunts him in the town. Hesse sheds some light on Siddhartha’s disillusion with his life when he writes that Siddhartha wished to “spit out this stale wine”. The “stale wine” is a metaphor for the promise that his life in the town appeared to have, but never lived up to. “Wine” has connotations of luxury and lavish living, but by adding “stale” to the word, Hesse suddenly reverses the connotation and causes readers to think that life in the town for Siddhartha had the potential to be positive, but turned out to be negative in the end. The metaphor contributes to the passage’s tone of regret and sadness over the way events in the story have unfolded. In the second half of the passage, Hesse symbolically illustrates Siddhartha’s struggle to overcome his sadness about his mistakes that he made in the town. The “cocoanut tree” on the edge of the riverbank symbolizes the hope that Siddhartha still carries, even as he edges dangerously close to the “green water”, which symbolizes Siddhartha’s temptation to end his life. The sentence, “Siddhartha leaned against it, placed his arm around the trunk and looked down into the green water which flowed beneath him”, showcases these two symbols juxtaposing each other. By writing that Siddhartha places his arm around the trunk of the tree, Hesse gives readers the impression that Siddhartha is holding onto his hope as tightly as he can. Yet at the same time, Siddhartha longingly stares into the face of death that is symbolized by the water. So, by creating a sort of battle between these two opposing symbols, Hesse demonstrates the intense nature of Siddhartha’s internal struggle.
I agree with your analysis of the metaphor of the stale wine, but I would like to add to your discussion of the description of the river in this passage. You mentioned that the “green water” symbolizes Siddhartha’s will to end his own life. Hesse uses irony in this passage because the color green is often associated with life and growth, yet the green water has the ability to drown Siddhartha and take his life away from him. It is also interesting that Siddhartha goes from wanting to be literally submerged in the water to being metaphorically submerged in it when he lives with Vasudeva and learns from the river. From the moment Siddhartha decides to stay with Vasudeva, the river permeates every aspect of his life. In this way, the passage also serves as foreshadowing because Siddhartha never loses the desire to interact with the river.
You add some interesting points about the significance of the river. I like your analysis of Siddhartha's desire to stay with the with the river both before this ordeal and after. The juxtaposition of his distressed feelings before the this moment and his peace and enlightenment after is significant in that it reflects how the river represents all of the world. It was there affecting Siddhartha when he was sad and depressed, and almost influenced him to end his life. But it also brought Siddhartha enlightenment and caused him to be genuinely happy. The fact that these two different extremes were both influenced by the river illustrates how the river symbolizes all of the knowledge and experiences in the world.
Siddhartha By the River Blog Post #4 “It took me many years of that to lose my connection with mind, to lose the ability to think, to forget unity. Is it not true that slowly and by long circuitous ways I changed from a man to a child, from a thinker to one of the child people? But still this journey was good, and still the bird in my breast did not die. But what a journey that was! I had to pass through so much ignorance, so much vice, such great misunderstanding, so much revulsion and disappointment and misery – just to become a child again and start over” (Herman Hesse 75).
In this excerpt from the novel, Herman Hesse writes an honest reflection through Siddhartha’s narrative. In the main character’s contemplation, he realizes he lost the ability to get in touch with his inner voice and he can no longer think and connect with others as he once did in the past. His life as a merchant has numbed his senses and he has lost contact with his true self. The syntax displayed in this passage consists of long, listing sentences illustrating his arduous, continuous journey of self discovery. Through the first person voice, the reader feels that Siddhartha is being genuine with his critical view of his past. The word “circuitous” emphasizes the cyclical nature of his life. He started out as an educated man determined to stay on his path - someone who had just realized his real purpose was to discover his own way to nirvana. Then he changed “to a child”, symbolizing the foolish mistakes that children make because of their lack of education and lack of understanding of what is truly important in life. He incredulously thinks of how he managed to transform from a deep thinker to someone, who Hesse calls “child people”, who values materialistic, superficial things. However, Hesse goes on to say that this hardship was beneficial and his inner voice did not disappear. The bird represents the drive to find atman that is within Siddhartha. The following sentence, “But what a journey that was!” is important to this passage because it shows his optimistic attitude to his past, and also the short length of the sentence emphasizes that he’s learned from it and thinks of it as pivotal to his journey to enlightenment. The last sentence of this passage reiterates the struggles he faces, for it took him so long to be free from the strong grip of a merchant’s lifestyle. Also, it mentions that he went through all of the difficulties “just to become a child again” showing that it took so long for him to be revived from his life of monotony. The motif of the child in Siddhartha represents a mind that is free from the cycle of existence and a mind that looks at the world with a fresh, detached perspective. In this piece, a child represents both a foolish person and a clean slate. This dual meaning signifies the complexity of Siddhartha’s journey and the overlapping ideas; making mistakes and looking at the world with a sense of awe are both important to existing and attaining atman.
“Contentedly, he did what he was told. Accustomed to the forest, he made his way silently out of the grove and over the hedge. Contentedly, he returned to the town, carrying his rolled-up gown under his arm. He stood at the door of an inn where travellers met, and silently accepted a piece of rice cake. Perhaps tomorrow, he thought, i will not need to beg for food. The life that is lived here is simple, Thought Siddhartha. It has no difficulties. Everything was difficult, irksome and finally hopeless when i was a Samana. Now everything is easy, as easy as the instruction in kissing which Kamala gives. I require clothes and money, that is all. These are easy goals which do not disturb one's peace.” (Hesse-58-59)
In this passage, Siddhartha is beginning to change his mindset from that of a semana into one revolving around material qualities. Using repetition of the word “Contentedly”, Hesse demonstrates that Siddhartha is experiencing an unfamiliar relationship with Kamala when he writes, “Contentedly, he did what he was told… Contentedly, he returned to the town…”. Growing up in a community in which he was bowed upon, and given all upon request, Siddhartha is gratified to have the opportunity to work for Kamala’s teachings. Govinda, being one of Siddhartha’s followers, may have contributed to Siddhartha’s desire of wanting to be a follower himself. Hesse mentions aspects of Siddhartha’s past life in this passage as foreshadowing of him leaving it behind when he says, “carrying his rolled-up gown under his arm.” When Siddhartha willingly removes his robe, he is firmly accepting that the Semanas are no longer an important part of who he is, foreshadowing that his mindset is going to change as well. This change in thought is later seen when Siddhartha thinks to himself, “Perhaps tomorrow, he thought, i will not need to beg for food”. Siddhartha is known most, by himself and by others, to be a thinker, a faster, and a waiter. He is very proud of these traits, and explains them to Kamala as his only talents. Using a person vs. fate conflict, Hesse displays Siddhartha’s change in mindset and goals, as he begins to lose all sight of his once brightly lit pathway to enlightenment. Instead, Siddhartha is replaces past goals that required immense amounts of thinking, and substitutes them for “average person” goals, “I require clothes and money, that is all. These are easy goals which do not disturb one's peace.” In this quote, Siddhartha hints that he believed his previous goals disturbed his peace, and again revolves back to the idea of Siddhartha’s lack of thinking since he left the buddha.
“Long he sat and looked at her dead face. For a long time he looked at her mouth, her old tired mouth with its shrunken lips, and he remembered that once in the springtime of his years he had compared that mouth to a fig freshly broken open. He sat for a long time contemplating the pallid face, the tired wrinkles, filling himself with the sight. He saw his own face reposing that way, just as white, just as lifeless; and at the same time he saw his face and her face when young, with the red lips, the burning eyes; and the feeling of presence and simultaneity pervaded him completely, a feeling of eternity. He felt profoundly at that moment, more profoundly than ever, the indestructibility of life, the eternity of every instant” (Hesse 89).
This passage, in the chapter entitled “The Ferryman” describes the moment after Kamala dies from the snake bite. Hesse uses contradictory visual imagery to exemplify Siddhartha’s realization that all life and every moment is eternal. Hesse focuses on a description of the face because it contains most of the expressed emotion of a person. It also contains significant evidence of aging, and Kamala appears as an aged woman when she dies. Hesse uses the diction of old age such as “tired,” “shrunken,” “lifeless,” and “pallid” to describe both Siddhartha and Kamala. Hesse gives them a similar appearance at this point in the novel because they are at similar points in their respective journeys toward enlightenment. Hesse writes, “‘You achieved it?’ [Kamala] asked. ‘You found peace?’ [Siddhartha] smiled and laid his hand on hers. ‘I see it,’ she said, ‘I see it. I too will find peace.’ ‘You have found it,’ whispered Siddhartha” (Hesse 89). Siddhartha and Kamala have both found peace, so they are more similar than when they first met and were described as very different from each other.
In contrast to the images of old age used in this passage, Hesse also uses images of youth (“red lips,” “burning eyes,” and “a fig freshly broken open”). This juxtaposition shows that Siddhartha is able to see both the young Kamala and the old Kamala at the same time, much as he previously realized that the river is able to exist everywhere at the same time. Hesse writes that “a feeling of eternity” pervaded him. This feeling of eternity is shown not only by the simultaneous existence of the old Kamala and the young Kamala but also by the repetition of the word “long.” The repetition draws the moment out and makes the reader feel as though time has ceased to exist, which is how Siddhartha feels. It is also interesting to note that objects cannot burn forever, and that even the freshest fig will eventually shrivel and dry up. Comparing Kamala’s eyes and lips to such impermanent things and actions seems to contradict the idea of the “indestructability of life.” However, even though Kamala is dead, the fig is dry, and her eyes have ceased to burn, Siddhartha is still able to see in her dead face who she once was.
"Like a veil, like a thin mist, weariness descended on Siddhartha, slowly, a bit denser each day, a bit dimmer each month, a bit heavier each year. A new garment grows old with time, loses it lovely color with time, gets stains, get wrinkles, frays out at the hems, and starts showing awkward, threadbare areas." (69 Hermann Hesse) Weariness was descending on Siddhartha because he is beginning to awaken from his drunken blurred state. He is starting to see who it is he has become and take a good look at his goals and aspirations. Hesse uses similes such as, "like a veil", and "like a thin mist", to exaggerate to the reader that Siddhartha was being blinded, and Hesse was trying to use detailed visual imagery to place you in the book with Siddhartha. Hesse also uses, dark words in this passage such as the word veil, which usually is associated with death, or the word mist which is associated with blindness, darkness, and loss of clarity to create gloomy diction. Hesse uses gloomy diction along with visual imagery and similes, to create a dark tone for the reader. Hesse uses, in the chapter of Awakening and Kamala, many descriptive colors such as, "on red cushions under a colorful sunshade", or "bright- red lips". He uses color symbolism to exemplify Siddhartha's new perspective on life. He also uses colors to create a bright and cheerful tone. In this section, Hesse says "loses its lovely color" symbolizing the loss of interest, joy, mindset, and will to live. When life loses it's color and becomes black and white it becomes boring and routine, hard to live. Hesse specifically adds in the lack of color to add to the gloomy diction.
“That was why he had had to go out into the world, losing himself in pleasure and power, in women and money, had had to become a merchant, a dicer, a drinker, a grasper, until the priest and the samana inside him were dead. That was why he had had to keep enduring those ugly years, enduring the disgust, the emptiness, the meaninglessness of a bleak and lost life, to the end, to bitter despair, until Siddhartha the sensualist, Siddhartha the grasper could die. He had died; a new Siddhartha had awoken from sleep. He too would grow old, he too would have to die someday—Siddhartha was ephemeral, every formation was ephemeral. But today he was young, was a child, the new Siddhartha, and was full of joy.” (Hesse 88)
Throughout Siddhartha, Herman Hesse wields repetition and anaphoras. Within this passage, these literary techniques gives the reader an interpretation of suffering as a necessary to develop in life, and immerses the reader in experiencing the stages of Siddhartha’s journey. Lists of who Siddhartha characterized, (“a merchant, a dicer”) and the figurative language of the priest’s and samana’s deaths intensifies the perception of the reader to view worldliness equating to spiritual death. The description of, “every formation was ephemeral,” that every stage of life is short-lived, is displayed by the death of the priest and the samana and the death of the sensualist and the grasper. Hesse’s repetition of the phrase, “That was why he had had,” influences the reader to understand how paramount it was for Siddhartha to experience materialistic desires. In the first sentences, “had had,” creates more emphasis and substanance, compared to if Hesse written a single, “had.” Sharp, negatively connotative word choice like: “ugly,” “disgust,” “emptiness,” “bleak,” and “bitter despair,” articulates to the reader of Siddhartha’s struggles with the wealth and power. Necessity for tribulation for development is encapsulated in, “He had died; a new Siddhartha had awoken from sleep.” This figurative language of the death of materialistic Siddhartha led to a Siddhartha of gaiety and childlike wonder. For most of the passage, there’s a mood of anguish, and tribulation, which contrasts with the ending emotion of solace. Repetition of “He too,” creates a lyrical mood, and continues the fast rhythm set by earlier anaphoras of, “That was why.” Hesse’s figurative language and repetition conveyed a mood of despair to hope, and explained the imperativeness of experience for progress.
“”Things are going downhill with you!’ he said to himself and laughed, and as he said it, he looked at the river also going downhill, always wandering downhill, and yet singing and remaining cheerful” (Hesse 84).
At the beginning of the chapter, “By the River”, Hermann Hesse utilizes symbolism by comparing Siddhartha’s spiritual journey to the river. Siddhartha experiences conflict throughout the book between himself and his fate. At this point, he recognizes the strangeness of his path and begins to laugh. However, he notes the river’s similar journey, “wandering downhill”, and acknowledges that the river reacts with glee. The state of the river in “singing and remaining cheerful” foreshadows Siddhartha’s future. Although his life has just been thrown of course and he appears to be headed downhill, in both age and mental stability, his revival through experiencing the om allows his seniority to be filled with singing. Shortly after this, he reunites with the ferryman and begins a renewed life of joy and following the river. In Siddhartha’s eyes, the river is a symbol for ultimate peace and unity in life. Hesse characterizes the river as “remaining cheerful” although it is flowing downhill, showing Siddhartha, nearing the end of his journey, can still experience enlightenment through being content with his surroundings. Rivers tend to flow continuously, despite their circumstance, foreshadowing Siddhartha’s fulfillment and discovery of peace through life with the ferryman. The author uses irony, in the case of the river being the target for Siddhartha's suicide attempt moments before, to show a new revival and perfect balance between a teacher, the river, and a life-changing experience on Siddhartha’s part.
I agree that the river symbolizes both despair and happiness equally, and i also think Siddhartha's version of enlightenment was different than he expected. He pictured it could come without struggle, but the outcome was paradoxical for him to comprehend at first. He realized that it doesn't matter what hardship comes him way, and that there will always be downhill slopes in life, it is all about mindset. This connects to the river, as it has been there for him through each and every step of his journey and teaches him more than anyone else could.
Do you think that this quote could also be foreshadowing to the chapter Om where all the goals and struggles are floating before Siddhartha's eyes down the river? I think that although his sons arrival, throws off Siddhartha's new plan and goal, and ends up causing Siddhartha more pain than peace, that this quote is however foreshadowing of the voices of the river and the cycle of goals and suffering. Foreshadowing that, although their may be new goals and new pain to come, his most recent heart breaking pain is now gone. Flowing down the river, almost like a baptism.
“He had felt rich and happy when the boy had come to him. But time flowed on, and since the boy remains foreign and surly, displaying a proud and defiant heart, refusing to work, showing the old men no respect, robbing Vasudeva’s fruit trees, Siddhartha began to realise that his son had brought not peace and happiness to him but sorrow and suffering. Still, he loved him, and he cherished the sorrow and suffering of love more than joy and happiness without the boy” (Hesse 103)
This excerpt is taken from part 2, The Son, on the first page of the chapter. This passage is describing the relationship between Siddhartha and his son. It acts as a parallel between Siddhartha and his father’s relationship. When Siddhartha was younger, he brought joy to everybody’s heart, “Joy leaped in his father’s heart about the son, the intelligent boy, thirsty for knowledge; and he saw him growing up to be a great safe and priest, a prince among the Brahmins.” (Hesse 3). Siddhartha was hoping his son would turn out to be like him and waited patiently but he soon realised his son would not accept his lifestyle. This is similar to what Siddhartha did to his father when he decided to join the Samana. Through the experience Siddhartha goes through with his son, the reader realises the pain Siddhartha’s father felt when he had to let go of his son. It is ironic because Siddhartha doesn't seem to realise history is repeating itself yet. Siddhartha also learns that love is such a strong emotion that he would rather choose to live in pain than to relinquish the one he loves.
This paragraph acts as a parallel, therefore it can be used to predict that Siddhartha’s son will eventually end up leaving him. This is proved correct when his son does escape by the end of the chapter. The tone the author conveys is one of pity towards Siddhartha because of the situation he is in. He was blissful before he met his son and that feeling was taken away from him.
“And all of it together, all voices, all gods, all yearnings, all sufferings, all pleasures, all good and evil--the world was everything together. Everything together was the river of events, was the music of life. And when Siddhartha listened attentively to the river, listened to this song of a thousand voices, when he did not listen to sorrow or laughter, when he did not bind his soul to any one voice and did not enter them with his ego, but listened to all of them, heard the wholeness, the oneness--then the great song of one thousand voices consisted of a single word, which was “om”: perfection.” (Hesse 118-119)
In this passage, Hesse utilizes repetition of words, diction, and symbolism to illustrate Siddhartha’s final step in finding true unity, peace, and “om”. The “om” in which Siddhartha discovers represents his coming to enlightenment. At the start of this passage, the author uses the repetition of the word “all” to emphasize the oneness of the world which Siddhartha has encountered. Siddhartha’s perspective is renewed through his relationship with the river, leading him to recognize the oneness in “all” things. Siddhartha’s ability to listen allows him to achieve peace and fully hear the “music of life” and see for himself the ever-flowing “river of events”. Music tends to symbolize a character's mind and reflects their inner thinking. Hesse uses the symbol of music as “the great song of one thousand voices” consisting of only one word, “om” to further display and characterize Siddhartha and his discovery of perfection. This use of diction demonstrates that Siddhartha has finally accepted the world in a new way, where everything is one within each other. However, he could not of accomplished this realization without encountering a lesson from the river. Water often symbolizes life, rebirth, and cleansing. Siddhartha experiences a cleansing of his own mind in discovering the unity of the world through the river. Once Siddhartha surrendered his search for enlightenment, only then did he discover true rebirth and a fresh way of thinking. The river, metaphorically, filled Siddhartha with wisdom of the earth and everything together. His thirst for enlightenment was quenched once he stopped seeking and listened. This act of listening and being still allowed Siddhartha to receive true knowledge from the river, discovering for himself that the everything flows together in oneness and wholeness, leading him to finally hear the perfect “om”.
My idea about the "music" in this passage complements your idea. For example, you discussed the significance of the "music of life" that Siddhartha hears; now that he is enlightened, he hears the "oneness" in all of the sounds. This point you make is further emphasized when Hesse writes, "when he did not listen to sorrow or laughter, when he did not bind his soul to any one voice". By writing that Siddhartha does not listen for specific sounds, such as "sorrow" or "laughter", and that "he does not listen to any one voice", Hesse hammers home the point that Siddhartha recognizes the unity and cohesive existence of all parts of the world.
"He saw the face of a newly born child, red and full of wrinkles, ready to cry. He saw the face of a murderer, saw him plunge a knife into the body of a man; at the same moment he saw this criminal kneeling down, bound, and his head cut off by an executioner. He saw the naked bodies of men and women in postures and transports of passionate love. He saw corpses stretched out, still, cold, empty." (Hesse-121)
In this passage, the final chapter Govinda, Siddhartha is experiencing his first glimpse of enlightenment. The river, being the symbol of his journey, has now proven itself to be worthy to his life by displaying flashbacks of his quest. Using imagery as symbols, Hesse displays an array of memories in the river, “He saw the face of a newly born child”. Due to the absence of his child in his life, Siddhartha is reminiscing the times he spent with his son, whom he never had the chance to see as a newborn. After thinking about his son, Siddhartha sees death, as it also had impact on his soul upon his journey. Hesse symbolizes the snake that robbed him of Kamala when he writes, “He saw a murderer, saw him plunge a knife into the body of a man”. Siddhartha sees images of love, “He saw the naked bodies of men and women and transports of passionate love”, as a representation of his first and only experience with love himself. Each and every illustration Siddhartha captures from the river are ones that can solely be learned through experience, and that he has experienced throughout his journey. Siddhartha is an exceptional example of someone who determines what is true off of experiences he encounters. If he had remained a Brahmin and never taken charge of this undying need inside of him, there would be no river, there would be no images, there would be no enlightenment. The motif i took away from this scene was to follow your own individual path, because no matter how off track it can get, it can lead to everything you have ever dreamed.
I found your analysis really interesting. When I first read the passage I didn’t make the possible connection between, “the face of a newly born child,” (Hesse 130) to Siddhartha’s son, and the symbolism of the murder representing the death of Kamala. However, I think that Siddhartha wasn’t undergoing a small part of enlightenment, rather he achieved it in the chapter, “Om.” In that chapter, Siddhartha suffers from a, “wound,” caused by the loss of his son. It is only when Siddhartha listened to the river when he discovered “the oneness,” from thousands of voices in the river, where, “his ego had flowed into the oneness,” and he achieved spiritual enlightenment (Hesse 119). Siddhartha’s eyes are also described to have the, “radiant serenity of knowledge,” (Hesse 119) by Vasudeva—similar to the radiancy of Gautama who, “was full of Truth,” and achieved Nirvana (Hesse 27).
“’When someone seeks, “ said Siddhartha, “it can easily happen that his eyes only see the thing he is seeking and that he is incapable of finding anything, incapable of taking anything in, because he is always only thinking about what he is seeking, because he has an object, a goal, because he is possessed by this goal. Seeking means having a goal, but finding means being free, open, having no goal. Perhaps you, venerable one, are indeed a seeker, for in striving after your goal, there is much you fail to see that is before your eyes’” (Herman Hesse 108).
In this passage from the novel, Siddhartha preaches what he has learned to his old friend Govinda. Through Hesse’s writing, Siddhartha clarifies the difference between seeking and finding. He tells his friend that when you are searching for one particular thing your vision is narrower and you cannot see anything other than what you’re looking for. This idea shows the growth in Siddhartha’s thinking. His advice symbolizes his own journey; he searched for atman for so long that he did not see nor appreciate his surroundings. In this excerpt, Hesse repeats the words “incapable” and “because” a lot to emphasize the pain the main character had felt while seeking. Also through the syntax, it shows the never ending search that Siddhartha went through; there was always another way to keep on seeking. First it was through studying under his father, then the shramanas, then Gotama for a brief period, and finally Kamala and Kamiswami. It wasn’t until he met Vasudeva for the second time in his life that he actually started finding; himself and the answers to his goal. The author defines finding as being liberated and having no objective to reach. The word choice in this piece makes the reader feel as though seeking and accomplishing a goal is impossible, but to go through life detached and without a focus makes it easier to stumble upon something worthwhile and meaningful. At the end of the passage, the sentence hints at Govinda’s inability to remember that the ferryman is indeed Siddhartha, his old friend. “There is so much you fail to see” further illustrates the point that Siddhartha made before about seeking. Since Govinda is striving to find a wise ferryman he does not see that the sage before him is actually his best friend. Siddhartha is displayed as a wise man that has learned plenty throughout his journey, giving the tone of this passage a sense of closure and completeness. His path to find his inner voice has finally led him back to his friend, so he can once again lead and advise Govinda like he had in the beginning of the novel. Only now, he has gained crucial knowledge about himself and has lost his materialistic attitude.
“Now he looked at people differently than he had before—less cleverly, with less pride, yet more warmly, with more curiosity and caring. When he took travelers of the usual kind across the river, child people—traders, warriors, women—these people no longer seemed alien to him, as they once had. He understood them, he shared their life, a life guided not by ideas and insights but only by impulses and desires. He felt as they did. Although he was nearer to perfection and bore his last wound, it nevertheless seemed to him that these people were his brothers” (Hesse 100-101).
This passage, at the beginning of the chapter titled “Om,” describes Siddhartha’s changing perceptions of the child people. Siddhartha is learning empathy and learning to imagine the child people not as The Other, but as more similar to him than he previously thought. Hesse writes that Siddhartha sees the people “less cleverly, with less pride, yet more warmly, with more curiosity and caring.” He respects their lives now and doesn’t perceive himself to be automatically superior. The use of the word “alien” shows that Siddhartha once believed the child people to be fundamentally different from him, as though they were an entirely different species. In the same paragraph, Hesse writes, “…all these simple and foolish but incredibly powerful, intensely vivid, forcefully dominant impulses and cravings were no longer childishness for Siddhartha” (Hesse 101). Siddhartha sees that the very traits that make the child people who they are—impulse and desire—are not as immature as he once believed. This is because Siddhartha has gone through the same experiences and felt the same desires as the child people have. When he sunk into gambling, he became a child person, and he saw how impulse can consume a life.
The idea that Siddhartha was “nearer to perfection and bore his last wound” is interesting because when he reaches enlightenment, he realizes that time does not exist and that all things are equally close and far away from attaining nirvana. The child people are not significantly farther away from reaching enlightenment just because they are chained to their foolish desires. That sentence shows that Siddhartha still has more wisdom to gain. The passage is also significant foreshadowing to when Siddhartha does finally reach enlightenment. When he does, he finally understands the unity within all things. Siddhartha sees that within every single object and living thing, there is a saint and a sinner, a Buddha and a Brahmin. He sees that everything is connected. When Hesse writes, “…it nevertheless seemed to him that these people were his brothers,” he foreshadows Siddhartha’s understanding that all things are more alike than they are different.
“The river laughed. Yes, that was how it was. Everything that was not suffered to the end and finally concluded, recurred, and the same sorrows were undergone. Siddhartha climbed into the boat again and rowed back to the hut, thinking of his father, thinking of his son, laughed at by the river, in conflict with himself, verging on despair, and no less inclined to laugh aloud at himself and the whole world.” (Hesse 132).
At this point in the story, Siddhartha is distraught over the fact that his son ran away from him, and he is unsure of what to do to fight his sorrow. Hesse utilizes personification and long, drawn out sentence structure throughout the passage to reflect Siddhartha’s confusion. For example, in the opening sentence of the passage, Hesse writes, “The river laughed. Yes, that was how it was”. Siddhartha respects and essentially lives off the river, so the fact that it is “laughing” at him contributes to the confused tone of the passage. Siddhartha normally expects the river to guide him along the correct path; now it is doing the exact opposite: jeering at him. The next sentence, “Yes, that was how it was”, further builds upon the sense of confused tone of the personification by emphasizing the situational irony of the river’s actions. The second half of the passage employs a different technique to convey the tone of confusion. By writing a long, drawn out sentence containing multitude of different ideas, Hesse causes confusion in the readers. The juxtaposition of different ideas, such when Hesse skips from “thinking of his father” to “thinking of his son”, shows that Siddhartha’s contrasting thoughts are battling against each other. It is unclear to both the reader or Siddhartha which ideas are most important; all that can be gathered is that Siddhartha is very unsure of what to think at this moment. So, through lengthy sentence structure, Hesse contributes to the tone of confusion in this passage. Also in this long sentence is the phrase “laughed at by the river”, appearing once again in the passage, except this time, it is towards the end. By including this same phrase in the beginning and the end, Hesse demonstrates how Siddhartha has become no less confused throughout the passage; he is still in the same mental place that he began in.
“At that moment Siddhartha stopped fighting with destiny, stopped suffering. On his face the serenity of knowledge blossomed, knowledge that no will can resist, that knows perfection, that agrees with the flow of events, with the river of life, full of compassion, full of shared pleasure, devoted to the flowing, belonging to the oneness.” (Hesse 119)
In the appropriately named chapter, “Om,” this passage is a pivotal point in the novel; Siddhartha has become part of the, “oneness.” The above passage signifies the climax and resolution to the major conflict of the novel—Siddhartha’s pursuit of spiritual enlightenment. Applying a lyrical tone with syntax, Herman Hesse creates a mood where the reader feels peacefulness and finality. Motifs of nature, and the repetition of the word, “blossomed,” contribute to the reader’s feeling of tranquility, as “blossomed,” is associated with flowers blooming, and nature imagery often relaxes the reader. Syntax is the linchpin for the overall tone from the passage. Lengthy sentences, and commas create a melodic tone, adding to the climax of Siddhartha flowing into, “om.” Along with lengthy sentences, assonance in the passage elongate the rhythm, augmenting the feeling of serenity in the above passage. The assonance of the vowel, “o,” generates a soft mood to the reader, and Hesse’s diction provides positive connotative words. In the passage, words like, “moment,” “knowledge,” “flow,” “devoted,” and, “belonging” all have a long, “o,” sound. With the exception of, “fighting,” and, “suffering,” the rest of the passage is compiled of words associated with positivity: “perfection,” “life,” “compassion,” and “pleasure.” As a reader, Hesse’s diction influences the emotions towards a halcyon mood, and this mood conveys Siddhartha’s resolution to a much greater extent. Syntax and diction of the passage contribute to a tone of tranquility, and this tone accentuates the reader's connection to Siddhartha's enlightenment.
“When Vasudeva rose from his seat on the riverbank, when he looked into Siddhartha’s eyes and saw the radiant serenity of knowledge, he touched Siddhartha’s shoulder lightly, in his cautious and tender way, and said: “I have waited for this moment, dear friend. Now it has come: let me go. I have waited and waited for this moment, I was Vasudeva the ferryman for years and years. Now it is enough. Farewell, hut, farewell, river, farewell, Siddhartha!” (Hesse 119)
This passage, taken from Om, marks the end of Vasudeva and Siddhartha’s friendship and the beginning on Siddhartha’s enlightened self. Vasudeva has waited and listened to Siddhartha for all these years for it to lead up to this moment. Even though Siddhartha believed he wouldn't be able to achieve enlightenment from a teacher, Vasudeva guided him towards the path. It is an example of the popular quote, “patience is a virtue”. Siddhartha waited and tried for all this years to achieve this goal while Vasudeva was the final push he needed. This passage also paints a picture of Vasudeva’s sole purpose was to guide Siddhartha. He is almost like a godly figure, one who was aware of all. He came to Siddhartha at times which were crucial to his being. When Siddhartha had to cross the river to reach his materialistic life and when he wanted to leave that life, it was Vasudeva who aided him. For example, “…Suffering, he wandered farther, along the bank, upstream, listened to the current, listened to the growling hunger in his body.” “When he reached the ferry, the boat was ready, and the same ferryman who had once ferried the young samana across the river was standing in the boat”. (Hesse 90). Without Vasudeva, Siddhartha may not have reached enlightenment because it was his experiences which made him complete.
The author’s diction have a sense of finality and ultimate resolution. Vasudeva’s departure could signify Siddhartha’s final chapter of his life leaving him, when his son escapes and Kamala’s death, before he reaches enlightenment. Siddhartha is now away from people, knowledge and has gained innermost peace and wisdom. This marks the end of Siddhartha’s experiences and the beginning of his enlightened days.
I had the same feeling of finality from the passage; it signifies the end of just Siddhartha the ferryman to Siddhartha the enlightened. Your analysis of the importance of Vasudeva for Siddhartha to achieve enlightenment reminded me of a mentor archetype (although a mentor archetype is usually found in adventure or epic novels). A mentor archetype is usually a character that teaches and guides the protagonist—which describes the relationship between Vasudeva and Siddhartha. Vasudeva guides Siddhartha by being the, “master of listening,” and teaching him to the voices of the river (Hesse 115). In The Odyssey by Homer, the mentor archetype, “Mentor,” or Athena helps Telemachus in search of his father, Odysseus. Just like how Mentor is an elderly man, the aged Vasudeva guides Siddhartha’s spiritual growth and eventual enlightenment. Similar to how Albus Dumbledore and Obi-wan Kenobi dying and leaving their pupils, Vasudeva also leaves Siddhartha, giving “farewells” in a bittersweet moment (Hesse 119). Without Vasudeva would Siddartha have become part of the, “oneness,” a member of the enlightened?
"Tenderly he gazed at the streaming water, at the transparent green, at the crystalline lines of its mysterious pattern. He saw bright beads rising from the depths, silent bubbles drifting on the surface, sky blue reflected there. The river gazed at him with a thousand eyes, with green, with white, with crystalline, with sky blue eyes." (Hermann hesse 89) "It's never just rain" is a common maxim that also goes for more than just rain, but water all together. In great literature, water is always symbolic or with the purpose of setting a tone. The river in this section has awakened Siddhartha. When Siddhartha came to the river he had been at a point of complete and utter despair. He had wished to die and lost all hope or will to live. Coming upon the river he peers into it in attempt to commit suicide, and hears the om of the water speaking to him. He feels as if all is new when he wakes up from a deep sleep he falls into while hearing the om. I connected this to a baptism, although Siddhartha isn't devoting himself to a religion, he is in fact starting his life over, new, and free. When Siddhartha awakes, this is what he sees and how he reacts to life through new eyes. Siddhartha sees color again once he is awaken. Hesse is trying to create a mood of renewal, second chance through rich visual imagery, kinesthetic imagery, and personification. We see visual imagery in this quote, "streaming water, at the transparent green," kinesthetic imagery in "the silent bubbles drifting on the surface", and personification when "the river gazed at him with a thousand eyes" (also an exaggeration). Hesse wants you to feel as free and Siddhartha now does while creating a joyful, free, and peaceful tone for the reader.
October 4, 2015 “Siddhartha listened. He was now all ears, utterly engrossed in listening, utterly empty, utterly absorbing. He felt he had now learned all there was to know about listening. He had often heard these things, these many voices in the river, but today it all sounded new. He could no longer distinguish the voices, the cheerful from the weeping, the children from the men’s: they all belonged together.” (Hermann Hesse 118) Siddhartha had just heard the river and it’s true voice. He had listened hard and heard and learned about the cycle of life. Learned about the balance of life and how all life is equal. This is proved in the juxtaposition towards the end of this quote, “the cheerful from the weeping, the children from the men’s: they all belonged together”. Siddhartha had seen every goals and strugglings floating by, down the river, continuing in the cycle. All life has a path to travel down, and that all life has goals. Siddhartha realizes that you can never strive for a goal without failure and struggles, that it’s inevitable. All life is similar in this way. In the way that you cannot escape pain and suffering for long. Hurdles will always come when trying to accomplish a goal, if they didn’t then it was mere an activity, not a goal. Hesse uses synecdoche, repetition, personification, and juxtaposition to create a peaceful tone full of relief. “He was now all ears”, synecdoche, implies that Siddhartha could for the first time really hear. Synecdoche uses a part of the body to represent a whole, and even though your ears are such a minor part of who you are, Siddhartha’s ears, were now, at this moment, his most important feature. This use of synecdoche was also meant to emphasise to the reader how important it is to just listen sometimes. You think you best, feel your best, and learn the most about yourself and others when you just listen with your ears. Hesse also uses repetition to exaggerate that idea that Siddhartha was filled completely with new wisdom heard from the river. This repetition is also foreshadowing to the idea that Siddhartha will stay full of this wisdom and peace for the rest of his life, similar to Vasudeva. He uses personification, of the river speaking in many voices, to add to the tone of peace and add a feeling of freedom and awkeness. Hermann Hesse wants the reader to feel happy for Siddhartha. Many times throughout the book, Siddhartha had moments where he felt awaken, but those moments were never as strong, or last as long as this moment had or would last. Hermann Hesse’s point of this whole section, on how listen to the river awoke Siddhartha, was in hope that the reader would take away the importance of of life, of nature, and the earth. He wants you to feel equal with the earth and all surrounding you, not to become a child- like person, and to appreciate the purpose of even the smallest of life’s gifts.
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ReplyDelete“Siddhartha gave his robe to a poor Brahmin he met on the road. Now he wore only a loincloth and an unstitched, earth-colored shawl. He ate only once a day and never cooked food. He fasted for fifteen days. He fasted for twenty-eight days. The flesh fell away from his cheeks and thighs. Fevered dreams flashed from his dilated eyes, the nails got long on his shriveled fingers, and from his chin grew a dry, scruffy beard. His eyes became as hard as iron when he encountered women. His lip curled with contempt when he walked through a town among well-dressed people. He saw merchants bargaining, princes going off to the hunt, grief-stricken people mourning their dead, prostitutes offering their bodies, doctors working over the sick, priests determining the day of sowing, lovers making love, mothers nursing their babies—and none of it was worthy of his glance. It was all a lie, it all stank, it was all putrid with lies. Everything pretended to meaning and happiness and beauty, but it was all only putrescence and decay. The taste of the world was bitter. Life was pain” (Hesse 11-12).
ReplyDeleteIn this passage, the first paragraph of the chapter “With the Shramanas,” Hermann Hesse describes the beginning of Siddhartha’s life with the shramanas. In the beginning of the passage, Hesse uses visual imagery when he writes, “Fevered dreams flashed from [Siddhartha’s] dilated eyes, the nails got long on his shriveled fingers, and from his chin grew a dry, scruffy beard” (Hesse 11). This imagery paints a clear picture of how quickly and how completely Siddhartha has lost his identity as the “beautiful brahmin’s son” when he left his family for a life as a shramana. When describing Siddhartha’s outer appearance, Hesse uses diction of sickness and decay. Words such as “flesh”, “fevered”, “shriveled”, and “dry” have a connotation of being a departure from a normal appearance and a normal state of being, suggesting that the shramana life is not the life for Siddhartha. Hesse doesn’t offer any contradicting diction that would suggest that despite Siddhartha’s starved outer appearance, he is a living a peaceful inner life. The presence of only diction with bad connotations makes the reader feel that Siddhartha has made a poor decision in choosing to live with the shramanas and foreshadows his departure from them.
This passage also poses the beginning of a contradiction between Siddhartha’s current thoughts and his later actions. Hesse writes, “[Siddhartha’s] eyes became as hard as iron when he encountered women. His lip curled with contempt when he walked through a town among well-dressed people (Hesse 11). Later in the novel, Siddhartha will become one of the well-dressed people that he so despises, and he will pay money to sleep with a woman. The detail in this passage suggests that Siddhartha needs to satiate his desires before can truly leave his ego.
Hesse uses a long list at the end of the passage to show that Siddhartha’s brain may have starved along with his body. He lists many things that Siddhartha has seen, ending with the commentary, “…and none of it was worthy of his glance” (Hesse 11). The list ranges from acts that are not particularly loving and honest (“merchants bargaining, “princes going off to the hunt”) to acts that are (“lovers making love, mothers nursing their babies”). Siddhartha cannot distinguish between what is meaningful, happy, and beautiful, and what is not because his weakened physical state has compromised his ability to see beauty and empathize with the people he sees. Hesse orders the list from acts that are the least loving to acts that are the most loving (and closest to the words “putrid” and “lies” in the next sentence) in order to render Siddhartha’s blind judgement more impactful. The weakening of Siddhartha’s body, mind, and spirit is clearly seen throughout the entire passage.
Really good point about satiating his desire! Also, nice job of using text to back up your points!
DeleteMs. Ballard
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ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
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Delete“A heron flew over the bamboo forest—and Siddhartha took the heron into his soul, flew over forests and mountains, was a heron, ate fish, hungered heron hunger, spoke heron croaking, died heron death. A dead jackal lay on the sandy bank, and Siddhartha’s soul slipped into the cadaver, was a dead jackal, lay on the shore, swelled, stank, rotted, was shredded by hyenas, was skinned by vultures, became a skeleton, became dust, wafted into the fields. And Siddhartha’s soul returned, was dead, was rotted, was dispersed, had tasted the dismal drunkenness of the cycle of life, waited in new thirst like a hunter, waited for the gap through which he could escape the cycle, where the end of causes came, where painless eternity began.” (Hesse 14-15)
ReplyDeleteHerman Hesse, in the passage above, utilizes anaphoras, sentence structure, and vivid imagery to convey a tone of desperation and agitation. Hesse’s anaphoras and repetition constitute a rhythm into the passage. Repetition of, “was” with the phrases: “was a dead jackal, . . .was shredded by hyenas, was skinned by vultures,” and, “was dead, was rotted, was dispersed,” contribute to feelings of agitation and tones of Siddhartha’s pursuit of Nirvana. In the last sentence of the passage, anaphoras are accentuated where Siddhartha’s soul, “waited for the gap through which he could escape the cycle, where the end of causes came, where painless eternity began.” Augmenting the tone of desperation, the increasing repetition toward the end of the passage accelerates the rhythm. The syntax in the passage limelights the sense of Siddhartha’s growing agitation. Sentences structured with long lists creates almost a discordant feeling to the reader, furthering the tone of despair.
Siddhartha follows the samanas teachings of unselfing and first engulfs his soul with a heron. Herons, and birds themselves, often connotate freedom, because they are not bound by gravity, so when, “Siddhartha took the heron into his soul, [and] flew over forests,” it embodies how Siddhartha was hopeful that the ways of the samanas will achieve Nirvana. The tone immediately transitions into internal desperation starting from the death of the heron, and the motifs of death continue with the jackal. In contrast with Siddhartha taking in the heron, “Siddhartha’s soul slipped into the cadaver.” This distinction reveals Siddhartha’s realization that his return to his ego is inevitable, because instead of taking in the body, the act of slipping into the cadaver is significantly muted. Hesse’s diction becomes graphic with heavy negative connotations with, “stank,” “rotted,” “shredded,” and “skinned,” which perpetuate the tone of despair. Imagery in this passage appeals to sight, scent, sound, and taste, and all these depictions contribute to the reader understanding Siddhartha’s restlessness and yearning for enlightenment. Many humans relate to feelings of despair, and many experience a desire for escape from the harshness of reality and the, “dismal drunkenness of the cycle of life.”
I think that you wrote a really well formed literary analysis on the paragraph you chose. We seem to have similar ideas on Siddhartha feeling agitated and restless but I focused on those feelings in The Brahmin’s Son. The embodiment of Siddhartha’s hope to achieve nirvana when his soul took the form of a Heron was an interesting connection to make. Another example that could support the feeling of restlessness could be in the next paragraph, “ He killed his senses, he killed his memory, he slipped from his ego into a thousand different forms.” (Hesse 15)
DeleteSiddhartha tried to numb himself so he could stop feeling anything at all, running away from his problems and tried to get away from himself.
I've got a bike. You can ride it if you like.
ReplyDeleteIt's got a basket, a bell that rings and
Things to make it look good.
I'd give it to you if I could, but I borrowed it.
You're the kind of girl that fits in with my world.
I'll give you anything, ev'rything if you want things.
I've got a cloak. It's a bit of a joke.
There's a tear up the front. It's red and black.
I've had it for months.
If you think it could look good, then I guess it should.
You're the kind of girl that fits in with my world.
I'll give you anything, ev'rything if you want things.
I know a mouse, and he hasn't got a house.
I don't know why. I call him Gerald.
He's getting rather old, but he's a good mouse.
You're the kind of girl that fits in with my world.
I'll give you anything, ev'rything if you want things.
I've got a clan of gingerbread men.
Here a man, there a man, lots of gingerbread men.
Take a couple if you wish. They're on the dish.
You're the kind of girl that fits in with my world.
I'll give you anything, ev'rything if you want things.
I know a room of musical tunes.
Some rhyme, some ching. Most of them are clockwork.
Let's go into the other room and make them work.
As much as we all love Pink Floyd, perhaps writing about Siddhartha would be the best way to go if you want to blog?? (The band is just fantastic, that is really what I think... By the way, which one's pink?)
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DeleteBallard, you're my favorite.
DeleteBallard we love you <3
Delete“But Siddhartha did not bring jot to himself, he did not delight himself. Walking along the rosy paths of the fig orchard, sitting in the bluish shade of the grove of contemplation, washing his limbs in the daily bath of atonement, sacrificing in his densely shaded mango forest, with perfect breeding of his gestures, loved by all, a joy to all, he nevertheless bore no joy in his heart. Dreams came to him and fretful thoughts flowing from the water of the river, twinkling stars of the night, from the sun’s melting rays- dreams came to him and restlessness of his soul, smoked from the offerings, breathed from the verses of the Rig-Veda, dripped from the teaching of the old Brahmins.” (Hesse 4-5)
ReplyDeleteThis excerpt taken from chapter 1, “The Brahmin’s Son”, is the first passage to describe how Siddhartha feels towards himself. In the earlier paragraphs, Hesse describes how the world saw Siddhartha and how he was like no other. Everyone appreciated having Siddhartha in their lives because he brought joy to all but despite being adored and praised, Siddhartha was not happy. The way Siddhartha sees his life is like a melancholy routine he had to follow everyday and the feeling of being trapped gnawed at him. For example the way Herman Hesse describes Siddhartha “walking along the rosy paths of the fig orchard”, “washing his limbs in the daily bath of atonement” and “with perfect breeding of his gestures”, Siddhartha was bored for he had already perfected all there was to perfect in his life.
The feeling of entrapment can be read in , “…dreams came to him and restlessness of his soul, smoked from the offerings, breathed from the verses of the Rig-Veda, dripped from the teaching of the old Brahmins.” (Hesse 4-5). Siddhartha’s restlessness intensified when he had to pray and learn from the holy men and books. This foreshadows him growing tired of his life and feeling the need to find something new to devote his time to, for he was displeased and what he had achieved did not content his soul. As read further on, Siddhartha does leave his home to become one of the Samana in hopes of feeling complete ad whole.
In this passage, Hesse uses the word “joy” for a total of 3 times in 2 sentences. I began to question what feeling truly joyous and content is really like and whether I can ever experience such a feeling?
The author uses descriptive writing in order to show Siddhartha’s lifestyle by using adjectives such as “rosy” and “bluish shade”. Siddhartha lives a comfortable and serene life. Herman Hesse syntax uses long run on sentences as if to further emphasise the routine life for there is nothing new to say. The use of metaphors such as “ …fretful thoughts flowing from the water of the river” and
“ [restlessness of Siddhartha’s soul] breathed from the verses of the Rig-Veda” show that Siddhartha had already exhausted all the ideas and topics he could think about and the agitation is being expressed through having to read the holy scriptures yet again.
Wow!! What an amazing analyzation! You deserve an A all four semesters purely based on this work of art!
DeleteYour analysis is really interesting. It made me think about how Siddhartha seems to have the perfect life, being “loved by all, a joy to all”, yet he still remains discontent with his well being (Hesse 4). Siddhartha is characterized as being constantly surrounded by abounding love from his community, but he realizes that this love is not sufficient to achieve enlightenment and a truly fulfilling life. The author writes that this love does not, “please him, gratify him, satisfy him”, emphasizing Siddhartha’s true discontent with life and lack of satisfaction with his community. One would think that a person as deeply loved and praised as Siddhartha would have their life together, however this book provides a different perspective and focuses on the deeper meaning of life and satisfaction in the world.
Delete“..And Siddhartha’s mind returned, dead, rotten, reduced to dust, having tasted the dark drunkenness of the cycle of existence. With a new craving it lay in wait like a hunter for the gap where that cycle could be escaped, where the end of causation could begin, eternity without suffering. He mortified his senses, immolated his memory; he slipped out of his ego into a thousand alien forms, became a beast, carrion, became stone, wood, water – yet each time when he awoke he found himself there again. By sunshine or by moonlight, he was once again ego, was pressed back into the cycle, felt craving, overcame the craving, felt craving anew” (Herman Hesse 13).
ReplyDeleteIn this passage, Herman Hesse is describing Siddhartha’s desperate attempts at attaining atman. Using meditative absorption, he experiences being a dead jackal which symbolizes the last and most devastating aspect of life. He gets a taste of the brutal, cyclical nature of life and death. Hesse describes Siddhartha’s return to his personal conscious with the same words he used to describe the deceased jackal, “dead, rotten, reduced to dust”. This shows how flexible and transformable Siddhartha’s mind is, for he is emotionally and physically affected by the creatures he connects with. The author depicts the cycle of existence through alliteration that signifies numbly going through the motions of life and death. Using a simile, Hesse compares Siddhartha’s mind to a hunter, continually searching for an escape out of the circle of existence. He is searching for a state where there is no suffering and there is nothing that causes anything. In this passage, long lists and dependent clauses add to the simplistic sentence structure present throughout the novel. The extensive use of commas in this way further shows the dull, cycle of repetition that is life. Siddhartha has transformed into the most complex creatures to the most simple; showing the reader how hard he is searching for holy bliss and how even in the most transparent of substances he cannot seem to escape himself. Hesse mentions the ego – a psychological term referring to the part of the mind that moves between the conscious and the unconscious. Siddhartha leaves this behind hundreds of times in order to dwell in nothingness, but despite all his attempts he is still on a quest for atman, with the last line of the passage reiterating the cycle which he struggles through.
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ReplyDelete"Siddhartha," he spoke, "what are you waiting for?"
ReplyDelete"You know what."
"Will you always stand that way and wait, until it'll becomes morning,
noon, and evening?"
"I will stand and wait.
"You will become tired, Siddhartha."
"I will become tired."
"You will fall asleep, Siddhartha."
"I will not fall asleep."
"You will die, Siddhartha."
"I will die."
"And would you rather die, than obey your father?"
"Siddhartha has always obeyed his father."
"So will you abandon your plan?"
"Siddhartha will do what his father will tell him to do." (Herman Hesse 11)
This passage has a very definite mood, determination; I felt a sense of empowerment and idolization while reading it. Hesse shows characterization of Siddhartha by showing some of his characteristics through physical and mental ability. He is loyal in the fact that he won’t leave his home without his father's permission, but he is also persistent in what he believes. The conflict in this passage is both person vs. person and person vs. God. Siddhartha is attempting to portray his thoughts of leaving his Hindu faith, which indicates that he is going against his religion. His father is also acting the role as the antagonist in this section of the book for going against siddhartha, even though it is for the well being of his son. Siddhartha shows morality play when he says he is more willing to die than go on with his current way of life by proving his morals to his father, which are to become a semana and find himself on his journey. Hesse touches the reader’s emotions by creating pathos in this rebuttal. As a reader, i sympathized for siddhartha as his idea for self discovery was rejected. I wanted to comfort him as he stood alone all night. Not only did i feel i wanted him to be set free, but i also felt a deep sense of love from Siddhartha’s father while reading this by the way he couldn’t let Siddhartha go. It struck me as though he was very close with his son and loved him very much. Hesse also uses a unique form of alliteration in this passage when he writes, “You will…” “I will…” multiple times back and forth. The tone of the alliteration informs the reader that this is an argument between two people, and that Siddhartha is firm on leaving.
Sept. 21, 2015
ReplyDelete“But more than all the others he was loved by Govinda, his friend, the son of a brahman. He loved Siddhartha’s eye and sweet voice, he loved his walk and the perfect decency of his movements, he loved everything Siddhartha did and said and what he loved most was his spirit, his transcendent, fiery thoughts, his ardent will, his high calling. Govinda knew: he would not become a common Brahman, not a lazy official in charge of offerings; not a greedy merchant with magic spells; not a vain, vacuous speaker; not a mean, deceitful priest; and also not a decent, stupid sheep in the herd of the many. No, and he, Govinda, as well did not want to become one of those, not one of those tens of thousands of Brahmans. He wanted to follow Siddhartha, the beloved, the splendid. And in days to come, when Siddhartha would become a god, when he would join the glorious, then Govinda wanted to follow him as his friend, his companion, his servant, his spear-carrier, his shadow” (Herman Hesse 2).
Herman Hesse uses bright and cheerful diction to portray to the reader who Siddhartha is as a human and a character. Hesse boasts about how Siddhartha was beloved and admired by all right from the beginning of the story through words and literary devices that create a glorious tone. Hesse conveys Siddartha as this great man you’d either want to know or want to be. Hesse uses an epithet in the middle of this passage, “Siddhartha, the beloved, the splendid”, just to overemphasize his point that everyone adored Siddhartha. However, Hesse use of repetition of the word love, is truly the most drastic literary device, or word, used to exaggerate how Siddhartha was perceived among others. Through Govinda, you learn that Siddhartha is a sharp minded, religious, man full of integrity, honor, and destined for greatness. Hesse uses this paraph to provide the reader a bit of insight into the magnificent life of Siddhartha. The purpose of over exaggerating of how loved and admired Siddhartha was, was to create confusion when you go on to read that Siddhartha was not happy and couldn’t find happiness in his life, even with the love everyone felt towards him. This passage also provides the reader with a bit of foreshadowing into the man Siddhartha becomes. Govinda says he knows who Siddhartha will not end up like, yet, in his journey, Siddhartha ends up falls victim to the lives of sin that Govinda describes.
Another example from the text that would also support your analysis is, “They all loved Siddhartha. He brought joy to all, he delighted them all” (Hesse 2). I think this because you explained how widely Siddhartha was loved throughout his community and this quote exaggerates on how others were impacted by Siddhartha. Not just a few people were impacted by him, but “all” took delight in him. The author repeats, in different words, the phrase “he brought joy to all”, emphasizing Siddhartha’s radiant presence that was acknowledged by everyone in his community. He most certainly was loved, which makes his departure from the town to discover a more satisfying life exceptionally ironic.
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ReplyDelete“He [Siddhartha] had started feeling that his father’s love, and his mother’s love, and also his friend Govinda’s love would not make him happy forever and always, not please him, gratify him, satisfy him. He has begun to sense that his venerable father and his other teachers, that the wise Brahmins had already imparted their knowledge, that they had already poured their fullness into his waiting vessel, and the vessel was not full, his mind was not contented, his soul was not tranquil, his heart not sated” (Hesse 5).
ReplyDeleteIn this passage from Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha, the author uses repetition to convey Siddhartha’s discontent with life, in turn foreshadowing his quest for enlightenment. By illustrating the love shown for Siddhartha from his family and close friend, Govinda, the author creates a sense of unity and joy in the reader’s mind. However, Hesse then emphasizes Siddhartha’s dissatisfaction with life when he describes that this love did not, “please him, gratify him, satisfy him”. The repetition of similar words highlights Siddhartha’s thirst for something more, a life full of discovery and gratification, foreshadowing his quest for true insight. The author once again illuminates Siddhartha’s unsatisfied heart through repetition when he writes, “the vessel was not full, his mind was not contented, his soul was not tranquil, his heart not sated”. Although taught by the most highly respected teachers and wise men in his community, Siddhartha continually fails to find enlightenment. Hesse’s recurrence of words meaning “dissatisfied” show Siddhartha’s urge to discover a deeper meaning to life. True fulfillment in life must be discovered by one’s self, not through the teachings of others. Siddhartha realizes that limiting himself to being content with his teachers won’t lead to a life of whimsy and genuine knowledge. This structure and syntax stresses an emptiness in Siddhartha’s heart and equipts the reader with insight toward Siddhartha’s journey to find true happiness. Although sufficient in love, Siddhartha's enduring discontent, shown through repetition, foreshadows his journey towards enlightenment and a more fulfilling life.
“But Siddhartha himself was not happy. Wandering along the rosy paths of the fig garden, sitting in contemplation in the bluish shade of the grove, washing his limbs in the daily bath of atonement, offering sacrifices in the depths of the shady mango wood with with complete grace of manner, beloved by all, a joy to all, there was yet no joy in his own heart. Dreams and restless thoughts came flowing to him from the river, from the twinkling stars at night, from the sun’s melting rays. Dreams and a restlessness of the soul came to him, arising from the smoke of the sacrifices, emanating from the verses of Rig-Veda, trickling through from the teachings of the old Brahmins.” (Hesse 5)
ReplyDeleteThis passage provides a window into Siddhartha’s conflicting thoughts that he has at the beginning of the story. He lives a happy life in a positive environment where everyone looks up to him, yet he feels that continuing to live how he is living is the wrong path if he wishes to attain enlightenment. As a result, his thoughts are confused: the positive and negative thoughts that he has are in a constant tug-of-war. Hesse reflects this juxtaposition of positive and negative thoughts in Siddhartha’s mind by juxtaposing positive and negative imagery in the passage. He paints pleasant, peaceful images in the first half of the paragraph, writing phrases such as “the rosy paths of the fig garden” and “the depths of the shady mango wood”. Then immediately after giving the most powerfully positive phrase in the passage, “beloved by all, a joy to all”, Hesse completely disrupts the feeling of the passage, writing, “there was yet no joy in his own heart”. With this line, Hesse artfully shifts to a much darker tone that is reminiscent of clouds rolling in before a storm strikes. The rest of the passage’s imagery continues this new negative trend, particularly in the word “restless” which Hesse uses twice. The word “restless” epitomizes the result of the conflict between Siddhartha’s positive and negative thoughts: they are causing him to grow impatient with his Hindu mentors, anxious to deviate from his tradition and try something new — all very “restless” business. But besides simply demonstrating the inner conflict of Siddhartha through positive and negative imagery, Hesse is also using this clever device to characterize Siddhartha. By revealing that Siddhartha lives in a world full of such positive imagery and yet he still feels unsatisfied, Hesse develops Siddhartha’s key trait of always seeking something more than what he already possesses, always searching for the superior method of attaining enlightenment.
“I have seen a man, one and only one, Siddhartha thought, before whom I had to lower my gaze. Before no other will I ever lower my gaze, no other. No other teaching will seduce me, since this teaching has not seduced me.
ReplyDeleteThe Buddha robbed me, thought Siddhartha, he robbed me, yet he gave me even more. He robbed me of my friend, who believed in me and now believes in him, who was my shadow and is now Gotamas’s shadow. But he gave me Siddhartha, he gave me myself” (Hesse 29).
This passage is at the end of the chapter titled “Gotama.” Govinda has left Siddhartha for a life among the Buddha’s followers, and Siddhartha has just pointed out the shortcomings in the Buddha’s teaching to the Buddha. In the first paragraph of the passage, Hesse uses the phrase “no other” a total of three times when he writes that Siddhartha will no longer lower his gaze or be seduced by a teaching. The repetition reinforces Siddhartha’s determination to live an independent life in which he will answer to nobody. The sentence, “No other teaching will seduce me, since this teaching has not seduced me,” is used as foreshadowing. While Siddhartha may truly believe himself to be invincible to all teachings, the reader comes to learn that this is simply not true. Another teaching, the sexual teaching of Kamala, will ensnare him, and the use of the word “seduce” in this passage foreshadows that because seduce often has a sexual connotation. The second half of the sentence, “…since this teaching has not seduced me,” implies that Siddhartha believes the teaching of the Buddha to be superior to all other teachings even though he has rejected it.
Hesse’s use of the word robbed in the second paragraph is interesting because robbed implies that a personal possession was taken. When Govinda is described as being robbed from Siddhartha, he is dehumanized because he is being characterized as Siddhartha’s possession. The word robbed also implies that the party being taken has no say in the matter, but Govinda made a conscious choice to stay with Gotama. Comparing Govinda to a shadow is also dehumanizing because he is being compared to something that is a two-dimensional version of a three-dimensional person and that doesn’t always exist. These two dehumanizing characterizations of Govinda show that Siddhartha believes himself to be superior to Govinda because he won’t let himself be indoctrinated, as he states in the first paragraph of the passage. Siddhartha thinks that Govinda is taking the easy way out by following the Buddha. When Hesse writes, “[The Buddha] robbed me of my friend, who believed in me and now believes in him, who was my shadow and is now Gotama’s shadow,” he uses pairs of words (“believed…believes” and “shadow…shadow”) to show that Govinda’s choice to follow the Buddha doesn’t represent any radical change in his personality. He has simply gone from believing one doctrine to believing another, from being one man’s shadow to being a different man’s shadow. For Siddhartha, however, meeting the Buddha has given him the opportunity to begin his journey again as a version of himself (“But he gave me Siddhartha, he gave me myself”), as he has left his childhood friend and his childhood belief in the necessity of a teaching behind with Gotama.
I completely agree with what you said about Siddhartha dehumanising Govinda. It is almost as though Siddhartha never accepted Govinda as a friend but more of a follower to preach his ideas to and a tool only for company . Even though Siddhartha says that he is happy for Govinda to have chosen his own path, it is hard to believe so because Siddhartha's actions and thoughts don't convey delight.
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ReplyDelete“The Buddha went his way humbly, absorbed in thought. His quiet face was neither happy nor sad; it gave the impression of a slight inward smile. The Buddha moved quietly, calmly, with a hidden smile, not unlike a healthy child. Just like all his monks he wore a robe and placed his feet precisely, according to precept. But his face and gait; his still, lowered gaze; his still, loose-hanging hand; and even every finger on his still, loose-hanging hand were expressions of peace, of perfection. Seeking nothing, emulating nothing, breathing gently, he moved in an atmosphere of imperishable calm, imperishable light, inviolable peace” (Herman Hesse 23).
ReplyDeleteThe author, Herman Hesse, begins the passage with a gentle, modest depiction of Buddha. He wears an inward smile, symbolizing his contentment in his soul and inner-self. His neutral face displays his preferred way of existing; residing in nothingness. His movements are described as quiet and calm, representing his enlightened mind. His gait is compared to a content child, demonstrating how carefree and liberated he feels since he has found atman and is free from suffering in the cycle of life. Hesse mentions how his attire is the same as his disciples to exhibit his humble disposition and attitude. The robe also articulates his trouble-free lifestyle and his commitment to his philosophy; he doesn’t need money for unnecessary things like clothes and food. Hesse writes that Buddha “placed his feet precisely” meaning that each of his actions are calculated and done in accordance with his principles. In the following line, the repetition of ‘still’ is used to emphasize his deliberate demeanor and actions. The actual act of reaching atman requires a complete stillness within the mind and body. Throughout Siddhartha, the desired state of nirvana is continually described with words of tranquility and calm. The phrase “loose-hanging hand” is mentioned twice, signifying that Buddha is not constrained to anything and his body exemplifies his detachedness. His body language expresses his enlightened status and his peaceful ideology; rather than a clenched hand it lays softly, determined to stay on his harmonious path. Hesse characterizes Buddha as an ordinary and soft spoken person. He is the epitome of Siddhartha’s goal; he has no desires and isn’t influenced by anything. Buddha leaves little physical impact on his environment which is embodied through his gentle breathing. The author ends the passage by acknowledging the eternalness of nirvana’s qualities. Essentially, this paragraph captures the serene essence of Buddha.
“I did not doubt you for one moment. Not for one moment did i doubt that you were the Buddha, that you have reached the highest goal which so many thousands of Brahmins and Brahmins’ sons are striving to reach. You have done so by your own seeking, in your own way, through thought, through knowledge, through enlightenment. You have learned nothing through teachings, and so i think, O illustrious one, that nobody finds salvation through teachings. That is what i thought and realized when i heard your teachings. That is why i am going on my way- not to seek another or better doctrine, for i know there is none, but to leave all doctrines and all teachers and to reach my goal alone-or die.” (Hesse,33-34)
ReplyDeleteIn this passage, the third chapter “Gotama”, Siddhartha is blindsided by his own actions. He had previously benefited from the act of civil disobedience and gained the consent to leave his hometown, his family, and his religion. As of now, he is faced with the man who has attained nirvana through the way he believes to be true, but does not choose to follow him. Using an epithet, Hesse describes Gotama as “The Illustrious One”, meaning he is well known, respected and admired. Siddhartha explains to the Buddha that he acknowledges his teachings as exemplary when he says, “I did not doubt you for one moment.”. He goes further into the depth of his thinking by justifying that he does not believe in the ability to teach enlightenment, especially since Gotama did not have a teacher. Using repetition of the word “though”, Hesse portrays Siddhartha’s thoughts of the rightful direction to follow, “You have done so by your own seeking, in your own way, through thought, through knowledge, through enlightenment.” Achieving this knowledge through a person vs. fate conflict, Siddhartha merely proved his point even stronger and thus exposed a new path for the continuation of his journey. This passage has a mood of both ambition and loss, for Siddhartha is being robbed of a dear friend in his pursuit to find himself. Hesse uses a unique form of situational irony when Siddhartha says, “This is why i am going on my way- not to seek another doctrine, for i know there is none, but to leave all doctrines and all teachers and to reach my goal alone.” The irony exposes itself later in the story, when Siddhartha willingly learns the act of love from the beloved Kamala.
Do you believe that their will come a point when teachers can no- longer teach you knowledge, and you must seek it for yourself?
Delete“Siddhartha stood motionless, and for a moment and for an instant of breathing, his heart froze—he felt it freezing in his chest like a small animal, a bird or a hare, when he saw how alone he was. For years he had been homeless and had not felt it. But now he felt it. Always, even in the most faraway meditation, he had been his father’s son, had been a Brahmin, high-ranking, spiritual. Now he was only Siddhartha, the awakened, and nothing more. No one was so alone as he. No noble who did not belong among the nobles, no workman who did not belong among the workmen and found refuge with them, shared their life, spoke their speech. No Brahmin who was not counted among the Brahmins and lived with them, no ascetic who did not find refuge with the samanas.” (Hesse 38)
ReplyDeleteIn the chapter, “Awakening,” the passage above is right after Siddhartha realizes that he no longer belongs to his home and his father. The chapter and this passage is significant to the novel as it represents a turning point in Siddhartha’s life, and Siddhartha has truly begun to seek Nirvana on his own, because, “he was only Siddhartha, the awakened, and nothing more.” Hesse describes Siddhartha as, “motionless,” and uses figurative language: “his heart froze—he felt it freezing in his chest like a small animal, a bird or a hare.” This depicts Siddhartha’s fear of being alone. Siddhartha’s heart is compared to, “a bird or a hare,” because these animals are often in fear of predators, and Siddhartha is now aware of his fear of loneliness. Because Siddhartha realizes that, “even in the most faraway meditation, he had been his father’s son,” and has never left the identity as the Brahmin’s son until this moment. It is interesting that Siddhartha’s pain of homelessness—despite being homeless for years—has just been acknowledged when Govinda left his shadow. Govinda has always idolized Siddhartha and was described as Siddhartha’s,“friend,” “companion,” “servant,” and “shadow” (Hesse 4). The fear of not belonging in a group is revealed with the pang of being alone only being felt after leaving Govinda with Gautama. This divulges that Siddhartha did rely on Govinda’s companionship, but also that it was necessary for Siddhartha to be alone to progress on his journey for Truth. Anaphoras follow at the end of the passage, “No one was so alone as he. No noble. . .no workman. . .No Brahmin. . .no ascetic,” and by using this repetition, Hesse places emphasis on the singleness of Siddhartha. The passage provides transition and signifies a turning point in Siddhartha’s life.
“He looked around him as if seeing the world for the first time. The world was beautiful, strange and mysterious. Here was blue, here was yellow, here was green, sky and river, woods and mountains, all beautiful, all mysterious and enchanting, and in the midst of it, he, Siddhartha, the awakened one, on the way to himself. All this, all this yellow and blue, river and wood, passed for the first time across Siddhartha’s eyes.” (Hesse 39).
ReplyDeleteThis passage represents a shift in Siddhartha's thinking process and his philosophy; no longer is he preoccupied with fasting and his thoughts as he was during his tenure with the Samanas. He is opening up to more worldly pleasures and beginning to enjoy the world that he shut himself out of for the longest time. Hesse’s use of language throughout the passage emphasizes Siddhartha’s newfound perspective on life and the world around him. He employs a simile in the first sentence, writing, “He looked around him as if seeing the world for the first time.” (Hesse 39). By comparing Siddhartha to someone “seeing the world for the first time”, Hesse effectively communicates to his audience that Siddhartha no longer wishes to shut out the world through meditation and self-denial; he now yearns to embrace the wonderful environment around him and experience it in all its glory. In the next few sentences, Hesse goes on describing things that would seem ordinary to a person in the street, writing, “Here was blue, here was yellow, here was green, sky and river, woods and mountains”. Through the use of anaphora with the word “here” at the beginning of each of these observations, Hesse paints a picture in the reader’s mind of Siddhartha hysterically exclaiming at these minor details that most people wouldn’t even notice. To Siddhartha, these everyday sights suddenly seem extraordinary and worthy of fascination. Earlier in the story, Siddhartha would not have thought that these little details in the environment were of any significance or worthy of wonder. But because his reaction is so much more interested, it is clear that Siddhartha has undergone a change in his outlook on life. This newfound love of worldly pleasures foreshadows Siddhartha’s eventual fall into the ways of the wealthy. His appreciation of the pleasures around him is the first step he takes toward seeking more and more pleasures, until he eventually succumbs to greed and lust.
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DeleteYour analysis also reminded me of the extensive use of color throughout the novel. The colors mentioned in your passage symbolize the bright and promising path that Siddhartha is about to embark on. When he later becomes a merchant, Herman Hesse describes the people who value money and property as "getting gray" (Hesse 55) as if the more you value materialistic things the less aware you become of yourself and your true purpose. As you mentioned in your analysis, Siddhartha later gives into these "unworthy" pleasures and the colors described in those passages give a tone of gloominess and unhappiness.
Delete“I have never seen anyone gaze and smile like that, sit and stride like that, he thought. Truly, I wish I could gaze and smile, sit and stride, so free, so venerable, so concealed, so open, so childlike and mysterious. Truly, a man gaze and strides like that only is he has reaches the innermost core of his ego. Fine, I too will try to pierce to the innermost core of my ego.” ( Hesse 34)
ReplyDeleteThis passage is taken from chapter 3, Gautama. The excerpt was interesting because it gives an insight into Siddhartha’s thoughts and this is the first instance where he was humbled. It is as though he is in childlike amusement which is contradictory to his character development so far; someone knowledgable and uneasily fazed by others. Until now in the book, Siddhartha has been someone with a bloated ego. For example “I have seen one man, thought Siddhartha, one single man in front of whom I had to cast down my eyes.” (Hesse 34). Siddhartha felt this way only after he met the Buddha, before this there was no one in his life he respected and idolised. I consider Siddhartha to be egoistic because he states, “He has robbed me of my friend, my friend, who believed in me and who now believes in him- my friend who was my shadow and is now Gautama’s shadow.” (Hesse 34). He holds himself in such a high esteem that he compares himself to Gautama who has already achieved enlightenment. It was as though Siddhartha is surprised that Govinda chose Gautama over himself, because he was under the impression that Govinda thought so highly of Siddhartha that he would never leave his side. This serves as a realisation for the reader that it will be hard for Siddhartha to reach his innermost ego for it is large but he, himself is not fully aware of this fact.
Grammatically this passage consists of oxymoronic statements which stood out because of their contradictions. For example “gaze and smile”, “sit and stride”, “so concealed, so open” and “so childlike and mysterious.” (Hesse 34). A gaze is a steady look but a smile involves expressions which is contradictory for both of these cannot be achieved at once. A person cannot sit and stride at once and how is one concealed yet open? They make the paragraph sound poetic and create an image of Buddha as someone who is an unrealistic, holy being. He is the epitome of what Siddhartha wants to achieve, but it is too much of an ideal. These extracts can also be considered as exaggerations to show just how magnificent Gautama is. The syntax here is short sentences divided by commas and full stops which made me read faster and the fast pace instilled the feeling of excitement. This is because short sentences are usually quick bursts of thoughts which you aren't in full control of. Usually Siddhartha, speaks in long well thought out sentences but this is unlike his usual style. It is a more raw, emotional form of Siddhartha’s expression. In this passage, the reader gets to experience a different being of Siddhartha.
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ReplyDeleteSept. 23, 2015
ReplyDelete"In a soft yet firm voice, the Sublime One spoke, teaching the four principles, teaching the eightfold path; patiently he went the wonted way of teaching, with examples, with repetitions; bright and still, his voice hovered over the listener like a light, like a starry sky." (28, Hermann Hesse).
This is a quote explaining how the audience perceived Gautama's teachings. The quote starts out with a juxtaposition that is a bit confusing, "in a soft yet firm voice". This juxtaposition is meant to share with the reader that although Gautama spoke soft, kind, gentle words, he also spoke with a strongness and confidence that inspired, impassioned, and engaged many bodies in his audience. Hesse also uses similes in this paragraph to compare Gautama's voice to a light and a starry sky. You could argue that the light, or starry sky is symbolism, or a biblical reference to the birth of Jesus Christ, where the three wise men followed the north star, or the light to Jesus, the King, the Savior, the new leader. However, lights also represent wisdom and brilliance, so Hesse could be comparing Gautama to a light to display to the reader through symbolism Gautama's respectable brilliance. The purpose of this paragraph, in the end, was to create a stronger, more visual, characterization for Gautama. The visual imagery and delicate diction creates a calm, peaceful tone for the reader.
“‘But there is one thing that the so clear, so venerable Teaching does not contain: it does not contain the secret of what the Sublime One himself has experienced, he alone among hundreds of thousands. That is what I thought when I heard the teaching. That is why I am resuming my wandering--not to seek a different, a better teaching, for I know that there is none; but to leave all teachings and all teachers and to reach my goal alone or die’” (Hesse 32-33).
ReplyDeleteWhile explaining his thoughts to the Buddha, Siddhartha has a breakthrough, foreshadowing his decision to leave the samanas and start life anew, discovering his own Nirvana. Nirvana is described as “a state of perfect happiness”, the ultimate goal that Siddhartha desires to achieve. However, in this passage, he realizes that a state free from suffering is one in which he must discover on his own, rather than through a teacher. The author uses dialogue through Siddhartha’s conversation with the Buddha to illustrate Siddhartha’s insight and how he came to the conclusion of starting a new life on his own. This realization marks a turning point in the novel where Siddhartha becomes his own teacher, relying not even on his best friend, not the Sublime One, to discover true peace within himself. Siddhartha is aware that there nothing can teach him sense of self rather than his own insights and discoveries. Because of this he chooses not to seek a “better teaching”, but rather to reach his goal on his own, risking his life in the process. Hesse uses this decision made by Siddhartha to show that one must take risks in order to achieve their goals and that true peace is discovered uniquely in each individual.
I agree that the encounter with the Buddha was a dominant turning point in Siddhartha's quest, but one point that i also noticed in this quote was hidden in the last couple of words, "reach my goal alone-or die." Siddhartha had previously claimed he was willing to die to become a Semana, and is now willing to die to reach his own goal. This shows foreshadowing, as he almost commits suicide in the very river that brings him nirvana.
Delete“Like a veil, like a thin mist, fatigue settled over Siddhartha, slowly, each day a bit thicker, each month a bit drearier, each year a bit heavier. As a new garment gets old with time, loses its vivid color, gets spotted, wrinkled, worn at the seams, and here and there begins to show weak, threadbare spots, in the same way Siddhartha’s new life, which he had begun after his separation from Govinda, had grown old with the passing years and lost its color and luster, accumulated spots and wrinkles; and here and there, already poking through in an ugly fashion, waited the disappoint and revulsion that lay hidden beneath. Siddhartha failed to see it. He noticed only that the bright and confident voice of his inner being, which had once been awake within him and which in his times of brilliance had been constant guide, had gone still” (Herman Hesse 61-2).
ReplyDeleteFigurative language is woven throughout this passage by Herman Hesse. It begins with a simile to describe the emotional strain put on Siddhartha. In the context of the novel, this fatigue is engendered by his compliance with the superficial and materialistic culture that surrounds him in the city. The accumulation of his weariness is described as “a veil, like a thin mist…slowly, each day a bit thicker, each month a bit drearier, each year a bit heavier” (Hesse 61) revealing how he gradually starts to lose his sense of self and his path to enlightenment. Color is mentioned in this passage to represent the bright and purposeful life Siddhartha once lead, while the veil in this passage sets a tone of bleakness and despair. As the veil loses its luster, Siddhartha’s life strays more and more off his original path to find atman. The wrinkles and spots found on the symbolic garment display his enjoyment in gambling and trivial objects. This cloth shows “weak, threadbare spots” (Hesse 61) which illustrates the lows Siddhartha feels during his time with Kamiswami. These lows are when he completely loses the voice in his head that told him to continue on his path and to not become enthralled in the one-dimensional life of a merchant. Under the veil hides the shame and disgust Siddhartha feels for himself. The veil symbolizes the mask that he wears to fit in as a merchant and to gain the wealth he needs to be with Kamala, but soon the mask sticks to him and it becomes harder for him to peel it off and see the childlike foolishness that the people around him have. The motif of the veil comes alive again when Hesse writes of the voice of his inner being going still. The word ‘bright’ is used to depict this inner voice, further enhancing the color dynamic of the passage. The dark veil is encompassing Siddhartha and his life, while his life before was colorful and radiant. This transition is evident through the quote “the world was beautiful, full of colors, strange and enigmatic” (Hesse 32). After Siddhartha leaves Gotama and discovers his true path, he is reawakened and sees his surroundings as if for the first time. The description shows how marvelous life is for him in that moment. In this passage all the vivid colors are gone and replaced with a dark, thick veil that covers his true self.
I agree with your explanation of the extended simile that Hesse uses to describe the decay of Siddhartha’s new life. I liked that you pointed out Hesse’s emphasis on the garment’s loss of color and compared that to earlier descriptions of Siddhartha’s appreciation of color immediately after leaving Govinda and Gotama. I would also like to point out the sentence, “Siddhartha failed to see it.” This sentence is emphasized because it is the shortest one in the passage, which is full of very long sentences of almost equal length. With this sentence, Hesse emphasizes the fact that Siddhartha was blinded to how he was gradually sinking into the life of the child people. He didn’t notice that he himself had become a child person until the voice of his inner being had gone completely silent. He didn’t notice how “soul sick” he was becoming until it was nearly too late to save himself.
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ReplyDelete“Smiling, they said their good-byes. Siddhartha smiled with happiness over the ferryman’s friendship and kindness. He is like Govinda, he thought as he smiled. Everyone I meet on my way is like Govinda. They are all grateful, although they themselves are due the gratitude. All of them treat me with deference; they would all be happy to be my friend, they would be glad to obey me without having to think too much. People are children” (Hesse 40).
ReplyDeleteThe events in this passage occur after the ferryman has taken Siddhartha across the river on his raft. This passage shows a slight shift in Siddhartha’s thoughts about Govinda. Previously in the novel, Govinda has been compared to a shadow, but Siddhartha now states that Govinda deserves gratitude. If Govinda is deserving of gratitude, Siddhartha must, at least to some extent, value him and the companionship he offered Siddhartha in the past. However, Govinda is later compared to a child at the end of the passage, showing that Siddhartha still does not count Govinda as an equal.
In the passage, Hesse writes, “…they would be happy to be my friend, they would be glad to obey me without having to think too much” (Hesse 40). This is a description of both Govinda and the ferryman, which is ironic considering the ferryman’s role in Siddhartha’s later life. The ferryman says, “You too, shramana, will come back” (Hesse 40), foreshadowing when Siddhartha does return—though not as a shramana. When Siddhartha chooses to stay with the ferryman, he learns much from the ferryman, and Vasudeva does not blindly obey Siddhartha. When Siddhartha states that people are children, he is saying that they cannot think for themselves and need someone else to guide them. This generalization raises some questions. Siddhartha thinks that he is superior to most people, so he must not think that he, too, is a child. Does he then think that he is somehow more than a person?
Throughout the passage, Hesse creates a matter-of-fact tone with a lack of figurative language. Hesse uses the phrase “smiled with happiness” and words such as “friendship,” “kindness,” “gratitude,” and “deference” to tell the reader what Siddhartha is thinking and feeling instead of showing him or her with other literary devices. This matter-of-fact tone implies that Siddhartha’s observation about people being like children is just a simple, irrefutable fact. The straightforward tone also shows that Siddhartha is not yet able to see shades of gray within people. At this point in the novel, he sees the ferryman only as a child, but he will eventually come to know him as a very wise man.
“Content, he did as he was told. Accustomed to the forest, he slipped soundlessly out of the grove and over the hedge. Content, he returned to the town, carrying the rolled-up cloak under his arm. At an inn where travelers were put up, he stood at the door, silently begged for food, silently received a piece of rice cake. Perhaps by tomorrow, he thought, I will no longer beg for food. Suddenly pride blazed up in him. No longer was he a samana, no longer was it seemly for him to beg. He gave the rice cake to a dog and remained without nourishment.” (Hesse 54)
ReplyDeleteIn the chapter, “Kamala,” the above passage foreshadows the rotting of Siddhartha’s soul with worldly desires. Siddhartha’s refusal of the rice cake is significant, because it symbolizes his loss of humility—his willingness to go without food because of his pride. The beginning of the paragraph opens with, “Content, he did as he was told,” and it continues, “Content, he returned to the town,” (Hesse 54). Hesse’s use of anaphora creates emphasis on the description that Siddhartha was appeased. This emphasis on Siddhartha’s contentment contrasts with his discontent from the act of begging, and the juxtaposition reveals his transition from the tone of wonder: “He looked around as if seeing the world for the first time,” (Hesse 37) to the foreshadowing of his spiritual death: “slowly filling it and rotting it, worldliness and slothfulness had crept into Siddhartha’s soul,” (Hesse 68). At the inn’s door Siddhartha, “silently begged for food, [and] silently received a piece of rice cake” (Hesse 54). The repetition of, “silently” stresses to the reader of Siddhartha’s reluctance to beg and that he did not give gratitude to the giver. His silent acceptance of the rice cake foreshadows Siddhartha’s future loss of benevolence to beggars in the chapter, “Samsara” (Hesse 71). Although this passage may seem insignificant, when Siddhartha’s, “pride blazed up in him,” it forbade his vice for greed and gambling, as pride and greed are considered two of the seven deadly sins. Hesse applies anaphora again, using the phrase, “No longer,” underlining Siddhartha’s rejection of humility to beg. When Siddhartha, “gave the rice cake to a dog,” (Hesse 54) it foreshadowed Siddhartha giving up his “voice” and smothering his soul in, “Samsara” (Hesse 68). Thus this passage, while signifying a transition in Siddhartha’s journey, also foreshadowed the lethargy of his spiritual being and soul.
“During the night, as he slept in a ferryman’s straw hut, Siddhartha had a dream. He dreamt that Govinda stood before him, in the yellow robe of the ascetic. Govinda looked sad and asked him, “Why did you leave me?” Thereupon he embraced Govinda, put his arm around him, and as he drew him to his breast and kissed him, he was Govinda no longer, but a woman and out of the woman’s gown emerged a full breast, and Siddhartha lay there and drank; sweet and strong tasted the milk from this breast. It tasted of woman and man, of sun and forest, of animal and flower, of every fruit, of every pleasure. It was intoxicating. When Siddhartha awoke, the pale river shimmered past the door of the hut, and in the forest the cry of an owl rang out, deep and clear.” (Hesse-48)
ReplyDeleteIn this passage, the 6th chapter Kamala, Hesse uses Expressionism through Siddhartha’s dream to symbolize the loss of a dear friend, and yet also a rebirth of himself. Thinking of Govinda, Siddhartha feels nostalgic, and may even feel envious of the path Govinda has chosen when he dreams, “Govinda stood before him, in the yellow robe of the ascetic”. This added detail may seem trite, or overlooked as unimportant, but it can also provide an understanding of the fact that Siddhartha feels alone, and without anyone by his side with the same beliefs as he, while Govinda has thousands of brothers. Embarking on his individual quest, the dream also symbolizes Siddhartha’s transformation from a young boy to a lusting man when it reads, “he was Govinda no longer, but a woman, and out of the woman’s gown emerged a full breast, and Siddhartha lay there and drank”. Siddhartha’s physical awakening of the world caused his unconscious mind to transform his childhood friend into a woman that he desires, foreshadowing that he is seeking a female companion, the Beautiful Kamala. This longing soon becomes Siddhartha’s hubris, as it leads to greed and the abandonment of his morals. While Siddhartha awakens from the dream of his path to achieving enlightenment, Hesse mentions the river in which Siddhartha later finds nirvana, “the pale river shimmered past the door of the hut”. The river is both a foreshadow, as his answer has been in front of him the whole time, and a symbol of enlightenment, for the river is Siddhartha’s final instructor.
“No,” said Siddhartha, “that is not the reason. Kamaswami is just as clever as I and yet he has no inner sanctuary. Others have one even though they have the minds of little children. Most people, Kamala, are like a falling leaf, that wafts and drifts through the air, and twists and tumbles to the ground. Others, however, few, are like stars: they have a fixed course, no wind reaches them, they have their law and their course inside them. Among all scholars and samanas, of whom I knew many, one of them was perfect in that respect: I can never forget him. He was Gautama, the Sublime one, the proclaimer of that Teaching. A thousand disciples hear his Teaching every day, follow his rules every hour, but all of them are falling leaves, they have no law and no teaching within them.” (Hesse 64-65)
ReplyDeleteThis extract taken from part 2, Among the Child People, is from a conversation Siddhartha is having with Kamala. Siddhartha talks about how it is important for people to decide their own path with a code of morals and values they experience or realise for themselves. He believes that people who follow others are weaker by comparing them to a falling leaf which can be manipulated by nature, as read in “Most people, Kamala, are like a falling leaf, that wafts and drifts through the air, and twists and tumbles to the ground.” (Hesse 64). Siddhartha thinks that he is one of the few people who are determined and nothing will phase them because they are independent. For example when he says “A thousand disciples hear his Teaching every day, follow his rules every hour, but all of them are falling leaves, they have no law and no teaching within them.” (Hesse 65), it is implied that Siddhartha cannot be a falling leaf for he listens to himself only. Siddhartha is also categorising himself in the same group as Gautama, because Siddhartha too is finding his own path to enlightenment and creating his own teachings.
This is contradictory to what happens in the chapters ahead because Siddhartha loses his original, fixed path to achieving enlightenment by becoming a wealthy merchant and submerging in petty desires. All his laws and teachings he learnt from himself had become faint memories. He is no better than any other being.
In this paragraph, Hesse utilises similes to make Siddhartha’s ideas clearer to the reader. By comparing people who are followers to falling leaves, is saying that these people hardly have their own personality for a leaf is light and lacking mass. The sentences flow into one another, which convey the feeling that Siddhartha is speaking without too much thought. This paragraph acts as a summary of Siddhartha’s believes so far. This can be interpreted as an act of foreshadowing because through restating the belief, the reader remembers Siddhartha’s purpose and then compares it to what has become of him at the beginning of the following chapter.
“Into her shadowy grove came beautiful Kamala,
ReplyDeleteAt the entrance stood the brown samana,
Deeply, upon sighting the lotus blossom,
He bowed. Smiling, Kamala thanked him.
Lovelier, thought the youth, than sacrificing to the gods
Lovelier is sacrificing to beautiful Kamala.” (Hesse 53).
In the chapter “Kamala”, Hermann Hesse uses Siddhartha’s poetry to characterize Kamala through symbolism and repetition. While reciting his poem, Siddhartha uses the metaphor, “upon sighting the lotus blossom”, when referring to Kamala. A lotus flower symbolizes fortune, purity, and most importantly, enlightenment. Hesse’s metaphor symbolizes Siddhartha’s relationship with Kamala as a reflection of his journey in spirituality. Kamala is a lotus flower in Siddhartha’s life in many ways. First, fortune symbolizes the material world, foreshadowing Siddhartha’s life with Kamala will be centered around wealth. Second, purity is another thing Siddhartha sacrifices in his commitment to Kamala. He submits his purity to her, bringing their relationship closer, as well as his relationship and worship of the material world. Lastly, Siddhartha’s commitment to Kamala reflects his path in achieving enlightenment. By repetition of the term “lovelier”, the author shows Siddhartha’s feelings for Kamala and displays his affection as a sort of idolatry. Siddhartha believes that sacrificing to Kamala through his actions and living for her will teach him the path to enlightenment, thus bringing him to worship the material world on his journey. Through his relationship with Kamala, Siddhartha realizes that the material world isn’t where true enlightenment is found and the author once again illustrates that similar to Siddhartha’s relationship to Kamala, one must experience enlightenment for himself rather than find spirituality through the teachings of another.
“ “You are talking about him again,” she said. “Again you are having Samana thoughts.” Siddhartha was silent, and they played the game of love, one of the thirty or forty different games which Kamala knew. Her body was supple as a jaguar and a hunter’s bow; whoever learned about love from her, learned many pleasures, many secrets. She played with Siddhartha for a long time, repulsed him, overwhelmed him, conquered him, rejoiced at her mastery, until he was overcome and lay exhausted at her side.” (Hesse 72)
ReplyDeleteThe pure captivation and will to submit that Siddhartha feels towards Kamala is revealed in this passage through Hesse’s clever use of metaphors and similes. After Siddhartha had been rambling about how amazed he was at Gotama’s level of wisdom, Kamala demonstrates her power over Siddhartha by merely stating that he is “talking about him again” to make him stop reminiscing on his Samana past. Hesse elaborates on this influence that Kamala possesses by describing Siddhartha and Kamala’s interaction as “the game of love, one of the thirty or forty games Kamala knew”. The fact that Hesse compares Siddhartha and Kamala’s interaction to a game shows that their relationship is not true love, only a game in which Kamala is trying to win against Siddhartha. This point is further emphasized with the line “one of the the thirty or forty different games Kamala knew”, which suggests that playing games is all Kamala does with her time; she does not seek genuine relationships. She only aims to interact and use people for her own benefit. In the next sentence Hesse informs readers of why Kamala possesses so much manipulative power through the use of simile, writing, “Her body was supple as a jaguar and a hunter’s bow”. This simile effectively causes readers to create an alluring image of Kamala in their minds, because jaguars and hunter’s bows conjure up connotations of finely built, exemplary animals and machines. Therefore, it makes sense that Siddhartha is so enthralled by her. The idea of Kamala sharing qualities with a jaguar is continued in the next sentence, when Hesse writes, “She played with Siddhartha for a long time, repulsed him, overwhelmed him, conquered him”. Like a jaguar, Kamala toys with Siddhartha for a while then reveals her true colors and overcomes him. Thus, through the metaphor of the “game” and the simile about Kamala, Hesse is able to effectively demonstrate just precisely how Kamala influences such intense infatuation in Siddhartha.
Sept. 27, 2015
ReplyDelete"Under high-piled black hair, he saw a very clear, very clever, very delicate face, bright- red lips like a freshly broken fig, eyebrows plucked and painted in wide arches, dark eyes clever and alert, a long, radiant neck rising from a green and gold gown, bright, xresting hands long and slender with wide gold bracelets on the wrist" (Hermann Hesse 48).
Hermann Hesse uses fantastic imagery, similes, the use of color symbolism, and characterization in this passage to portray to the reader Kamala's effect on Siddharth and his drastic change in mindset/ how Siddhartha perceives the world. Siddhartha has began to appreciate the beauty in nature and the physical world itself, rather than trying to find meaning and purpose in every aspect of life, "All this had always existed, and he had never seen it, he had never been present. Now he was there, he belonged to it. Light and shadow ran through his eyes, star and moon ran through his heart" ( Hermann Hesse 44). When Siddhartha encounters Kamala, he sees her as something more than just a woman. Although he talks immensely about her physical qualities, there's something more to her than previous woman Siddhartha encounters. Siddhartha's first encounter with a woman, he strongly rejects her as he sees her as an animal who wished for a physical act. The reader then knows that due to Siddhartha's aspiration to learn and grow from Kamala, that he sees her as more than just a animal. Hesse uses descriptive imagery and similes to paint a picture of what Kamala looks like physically, "bright- red lips like a freshly broken fig"(48). You're able to clearly see the color of her lips through imagery and comparison of her lips to a broken fig. Hesse's also uses imagery and similes to create descriptive characterization. Hesse describes Kamala as a woman with eyebrows plucked and painted in wide aches, which not only creates visual imagery, but tells the reader that kamala is a woman who cares about her appearance and what others think of her, or her beauty. Hesse also uses color symbolism to magnify the new mindset of Siddhartha. Siddhartha now sees and appreciates the world's natural physical beauty which is why Hesse uses natural, earthly colors while describing Kamala's outfit. Hesse wants to wrap the reader's attention back to the fact that Siddhartha is no longer over thinking or searching deeper.
I agree with your analysis of this scene. While reading this I also thought that the comparison of Kamala's mouth to a "freshly broken fig" symbolized a new, exciting start for Siddhartha. In addition, the color red is used to describe her lips, which often is used to symbolize seduction. This imagery foreshadows Siddhartha's inevitable surrender to the ways of the "child people". Although Kamala is the reason he becomes involved in the materialistic, merchant lifestyle, she is still the first woman to teach Siddhartha about love. Hesse describes Kamala using endearing and adoring terms to reiterate that she and the main character will always have a special, intimate relationship.
Delete“There was no more purpose; there was nothing more than a deep, painful longing to shake off this whole confused dream, to spit out this stale wine, to make an end of this bitter, painful life. There was a tree on the river bank, a cocoanut tree. Siddhartha leaned against it, placed his arm around the trunk and looked down into the green water which flowed beneath him. He looked down and was completely filled with the desire to let himself go and be submerged in the water.” (Hesse 88).
ReplyDeleteThis passage comes at a pivotal point in the rising action in the story: distraught and confused about his life as a merchant, Siddhartha leaves the town with no purpose in mind other than to escape the materialism that haunts him in the town. Hesse sheds some light on Siddhartha’s disillusion with his life when he writes that Siddhartha wished to “spit out this stale wine”. The “stale wine” is a metaphor for the promise that his life in the town appeared to have, but never lived up to. “Wine” has connotations of luxury and lavish living, but by adding “stale” to the word, Hesse suddenly reverses the connotation and causes readers to think that life in the town for Siddhartha had the potential to be positive, but turned out to be negative in the end. The metaphor contributes to the passage’s tone of regret and sadness over the way events in the story have unfolded. In the second half of the passage, Hesse symbolically illustrates Siddhartha’s struggle to overcome his sadness about his mistakes that he made in the town. The “cocoanut tree” on the edge of the riverbank symbolizes the hope that Siddhartha still carries, even as he edges dangerously close to the “green water”, which symbolizes Siddhartha’s temptation to end his life. The sentence, “Siddhartha leaned against it, placed his arm around the trunk and looked down into the green water which flowed beneath him”, showcases these two symbols juxtaposing each other. By writing that Siddhartha places his arm around the trunk of the tree, Hesse gives readers the impression that Siddhartha is holding onto his hope as tightly as he can. Yet at the same time, Siddhartha longingly stares into the face of death that is symbolized by the water. So, by creating a sort of battle between these two opposing symbols, Hesse demonstrates the intense nature of Siddhartha’s internal struggle.
I agree with your analysis of the metaphor of the stale wine, but I would like to add to your discussion of the description of the river in this passage. You mentioned that the “green water” symbolizes Siddhartha’s will to end his own life. Hesse uses irony in this passage because the color green is often associated with life and growth, yet the green water has the ability to drown Siddhartha and take his life away from him. It is also interesting that Siddhartha goes from wanting to be literally submerged in the water to being metaphorically submerged in it when he lives with Vasudeva and learns from the river. From the moment Siddhartha decides to stay with Vasudeva, the river permeates every aspect of his life. In this way, the passage also serves as foreshadowing because Siddhartha never loses the desire to interact with the river.
DeleteYou add some interesting points about the significance of the river. I like your analysis of Siddhartha's desire to stay with the with the river both before this ordeal and after. The juxtaposition of his distressed feelings before the this moment and his peace and enlightenment after is significant in that it reflects how the river represents all of the world. It was there affecting Siddhartha when he was sad and depressed, and almost influenced him to end his life. But it also brought Siddhartha enlightenment and caused him to be genuinely happy. The fact that these two different extremes were both influenced by the river illustrates how the river symbolizes all of the knowledge and experiences in the world.
DeleteSiddhartha By the River Blog Post #4
ReplyDelete“It took me many years of that to lose my connection with mind, to lose the ability to think, to forget unity. Is it not true that slowly and by long circuitous ways I changed from a man to a child, from a thinker to one of the child people? But still this journey was good, and still the bird in my breast did not die. But what a journey that was! I had to pass through so much ignorance, so much vice, such great misunderstanding, so much revulsion and disappointment and misery – just to become a child again and start over” (Herman Hesse 75).
In this excerpt from the novel, Herman Hesse writes an honest reflection through Siddhartha’s narrative. In the main character’s contemplation, he realizes he lost the ability to get in touch with his inner voice and he can no longer think and connect with others as he once did in the past. His life as a merchant has numbed his senses and he has lost contact with his true self. The syntax displayed in this passage consists of long, listing sentences illustrating his arduous, continuous journey of self discovery. Through the first person voice, the reader feels that Siddhartha is being genuine with his critical view of his past. The word “circuitous” emphasizes the cyclical nature of his life. He started out as an educated man determined to stay on his path - someone who had just realized his real purpose was to discover his own way to nirvana. Then he changed “to a child”, symbolizing the foolish mistakes that children make because of their lack of education and lack of understanding of what is truly important in life. He incredulously thinks of how he managed to transform from a deep thinker to someone, who Hesse calls “child people”, who values materialistic, superficial things. However, Hesse goes on to say that this hardship was beneficial and his inner voice did not disappear. The bird represents the drive to find atman that is within Siddhartha. The following sentence, “But what a journey that was!” is important to this passage because it shows his optimistic attitude to his past, and also the short length of the sentence emphasizes that he’s learned from it and thinks of it as pivotal to his journey to enlightenment. The last sentence of this passage reiterates the struggles he faces, for it took him so long to be free from the strong grip of a merchant’s lifestyle. Also, it mentions that he went through all of the difficulties “just to become a child again” showing that it took so long for him to be revived from his life of monotony. The motif of the child in Siddhartha represents a mind that is free from the cycle of existence and a mind that looks at the world with a fresh, detached perspective. In this piece, a child represents both a foolish person and a clean slate. This dual meaning signifies the complexity of Siddhartha’s journey and the overlapping ideas; making mistakes and looking at the world with a sense of awe are both important to existing and attaining atman.
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ReplyDelete“Contentedly, he did what he was told. Accustomed to the forest, he made his way silently out of the grove and over the hedge. Contentedly, he returned to the town, carrying his rolled-up gown under his arm. He stood at the door of an inn where travellers met, and silently accepted a piece of rice cake. Perhaps tomorrow, he thought, i will not need to beg for food. The life that is lived here is simple, Thought Siddhartha. It has no difficulties. Everything was difficult, irksome and finally hopeless when i was a Samana. Now everything is easy, as easy as the instruction in kissing which Kamala gives. I require clothes and money, that is all. These are easy goals which do not disturb one's peace.” (Hesse-58-59)
ReplyDeleteIn this passage, Siddhartha is beginning to change his mindset from that of a semana into one revolving around material qualities. Using repetition of the word “Contentedly”, Hesse demonstrates that Siddhartha is experiencing an unfamiliar relationship with Kamala when he writes, “Contentedly, he did what he was told… Contentedly, he returned to the town…”. Growing up in a community in which he was bowed upon, and given all upon request, Siddhartha is gratified to have the opportunity to work for Kamala’s teachings. Govinda, being one of Siddhartha’s followers, may have contributed to Siddhartha’s desire of wanting to be a follower himself. Hesse mentions aspects of Siddhartha’s past life in this passage as foreshadowing of him leaving it behind when he says, “carrying his rolled-up gown under his arm.” When Siddhartha willingly removes his robe, he is firmly accepting that the Semanas are no longer an important part of who he is, foreshadowing that his mindset is going to change as well. This change in thought is later seen when Siddhartha thinks to himself, “Perhaps tomorrow, he thought, i will not need to beg for food”. Siddhartha is known most, by himself and by others, to be a thinker, a faster, and a waiter. He is very proud of these traits, and explains them to Kamala as his only talents. Using a person vs. fate conflict, Hesse displays Siddhartha’s change in mindset and goals, as he begins to lose all sight of his once brightly lit pathway to enlightenment. Instead, Siddhartha is replaces past goals that required immense amounts of thinking, and substitutes them for “average person” goals, “I require clothes and money, that is all. These are easy goals which do not disturb one's peace.” In this quote, Siddhartha hints that he believed his previous goals disturbed his peace, and again revolves back to the idea of Siddhartha’s lack of thinking since he left the buddha.
“Long he sat and looked at her dead face. For a long time he looked at her mouth, her old tired mouth with its shrunken lips, and he remembered that once in the springtime of his years he had compared that mouth to a fig freshly broken open. He sat for a long time contemplating the pallid face, the tired wrinkles, filling himself with the sight. He saw his own face reposing that way, just as white, just as lifeless; and at the same time he saw his face and her face when young, with the red lips, the burning eyes; and the feeling of presence and simultaneity pervaded him completely, a feeling of eternity. He felt profoundly at that moment, more profoundly than ever, the indestructibility of life, the eternity of every instant” (Hesse 89).
ReplyDeleteThis passage, in the chapter entitled “The Ferryman” describes the moment after Kamala dies from the snake bite. Hesse uses contradictory visual imagery to exemplify Siddhartha’s realization that all life and every moment is eternal. Hesse focuses on a description of the face because it contains most of the expressed emotion of a person. It also contains significant evidence of aging, and Kamala appears as an aged woman when she dies. Hesse uses the diction of old age such as “tired,” “shrunken,” “lifeless,” and “pallid” to describe both Siddhartha and Kamala. Hesse gives them a similar appearance at this point in the novel because they are at similar points in their respective journeys toward enlightenment. Hesse writes, “‘You achieved it?’ [Kamala] asked. ‘You found peace?’ [Siddhartha] smiled and laid his hand on hers. ‘I see it,’ she said, ‘I see it. I too will find peace.’ ‘You have found it,’ whispered Siddhartha” (Hesse 89). Siddhartha and Kamala have both found peace, so they are more similar than when they first met and were described as very different from each other.
In contrast to the images of old age used in this passage, Hesse also uses images of youth (“red lips,” “burning eyes,” and “a fig freshly broken open”). This juxtaposition shows that Siddhartha is able to see both the young Kamala and the old Kamala at the same time, much as he previously realized that the river is able to exist everywhere at the same time. Hesse writes that “a feeling of eternity” pervaded him. This feeling of eternity is shown not only by the simultaneous existence of the old Kamala and the young Kamala but also by the repetition of the word “long.” The repetition draws the moment out and makes the reader feel as though time has ceased to exist, which is how Siddhartha feels. It is also interesting to note that objects cannot burn forever, and that even the freshest fig will eventually shrivel and dry up. Comparing Kamala’s eyes and lips to such impermanent things and actions seems to contradict the idea of the “indestructability of life.” However, even though Kamala is dead, the fig is dry, and her eyes have ceased to burn, Siddhartha is still able to see in her dead face who she once was.
Sept. 29, 2015
ReplyDelete"Like a veil, like a thin mist, weariness descended on Siddhartha, slowly, a bit denser each day, a bit dimmer each month, a bit heavier each year. A new garment grows old with time, loses it lovely color with time, gets stains, get wrinkles, frays out at the hems, and starts showing awkward, threadbare areas." (69 Hermann Hesse)
Weariness was descending on Siddhartha because he is beginning to awaken from his drunken blurred state. He is starting to see who it is he has become and take a good look at his goals and aspirations. Hesse uses similes such as, "like a veil", and "like a thin mist", to exaggerate to the reader that Siddhartha was being blinded, and Hesse was trying to use detailed visual imagery to place you in the book with Siddhartha. Hesse also uses, dark words in this passage such as the word veil, which usually is associated with death, or the word mist which is associated with blindness, darkness, and loss of clarity to create gloomy diction. Hesse uses gloomy diction along with visual imagery and similes, to create a dark tone for the reader. Hesse uses, in the chapter of Awakening and Kamala, many descriptive colors such as, "on red cushions under a colorful sunshade", or "bright- red lips". He uses color symbolism to exemplify Siddhartha's new perspective on life. He also uses colors to create a bright and cheerful tone. In this section, Hesse says "loses its lovely color" symbolizing the loss of interest, joy, mindset, and will to live. When life loses it's color and becomes black and white it becomes boring and routine, hard to live. Hesse specifically adds in the lack of color to add to the gloomy diction.
“That was why he had had to go out into the world, losing himself in pleasure and power, in women and money, had had to become a merchant, a dicer, a drinker, a grasper, until the priest and the samana inside him were dead. That was why he had had to keep enduring those ugly years, enduring the disgust, the emptiness, the meaninglessness of a bleak and lost life, to the end, to bitter despair, until Siddhartha the sensualist, Siddhartha the grasper could die. He had died; a new Siddhartha had awoken from sleep. He too would grow old, he too would have to die someday—Siddhartha was ephemeral, every formation was ephemeral. But today he was young, was a child, the new Siddhartha, and was full of joy.” (Hesse 88)
ReplyDeleteThroughout Siddhartha, Herman Hesse wields repetition and anaphoras. Within this passage, these literary techniques gives the reader an interpretation of suffering as a necessary to develop in life, and immerses the reader in experiencing the stages of Siddhartha’s journey. Lists of who Siddhartha characterized, (“a merchant, a dicer”) and the figurative language of the priest’s and samana’s deaths intensifies the perception of the reader to view worldliness equating to spiritual death. The description of, “every formation was ephemeral,” that every stage of life is short-lived, is displayed by the death of the priest and the samana and the death of the sensualist and the grasper. Hesse’s repetition of the phrase, “That was why he had had,” influences the reader to understand how paramount it was for Siddhartha to experience materialistic desires. In the first sentences, “had had,” creates more emphasis and substanance, compared to if Hesse written a single, “had.” Sharp, negatively connotative word choice like: “ugly,” “disgust,” “emptiness,” “bleak,” and “bitter despair,” articulates to the reader of Siddhartha’s struggles with the wealth and power. Necessity for tribulation for development is encapsulated in, “He had died; a new Siddhartha had awoken from sleep.” This figurative language of the death of materialistic Siddhartha led to a Siddhartha of gaiety and childlike wonder. For most of the passage, there’s a mood of anguish, and tribulation, which contrasts with the ending emotion of solace. Repetition of “He too,” creates a lyrical mood, and continues the fast rhythm set by earlier anaphoras of, “That was why.” Hesse’s figurative language and repetition conveyed a mood of despair to hope, and explained the imperativeness of experience for progress.
“”Things are going downhill with you!’ he said to himself and laughed, and as he said it, he looked at the river also going downhill, always wandering downhill, and yet singing and remaining cheerful” (Hesse 84).
ReplyDeleteAt the beginning of the chapter, “By the River”, Hermann Hesse utilizes symbolism by comparing Siddhartha’s spiritual journey to the river. Siddhartha experiences conflict throughout the book between himself and his fate. At this point, he recognizes the strangeness of his path and begins to laugh. However, he notes the river’s similar journey, “wandering downhill”, and acknowledges that the river reacts with glee. The state of the river in “singing and remaining cheerful” foreshadows Siddhartha’s future. Although his life has just been thrown of course and he appears to be headed downhill, in both age and mental stability, his revival through experiencing the om allows his seniority to be filled with singing. Shortly after this, he reunites with the ferryman and begins a renewed life of joy and following the river. In Siddhartha’s eyes, the river is a symbol for ultimate peace and unity in life. Hesse characterizes the river as “remaining cheerful” although it is flowing downhill, showing Siddhartha, nearing the end of his journey, can still experience enlightenment through being content with his surroundings. Rivers tend to flow continuously, despite their circumstance, foreshadowing Siddhartha’s fulfillment and discovery of peace through life with the ferryman. The author uses irony, in the case of the river being the target for Siddhartha's suicide attempt moments before, to show a new revival and perfect balance between a teacher, the river, and a life-changing experience on Siddhartha’s part.
I agree that the river symbolizes both despair and happiness equally, and i also think Siddhartha's version of enlightenment was different than he expected. He pictured it could come without struggle, but the outcome was paradoxical for him to comprehend at first. He realized that it doesn't matter what hardship comes him way, and that there will always be downhill slopes in life, it is all about mindset. This connects to the river, as it has been there for him through each and every step of his journey and teaches him more than anyone else could.
DeleteDo you think that this quote could also be foreshadowing to the chapter Om where all the goals and struggles are floating before Siddhartha's eyes down the river? I think that although his sons arrival, throws off Siddhartha's new plan and goal, and ends up causing Siddhartha more pain than peace, that this quote is however foreshadowing of the voices of the river and the cycle of goals and suffering. Foreshadowing that, although their may be new goals and new pain to come, his most recent heart breaking pain is now gone. Flowing down the river, almost like a baptism.
Delete“He had felt rich and happy when the boy had come to him. But time flowed on, and since the boy remains foreign and surly, displaying a proud and defiant heart, refusing to work, showing the old men no respect, robbing Vasudeva’s fruit trees, Siddhartha began to realise that his son had brought not peace and happiness to him but sorrow and suffering. Still, he loved him, and he cherished the sorrow and suffering of love more than joy and happiness without the boy” (Hesse 103)
ReplyDeleteThis excerpt is taken from part 2, The Son, on the first page of the chapter. This passage is describing the relationship between Siddhartha and his son. It acts as a parallel between Siddhartha and his father’s relationship. When Siddhartha was younger, he brought joy to everybody’s heart, “Joy leaped in his father’s heart about the son, the intelligent boy, thirsty for knowledge; and he saw him growing up to be a great safe and priest, a prince among the Brahmins.” (Hesse 3). Siddhartha was hoping his son would turn out to be like him and waited patiently but he soon realised his son would not accept his lifestyle. This is similar to what Siddhartha did to his father when he decided to join the Samana. Through the experience Siddhartha goes through with his son, the reader realises the pain Siddhartha’s father felt when he had to let go of his son. It is ironic because Siddhartha doesn't seem to realise history is repeating itself yet. Siddhartha also learns that love is such a strong emotion that he would rather choose to live in pain than to relinquish the one he loves.
This paragraph acts as a parallel, therefore it can be used to predict that Siddhartha’s son will eventually end up leaving him. This is proved correct when his son does escape by the end of the chapter. The tone the author conveys is one of pity towards Siddhartha because of the situation he is in. He was blissful before he met his son and that feeling was taken away from him.
“And all of it together, all voices, all gods, all yearnings, all sufferings, all pleasures, all good and evil--the world was everything together. Everything together was the river of events, was the music of life. And when Siddhartha listened attentively to the river, listened to this song of a thousand voices, when he did not listen to sorrow or laughter, when he did not bind his soul to any one voice and did not enter them with his ego, but listened to all of them, heard the wholeness, the oneness--then the great song of one thousand voices consisted of a single word, which was “om”: perfection.” (Hesse 118-119)
ReplyDeleteIn this passage, Hesse utilizes repetition of words, diction, and symbolism to illustrate Siddhartha’s final step in finding true unity, peace, and “om”. The “om” in which Siddhartha discovers represents his coming to enlightenment. At the start of this passage, the author uses the repetition of the word “all” to emphasize the oneness of the world which Siddhartha has encountered. Siddhartha’s perspective is renewed through his relationship with the river, leading him to recognize the oneness in “all” things. Siddhartha’s ability to listen allows him to achieve peace and fully hear the “music of life” and see for himself the ever-flowing “river of events”. Music tends to symbolize a character's mind and reflects their inner thinking. Hesse uses the symbol of music as “the great song of one thousand voices” consisting of only one word, “om” to further display and characterize Siddhartha and his discovery of perfection. This use of diction demonstrates that Siddhartha has finally accepted the world in a new way, where everything is one within each other. However, he could not of accomplished this realization without encountering a lesson from the river. Water often symbolizes life, rebirth, and cleansing. Siddhartha experiences a cleansing of his own mind in discovering the unity of the world through the river. Once Siddhartha surrendered his search for enlightenment, only then did he discover true rebirth and a fresh way of thinking. The river, metaphorically, filled Siddhartha with wisdom of the earth and everything together. His thirst for enlightenment was quenched once he stopped seeking and listened. This act of listening and being still allowed Siddhartha to receive true knowledge from the river, discovering for himself that the everything flows together in oneness and wholeness, leading him to finally hear the perfect “om”.
My idea about the "music" in this passage complements your idea. For example, you discussed the significance of the "music of life" that Siddhartha hears; now that he is enlightened, he hears the "oneness" in all of the sounds. This point you make is further emphasized when Hesse writes, "when he did not listen to sorrow or laughter, when he did not bind his soul to any one voice". By writing that Siddhartha does not listen for specific sounds, such as "sorrow" or "laughter", and that "he does not listen to any one voice", Hesse hammers home the point that Siddhartha recognizes the unity and cohesive existence of all parts of the world.
Delete"He saw the face of a newly born child, red and full of wrinkles, ready to cry. He saw the face of a murderer, saw him plunge a knife into the body of a man; at the same moment he saw this criminal kneeling down, bound, and his head cut off by an executioner. He saw the naked bodies of men and women in postures and transports of passionate love. He saw corpses stretched out, still, cold, empty." (Hesse-121)
ReplyDeleteIn this passage, the final chapter Govinda, Siddhartha is experiencing his first glimpse of enlightenment. The river, being the symbol of his journey, has now proven itself to be worthy to his life by displaying flashbacks of his quest. Using imagery as symbols, Hesse displays an array of memories in the river, “He saw the face of a newly born child”. Due to the absence of his child in his life, Siddhartha is reminiscing the times he spent with his son, whom he never had the chance to see as a newborn. After thinking about his son, Siddhartha sees death, as it also had impact on his soul upon his journey. Hesse symbolizes the snake that robbed him of Kamala when he writes, “He saw a murderer, saw him plunge a knife into the body of a man”. Siddhartha sees images of love, “He saw the naked bodies of men and women and transports of passionate love”, as a representation of his first and only experience with love himself. Each and every illustration Siddhartha captures from the river are ones that can solely be learned through experience, and that he has experienced throughout his journey. Siddhartha is an exceptional example of someone who determines what is true off of experiences he encounters. If he had remained a Brahmin and never taken charge of this undying need inside of him, there would be no river, there would be no images, there would be no enlightenment. The motif i took away from this scene was to follow your own individual path, because no matter how off track it can get, it can lead to everything you have ever dreamed.
I found your analysis really interesting. When I first read the passage I didn’t make the possible connection between, “the face of a newly born child,” (Hesse 130) to Siddhartha’s son, and the symbolism of the murder representing the death of Kamala. However, I think that Siddhartha wasn’t undergoing a small part of enlightenment, rather he achieved it in the chapter, “Om.” In that chapter, Siddhartha suffers from a, “wound,” caused by the loss of his son. It is only when Siddhartha listened to the river when he discovered “the oneness,” from thousands of voices in the river, where, “his ego had flowed into the oneness,” and he achieved spiritual enlightenment (Hesse 119). Siddhartha’s eyes are also described to have the, “radiant serenity of knowledge,” (Hesse 119) by Vasudeva—similar to the radiancy of Gautama who, “was full of Truth,” and achieved Nirvana (Hesse 27).
Delete“’When someone seeks, “ said Siddhartha, “it can easily happen that his eyes only see the thing he is seeking and that he is incapable of finding anything, incapable of taking anything in, because he is always only thinking about what he is seeking, because he has an object, a goal, because he is possessed by this goal. Seeking means having a goal, but finding means being free, open, having no goal. Perhaps you, venerable one, are indeed a seeker, for in striving after your goal, there is much you fail to see that is before your eyes’” (Herman Hesse 108).
ReplyDeleteIn this passage from the novel, Siddhartha preaches what he has learned to his old friend Govinda. Through Hesse’s writing, Siddhartha clarifies the difference between seeking and finding. He tells his friend that when you are searching for one particular thing your vision is narrower and you cannot see anything other than what you’re looking for. This idea shows the growth in Siddhartha’s thinking. His advice symbolizes his own journey; he searched for atman for so long that he did not see nor appreciate his surroundings. In this excerpt, Hesse repeats the words “incapable” and “because” a lot to emphasize the pain the main character had felt while seeking. Also through the syntax, it shows the never ending search that Siddhartha went through; there was always another way to keep on seeking. First it was through studying under his father, then the shramanas, then Gotama for a brief period, and finally Kamala and Kamiswami. It wasn’t until he met Vasudeva for the second time in his life that he actually started finding; himself and the answers to his goal. The author defines finding as being liberated and having no objective to reach. The word choice in this piece makes the reader feel as though seeking and accomplishing a goal is impossible, but to go through life detached and without a focus makes it easier to stumble upon something worthwhile and meaningful. At the end of the passage, the sentence hints at Govinda’s inability to remember that the ferryman is indeed Siddhartha, his old friend. “There is so much you fail to see” further illustrates the point that Siddhartha made before about seeking. Since Govinda is striving to find a wise ferryman he does not see that the sage before him is actually his best friend. Siddhartha is displayed as a wise man that has learned plenty throughout his journey, giving the tone of this passage a sense of closure and completeness. His path to find his inner voice has finally led him back to his friend, so he can once again lead and advise Govinda like he had in the beginning of the novel. Only now, he has gained crucial knowledge about himself and has lost his materialistic attitude.
“Now he looked at people differently than he had before—less cleverly, with less pride, yet more warmly, with more curiosity and caring. When he took travelers of the usual kind across the river, child people—traders, warriors, women—these people no longer seemed alien to him, as they once had. He understood them, he shared their life, a life guided not by ideas and insights but only by impulses and desires. He felt as they did. Although he was nearer to perfection and bore his last wound, it nevertheless seemed to him that these people were his brothers” (Hesse 100-101).
ReplyDeleteThis passage, at the beginning of the chapter titled “Om,” describes Siddhartha’s changing perceptions of the child people. Siddhartha is learning empathy and learning to imagine the child people not as The Other, but as more similar to him than he previously thought. Hesse writes that Siddhartha sees the people “less cleverly, with less pride, yet more warmly, with more curiosity and caring.” He respects their lives now and doesn’t perceive himself to be automatically superior. The use of the word “alien” shows that Siddhartha once believed the child people to be fundamentally different from him, as though they were an entirely different species. In the same paragraph, Hesse writes, “…all these simple and foolish but incredibly powerful, intensely vivid, forcefully dominant impulses and cravings were no longer childishness for Siddhartha” (Hesse 101). Siddhartha sees that the very traits that make the child people who they are—impulse and desire—are not as immature as he once believed. This is because Siddhartha has gone through the same experiences and felt the same desires as the child people have. When he sunk into gambling, he became a child person, and he saw how impulse can consume a life.
The idea that Siddhartha was “nearer to perfection and bore his last wound” is interesting because when he reaches enlightenment, he realizes that time does not exist and that all things are equally close and far away from attaining nirvana. The child people are not significantly farther away from reaching enlightenment just because they are chained to their foolish desires. That sentence shows that Siddhartha still has more wisdom to gain. The passage is also significant foreshadowing to when Siddhartha does finally reach enlightenment. When he does, he finally understands the unity within all things. Siddhartha sees that within every single object and living thing, there is a saint and a sinner, a Buddha and a Brahmin. He sees that everything is connected. When Hesse writes, “…it nevertheless seemed to him that these people were his brothers,” he foreshadows Siddhartha’s understanding that all things are more alike than they are different.
“The river laughed. Yes, that was how it was. Everything that was not suffered to the end and finally concluded, recurred, and the same sorrows were undergone. Siddhartha climbed into the boat again and rowed back to the hut, thinking of his father, thinking of his son, laughed at by the river, in conflict with himself, verging on despair, and no less inclined to laugh aloud at himself and the whole world.” (Hesse 132).
ReplyDeleteAt this point in the story, Siddhartha is distraught over the fact that his son ran away from him, and he is unsure of what to do to fight his sorrow. Hesse utilizes personification and long, drawn out sentence structure throughout the passage to reflect Siddhartha’s confusion. For example, in the opening sentence of the passage, Hesse writes, “The river laughed. Yes, that was how it was”. Siddhartha respects and essentially lives off the river, so the fact that it is “laughing” at him contributes to the confused tone of the passage. Siddhartha normally expects the river to guide him along the correct path; now it is doing the exact opposite: jeering at him. The next sentence, “Yes, that was how it was”, further builds upon the sense of confused tone of the personification by emphasizing the situational irony of the river’s actions. The second half of the passage employs a different technique to convey the tone of confusion. By writing a long, drawn out sentence containing multitude of different ideas, Hesse causes confusion in the readers. The juxtaposition of different ideas, such when Hesse skips from “thinking of his father” to “thinking of his son”, shows that Siddhartha’s contrasting thoughts are battling against each other. It is unclear to both the reader or Siddhartha which ideas are most important; all that can be gathered is that Siddhartha is very unsure of what to think at this moment. So, through lengthy sentence structure, Hesse contributes to the tone of confusion in this passage. Also in this long sentence is the phrase “laughed at by the river”, appearing once again in the passage, except this time, it is towards the end. By including this same phrase in the beginning and the end, Hesse demonstrates how Siddhartha has become no less confused throughout the passage; he is still in the same mental place that he began in.
“At that moment Siddhartha stopped fighting with destiny, stopped suffering. On his face the serenity of knowledge blossomed, knowledge that no will can resist, that knows perfection, that agrees with the flow of events, with the river of life, full of compassion, full of shared pleasure, devoted to the flowing, belonging to the oneness.” (Hesse 119)
ReplyDeleteIn the appropriately named chapter, “Om,” this passage is a pivotal point in the novel; Siddhartha has become part of the, “oneness.” The above passage signifies the climax and resolution to the major conflict of the novel—Siddhartha’s pursuit of spiritual enlightenment. Applying a lyrical tone with syntax, Herman Hesse creates a mood where the reader feels peacefulness and finality. Motifs of nature, and the repetition of the word, “blossomed,” contribute to the reader’s feeling of tranquility, as “blossomed,” is associated with flowers blooming, and nature imagery often relaxes the reader. Syntax is the linchpin for the overall tone from the passage. Lengthy sentences, and commas create a melodic tone, adding to the climax of Siddhartha flowing into, “om.” Along with lengthy sentences, assonance in the passage elongate the rhythm, augmenting the feeling of serenity in the above passage. The assonance of the vowel, “o,” generates a soft mood to the reader, and Hesse’s diction provides positive connotative words. In the passage, words like, “moment,” “knowledge,” “flow,” “devoted,” and, “belonging” all have a long, “o,” sound. With the exception of, “fighting,” and, “suffering,” the rest of the passage is compiled of words associated with positivity: “perfection,” “life,” “compassion,” and “pleasure.” As a reader, Hesse’s diction influences the emotions towards a halcyon mood, and this mood conveys Siddhartha’s resolution to a much greater extent. Syntax and diction of the passage contribute to a tone of tranquility, and this tone accentuates the reader's connection to Siddhartha's enlightenment.
“When Vasudeva rose from his seat on the riverbank, when he looked into Siddhartha’s eyes and saw the radiant serenity of knowledge, he touched Siddhartha’s shoulder lightly, in his cautious and tender way, and said: “I have waited for this moment, dear friend. Now it has come: let me go. I have waited and waited for this moment, I was Vasudeva the ferryman for years and years. Now it is enough. Farewell, hut, farewell, river, farewell, Siddhartha!” (Hesse 119)
ReplyDeleteThis passage, taken from Om, marks the end of Vasudeva and Siddhartha’s friendship and the beginning on Siddhartha’s enlightened self. Vasudeva has waited and listened to Siddhartha for all these years for it to lead up to this moment. Even though Siddhartha believed he wouldn't be able to achieve enlightenment from a teacher, Vasudeva guided him towards the path. It is an example of the popular quote, “patience is a virtue”. Siddhartha waited and tried for all this years to achieve this goal while Vasudeva was the final push he needed. This passage also paints a picture of Vasudeva’s sole purpose was to guide Siddhartha. He is almost like a godly figure, one who was aware of all. He came to Siddhartha at times which were crucial to his being. When Siddhartha had to cross the river to reach his materialistic life and when he wanted to leave that life, it was Vasudeva who aided him. For example, “…Suffering, he wandered farther, along the bank, upstream, listened to the current, listened to the growling hunger in his body.” “When he reached the ferry, the boat was ready, and the same ferryman who had once ferried the young samana across the river was standing in the boat”. (Hesse 90). Without Vasudeva, Siddhartha may not have reached enlightenment because it was his experiences which made him complete.
The author’s diction have a sense of finality and ultimate resolution. Vasudeva’s departure could signify Siddhartha’s final chapter of his life leaving him, when his son escapes and Kamala’s death, before he reaches enlightenment. Siddhartha is now away from people, knowledge and has gained innermost peace and wisdom. This marks the end of Siddhartha’s experiences and the beginning of his enlightened days.
I had the same feeling of finality from the passage; it signifies the end of just Siddhartha the ferryman to Siddhartha the enlightened. Your analysis of the importance of Vasudeva for Siddhartha to achieve enlightenment reminded me of a mentor archetype (although a mentor archetype is usually found in adventure or epic novels). A mentor archetype is usually a character that teaches and guides the protagonist—which describes the relationship between Vasudeva and Siddhartha. Vasudeva guides Siddhartha by being the, “master of listening,” and teaching him to the voices of the river (Hesse 115). In The Odyssey by Homer, the mentor archetype, “Mentor,” or Athena helps Telemachus in search of his father, Odysseus. Just like how Mentor is an elderly man, the aged Vasudeva guides Siddhartha’s spiritual growth and eventual enlightenment. Similar to how Albus Dumbledore and Obi-wan Kenobi dying and leaving their pupils, Vasudeva also leaves Siddhartha, giving “farewells” in a bittersweet moment (Hesse 119). Without Vasudeva would Siddartha have become part of the, “oneness,” a member of the enlightened?
DeleteSept. 30, 2015
ReplyDelete"Tenderly he gazed at the streaming water, at the transparent green, at the crystalline lines of its mysterious pattern. He saw bright beads rising from the depths, silent bubbles drifting on the surface, sky blue reflected there. The river gazed at him with a thousand eyes, with green, with white, with crystalline, with sky blue eyes." (Hermann hesse 89)
"It's never just rain" is a common maxim that also goes for more than just rain, but water all together. In great literature, water is always symbolic or with the purpose of setting a tone. The river in this section has awakened Siddhartha. When Siddhartha came to the river he had been at a point of complete and utter despair. He had wished to die and lost all hope or will to live. Coming upon the river he peers into it in attempt to commit suicide, and hears the om of the water speaking to him. He feels as if all is new when he wakes up from a deep sleep he falls into while hearing the om. I connected this to a baptism, although Siddhartha isn't devoting himself to a religion, he is in fact starting his life over, new, and free. When Siddhartha awakes, this is what he sees and how he reacts to life through new eyes. Siddhartha sees color again once he is awaken. Hesse is trying to create a mood of renewal, second chance through rich visual imagery, kinesthetic imagery, and personification. We see visual imagery in this quote, "streaming water, at the transparent green," kinesthetic imagery in "the silent bubbles drifting on the surface", and personification when "the river gazed at him with a thousand eyes" (also an exaggeration). Hesse wants you to feel as free and Siddhartha now does while creating a joyful, free, and peaceful tone for the reader.
October 4, 2015
ReplyDelete“Siddhartha listened. He was now all ears, utterly engrossed in listening, utterly empty, utterly absorbing. He felt he had now learned all there was to know about listening. He had often heard these things, these many voices in the river, but today it all sounded new. He could no longer distinguish the voices, the cheerful from the weeping, the children from the men’s: they all belonged together.” (Hermann Hesse 118)
Siddhartha had just heard the river and it’s true voice. He had listened hard and heard and learned about the cycle of life. Learned about the balance of life and how all life is equal. This is proved in the juxtaposition towards the end of this quote, “the cheerful from the weeping, the children from the men’s: they all belonged together”. Siddhartha had seen every goals and strugglings floating by, down the river, continuing in the cycle. All life has a path to travel down, and that all life has goals. Siddhartha realizes that you can never strive for a goal without failure and struggles, that it’s inevitable. All life is similar in this way. In the way that you cannot escape pain and suffering for long. Hurdles will always come when trying to accomplish a goal, if they didn’t then it was mere an activity, not a goal. Hesse uses synecdoche, repetition, personification, and juxtaposition to create a peaceful tone full of relief. “He was now all ears”, synecdoche, implies that Siddhartha could for the first time really hear. Synecdoche uses a part of the body to represent a whole, and even though your ears are such a minor part of who you are, Siddhartha’s ears, were now, at this moment, his most important feature. This use of synecdoche was also meant to emphasise to the reader how important it is to just listen sometimes. You think you best, feel your best, and learn the most about yourself and others when you just listen with your ears. Hesse also uses repetition to exaggerate that idea that Siddhartha was filled completely with new wisdom heard from the river. This repetition is also foreshadowing to the idea that Siddhartha will stay full of this wisdom and peace for the rest of his life, similar to Vasudeva. He uses personification, of the river speaking in many voices, to add to the tone of peace and add a feeling of freedom and awkeness. Hermann Hesse wants the reader to feel happy for Siddhartha. Many times throughout the book, Siddhartha had moments where he felt awaken, but those moments were never as strong, or last as long as this moment had or would last. Hermann Hesse’s point of this whole section, on how listen to the river awoke Siddhartha, was in hope that the reader would take away the importance of of life, of nature, and the earth. He wants you to feel equal with the earth and all surrounding you, not to become a child- like person, and to appreciate the purpose of even the smallest of life’s gifts.
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