Reading the first two chapters of Siddhartha gave a lot of foreshadowing. The first thing Hesse talks about is the riverbank. "In the sun on the riverbank by the boats" and "The sun on the riverbank browned his pale shoulders as he bathed" (Hesse 3). This is important because at the end of the book Siddhartha doesn't find Nirvana with himself until the end of his journey when he realizes it is the river. Another part that stood out to me was when he was talking about the shramanas. He says "By sunshine or by moonlight, he was once again ego, was pressed back into the cycle, felt craving, overcame the craving, felt craving anew"(13). This shows the reader that Siddhartha is going to encounter in his journey many of these feelings. His journey will be full of struggle between these feelings until he finally reaches his destination. His destination being the river, where he achieves Nirvana at the end of the book.
Yes,I agree that the "return to the river" is a concept that cycles throughout Siddhartha. The river is where Siddhartha's journeys both begin and end. I also believe that when Siddhartha is at his lowest point and considers drowning himself in the river shows that the path to Nirvana can be misleading (if the river does symbolize Nirvana). I also think that om and Govinda are equally important ideas that return later in the book. Om is what ultimately saves Siddhartha from committing suicide, which shows the power of the single word. By hearing the word om, Siddhartha is not only convinced that he has more to live for, but also feels alive again (shown by Hermann Hesse's lively diction-rejuvenating, renewed etc) As for Govinda, I don't really have an explanation as to why he returns to Siddhartha's side. Maybe this is Hesse's way of showing time passing, by describing Govinda as he ages? Govinda's importance is unquestionable- why else would Hesse reunite him with Siddhartha? Siddhartha seems to have all the knowledge and power through his first hand experiences and om, so why bring Govinda back again, and again?
"The Son of the Brahman" is the opening chapter of "Siddhartha." The peaceful scene the author Hermann Hesse describes, brings the reader to a sacred, mystical land of knowledge. In order to achieve this affect, Hermann Hesse uses calm diction, and introduces key ideas and people such as om and Govinda to suggest their importance early on and to build on their character throughout. By repeating words such as shade, Brahman, tree, and sunshine, in the opening chapter, Hesse brings a calm to the reader by showing there is no press for time in the setting. This is an important element in the book "Siddhartha." By starting it with "The Son of the Brahman," the character Siddhartha is given personality; one of religion, reflection, and om. Om is another motif that exists throughout the entire book. As an older child, Siddhartha thought he had mastered "the word of words," the om, but later in his journey, he learns and hears the true om, the sound of everything in the world. Om is a seed that's planted in the reader's head to blossom later in the book. This is shown in the chapter where Siddhartha gives up his riches and life with the beautiful Kamala, and returns to the river he once crossed to get to the village, and where he now contemplates the idea of suicide at seeing his glutton in his own reflection on the river. At this lowest moment, when Siddhartha is about to drown himself, he realizes "...that he had come to himself by a river, under a cocoanut tree, with the holy word Om on his lips. Then he had fallen asleep, and on awakening he looked at the world like an new man" (73). In summary, Om was what saved and enlightened Siddhartha; what brought him to new paths, and ended other journeys. While calm diction, religion, and Om are important factors in the writing of Siddhartha, the character Govinda is equally important. Govinda was Siddhartha's forever friend, who by chance was always reunited with him. By writing "Siddhartha grew up, the handsome son of the Brahman, the young falcon, together with his friend Govinda, son of a Brahman," in the first chapter, Hermann Hesse uses foreshadowing through the words "friend" and "son of the Brahman" and even simply mentioning Govinda hints to the reader that not only is Govinda an important concept but also to show that the two have much in common. Everything mentioned in the first chapter of "Siddhartha" is introduced early to show it's importance. "Siddhartha" is a book of peace and reflection, and Hermann Hesse accomplishes this tone through his calm diction, relaxed setting, and motifs of om and by introducing important elements (Govinda and Om) early on, and building or returning to them later on.
While reading the first two chapters of Siddhartha a couple of things stood out to me. Siddhartha is unhappy living the life of a Brahman. He thinks that they do the same thing over and over again in order to reach their main goal. During the first chapter, The Brahmin’s Son, Siddhartha asks himself a lot of questions regarding the Brahman beliefs. Siddhartha says “But where were the Brahmins, were the priests, where the sages or penitents who had succeeded in not only knowing this deepest knowledge but also living it?”(6) This quote from him foreshadows that he will leave his family and explore more than what he already knows. It shows that he is confused by why the people around him do what they do. He wants to find enlightenment for himself and not through teachings and words. Hermann Hesse uses didactic literature during this part of the book because Siddhartha has a moral question he is trying to solve (self discovery). This is shown when Siddhartha says, “To pierce there, to the self, to myself, to Atman- was there any other path worth seeking? Ah, but no one showed this path, no one knew it, not his father, not the teachers and sages, not the holy sacrificial chants!”(5-6) Another thing that stood out to me was how this novel shows the four noble truths. The first noble truth is the idea that suffering exists and it is universal. Siddhartha realizes this when Hermann Hesse says, “Everything else was seeking, was detour, was confusion. Those were Siddhartha's thoughts, that was his thirst, that was his suffering.”(7) He is suffering because he is trying to figure out life by himself. When Siddhartha joins the Samanas it starts his journey to end his suffering and find what he is looking for.
I agree that Siddhartha leaves because he is unhappy with his life of a Brahman. He leaves to understand and learn. When he feels he has learned enough or all, he leaves. Siddhartha leaves many groups and people over the course of the book to only come to realize that in the end, deep down he really is a Brahman, as stated by Kamala.
There were several things that caught my attention while reading the first paragraphs of Herman Hesse’s novel, Siddhartha. One thing that really stood out to me was Hesse’s use of the word shade in the beginning paragraphs. As a child, Siddhartha was brought up in riches and protection. It was said that during his youth, he would stay in one of three palaces. Even when traveling between them, Siddhartha stayed in shaded, protected areas. An example of Hesse's word choice is when he writes, “... in the shade of the Sal-wood forest, in the shade of the fig tree is where Siddhartha grew up…” (1). Hesse describes the places Siddhartha grew up in as protected and restricted by the use of shade very early on in the novel. Another connection made with the use of shade is when Hesse explains that “... Siddhartha, was not a source of joy for himself, he found no delight in himself” (2). Being kept in shade and in protection his entire life, Siddhartha has not been able to experience the real world and understand things like, death, sadness and despair. He has been surrounded in a positive environment and because of his intelligence, he yearns for more knowledge, and more understanding. Siddhartha is not content with his life and senses there is more to life than riches and protection. The book's tone definitely stood out to me as well. The first couple of paragraphs focus on how great Siddhartha’s life has been and how other people have benefited from him and his goodness. This sets a happy, enjoyable tone for the reader, but soon after, the tides turn when the book reveals Siddhartha himself is not happy. This takes a darker turn and sets a more saddened and realistic tone going into the second chapter.
I agree with you when you talk about Hermann Hesse's tone at the start of the book and how it changes throughout the book. I think he leads the reader into thinking that this book is about how Siddhartha will become just like his father. He uses description like "the beautiful son" and "young falcon". He then takes a turn and you realize that Siddhartha is actually depressed and unhappy with his life.
After reading the first two chapters, a few things stuck out to me. The first thing is that the author starts Siddhartha out by the river in a calm and peaceful setting, “In the shadow of the house, in the sun on the riverbank by the boats...” (Hesse 3). This is very similar to the end of the book when Siddhartha becomes enlightened on the river. This creates a circular ending and an end to a cycle. It also plays under the if it is important, introduce it early maxim and foreshadows what will happen to Siddhartha. Furthermore, in chapter 2, Siddhartha complains a lot about how his current situation is a never ending cycle, “Whether by sunshine or moonlight, in shadow or in rain, once again Siddhartha and ego appeared, and once again he felt the torment of existence forced upon him” (Hesse 13). This reinforces the point I made earlier about how it foreshadows the ending of the novel because Hesse is basically saying that this book is centered around cycles and the life of Siddhartha is going to be one big cycle. This also introduces the idea of cycles and how life is just another cycle in a never ending chain of cycles. This becomes important later as Gotama talk about how he broke free from the chain of cycles. Lastly, this book reflects a lot of the experiences of Hesse. Hesse’s parents were missionaries and had gone to India. Hesse was expected to do the same, but he rebelled and decided he wanted to be a poet, much like how Siddhartha asked his father, “with your permission, Father, I’ve come to tell you that tomorrow I must leave your house and go off with the ascetics” (Hesse 8). It is clear that Hesse intentionally made a parallel between Siddhartha’s life and his own. Siddhartha was expected to become a brahmin, but wanted to become a shramana and Hesse was expected to become a missionary, but wanted to become a poet.
I really like the connection you made between the beginning and ending of the book talking about the river and how that is like the end to a cycle. I also really liked the connection between Hesse and Siddhartha. When the author creates a connection between him and the main character, it strengthens the novel that much more.
In reading the first two chapters of Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse, an observation that really stood out was his doubt in his own Brahmin beliefs after seeing one of the four noble truths, Dukkha: suffering exists. This is displayed when Hesse wrote, "Siddhartha had started to nurse discontent" (Hesse 5). Siddhartha continuously interrogated himself, asking "...but where, where was this self...? It was not flesh and blood, it was not thinking or consciousness" (Hesse 5). He questioned the fact that although he is admired and considered wise, how could he be if there was so much he had not experienced or discovered. Later when the group of samanas past through their city, he decides immediately to join them: "Tomorrow morning, my friend Siddhartha will join the samanas..." (Hesse 8). Siddhartha not only saw how the samanas were suffering, he saw how he was suffering in discontent in his life. He saw this as greed, and gives up his desires, this introducing another of the four noble truths: Samudaya. These chapters, in my opinion, emphasizes the importance of the four noble truths in this story as well as developing Siddhartha's character to show his curiousness and search for enlightenment, this introducing a theme.
When reading these two chapters, Awakening really stuck out me. The main reason for this was the repetition of a sentence. On both page 32 and 33. “ He came to a halt again, suddenly, as though a snake lay on the path” (Hesse 32) and “ He came to a halt as though a snake lay on his path” (32). This was a really important part. Not only did it make myself feel like I had just reread the page before hand, it stuck with me. Hesse used similar sentences twice in order to do this to the reader. It represents Siddhartha’s realization of not reaching Nirvana yet and thinking he has, when he has not. This is true throughout the entire book. Siddhartha is always thinking he has found what he is looking for and then comes to realization that he has not. It is repetition. It is not until the end of the book it loops around back to the river that he finally reaches his personal Nirvana. Which is also repetition. Hesse repeated sentences in order for readers to feel this lost feeling as well.
(Hi I'm not sure if I can post here BUT I really wanted to so sorry but I'm not sorry because it's for the good of literature) So I've already wrote this once and it bungled up on me, so I'll keep it short. I really appreciate you bringing out this line, Britt, I think the symbolism and connotations is loaded on so many levels. First, we have the fact that out of every possible simile or metaphor Hesse could use to explain the way Sidd. stopped in his tracks and didn't move a muscle, he chose to use a snake in his path. Not only that, he repeats it, so it's got to mean something, right? The more western/modern connotation of the snake is as a liar and a deceiver. This lightly foreshadows that the next lifestyle/ way of life he chooses won't be the way to nirvana and salvation- it will be a lie. Sidd. ends up becoming rich and getting caught up in petty, materialist things in the city. After squandering many years of his life, he realizes nothing that he has done in those years is going to effect him at all. Everything that looked so tempting about becoming a worldly man was a lie. However, the snake in older and even ancient times meant rebirth and renewal. Just as a snake sheds it's skin, Sidd. too sheds his past life and moves on. The times when Siddhartha is stopped as if there were a snake in his paths are the times he describes as the last steps of his re-awakening; the rebirth of the new Sidd. Tagging on from this, do you know how snakes shed their skin? They sit for a while, trying to let the skin loosen from themselves as much as possible, until it becomes to itchy. They will then slither and move constantly, until the offending itchy skin is gone. Other than Sidd. exhibiting this behavior just while moving along the path (start and stop, start and stop), this is a pattern Sidd. follows until he reaches nirvana. His skin becomes to itchy, he becomes to unhappy with where he is, and must move and journey to change it, until his new skin (his new lifestyle) grows in. But any snake still has to shed their skin, and Sidd. always finds himself unsatisfied. With each change he makes, he is reborn, as if he had shed his skin. There's also subtle foreshadowing, as the way Kamala dies is by a snake bite on her ankle as she is walking along a path.
Awakening is my favorite chapter throughout this whole book; it describes both the moment Siddhartha sees his first sign of hope towards attaining enlightenment, as well as the moment he experiences the repercussions of that knowledge. After rejecting the teachings of many elders, including the Buddha himself, Siddhartha finds that before he can reach nirvana, he must first reach himself. On page 34 the narrator states, " At that moment, when the world around him melted away, when he stood alone like a star in the heavens, he was overwhelmed by a feeling of icy despair..." (Hesse 34). Siddhartha obviously feels as though he is completely alone; after Govinda left him behind, it really stuck with him that this path towards enlightenment was one he would need to travel on his own. The most interesting point of that quote, however, was the simile: "when he stood alone like a star in the heavens..." (Hesse 34). One of our literary maxims is that flight represents freedom, I think that point applies to this quote perfectly. The loneliness Siddhartha feels is also accompanied by a sense of freedom, he has taken his first step towards rising above the mortal world he was born into, and is closer than ever towards becoming that free, flying, peaceful holy star. Releasing himself from Govinda, someone who had gravitated towards him all his life, as well as the endless teachings of others, helped Siddhartha to realize that he did not need neither moon nor planet to help him understand his nature; only he could understand who he was, is, and would become. To back up this whole flight is freedom allusion, the narrator compares the Buddha to a star in the heavens much like Siddhartha in the next chapter: "Clearly and quietly his voice was carried to his listeners-like a light, like a star in the heavens" (Hesse 23). There's so much hidden depth to that one phrase, and using it to describe both the Buddha and Siddhartha ties the two characters together and even foreshadows Siddhartha's coming to enlightenment. Just as the Buddha has become a lonely star in the heavens, so will Siddhartha. It's quite ironic to note that, although Siddhartha struggles with the fact that he is the most alone he's ever been in this chapter, the strong comparison between him and the Buddha (one that has never been made in the past as Siddhartha has always been thought to be above everyone else) shows that he has finally found someone who is the same breed as he. A symbol of that fact may be the repetition of the snake blocking his path in the road. Siddhartha compares himself to a snake during the beginning of his awakening, he says "He realized that something had left him, like the old skin that a snake sheds" (Hesse 30). As he continues through the forest, another snake appears to block his path: "Now, however, in that moment he stood still, as if a snake lay in his path..." (Hesse 33). Siddhartha has found a creature of his own likeness in his path, much like his finding of the Buddha in the previous chapter. This whole section of the book is one big ironic foreshadowing of Siddhartha's coming to enlightenment and "lonely future", even though the Buddha, the person he is striving to be, is probably the least lonely man in the world.
I really like the connections that you made throughout the chapter. I agree that the two quotes about the heavens connects Siddhartha to Budha and gives him an equal in the world. It grounds Siddhartha and allows him to think more clearly about where he wants to go. I also think that Siddhartha and Govinda parting ways is symbolic of Siddhartha finally letting go of his past and realizing that the teachings he previously learned won't help him on the next leg of his journey. He is truly moving forward on his own with nothing to hold him back. This also ties into the maxim Flight is Freedom because it expresses freedom from Siddhartha's past and freedom from his burdens or emotions that held him back from attaining enlightenment and understanding of himself.
I definitely agree that Siddhartha and Gotama are linked in this book and how it foreshadows how Siddhartha will also become enlightened. This connection between the two is also seen in the very end of the book when Govinda meets Siddhartha again and says that the energy from Siddhartha is a lot like Gotama's, who had just passed. This link between the two can also be found outside of the book in Siddhartha Gautama, the name of the real Buddha. Hesse took the Buddha's first name and made it the character of Siddhartha and took the Buddha's last name and made it Gotama's. So in a way, they are basically the same person!
When reading these passages, I noticed another symbol in the story, which was Govinda. After leaving his old friend behind, he's leaving his last tie to the world, leaving him with the ability and time to find himself. Govinda traveled with Siddhartha from the start, however, when he left, Siddhartha found himself alone, without the person "who was [his] shadow and is now Gotama's shadow," (Hesse 29). By leaving Govinda, he lost his last tie to what he recognized as home - the brahmins, his father, the way of life he grew up in. In the sentence following, Siddhartha thinks, "he gave me Siddhartha, he gave me myself," (29). This shows how Siddhartha is now just himself, with no Govinda to be his shadow, he, again, no longer has ties to his previous life, and has the access to who he is without that background and history. This is again shown when Siddhartha is leaving, after he talks to Gotama about his plans. Govinda was a monk following someone who'd achieved nirvana, he had "a thousand monks [who] were his brothers," he was everything that Siddhartha thought he wanted when he first embarked on his journey (33). By leaving Govinda behind, he left this idea that he needed to be taught how to reach nirvana behind. For him, this last step away from his old life was "that last pang of rebirth," (34). Govinda was a symbol of the old life that Siddhartha led, and the old beliefs he held. By leaving him, he was able to start a new path that didn't involve his past teachings, or any teachings at all. By leaving him, he was "alone like a star in the sky." (33)
While reading chapter 3, an interesting thing popped out at me. When Hesse talked about the Buddha, he always mentioned something about how radiant his presence was. He would say that, “...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... This man, this Buddha, was in truth who he was even in the movements of his little fingers.” (Hesse 23). This shows how a lot of what Gotama communicated was nonverbal and how these communications were much more of a feeling rather than words that describe those feelings, which dull the true impact. It is because that words cannot truly communicate how to feel things, like enlightenment, that Siddhartha left the Buddha, and figured that if he wanted to reach enlightenment, he had to find it for himself. Later on in chapter 4, Siddhartha thinks, “How deaf and dumb I have been!... When one is reading a text whose meaning he is seeking, he does not scorn the signs and letters as deceptions, accidents, and worthless husks; rather he reads them, he studies them, he loves them, letter by letter... I have awakened, I have really awakened, and have only today been born!” (Hesse 32). I believe that this creates irony because Siddhartha is laughing at himself for not looking at the details and says that he’ll not notice them again as he leaves the teachings of the Buddha. The Buddha gave a lot of nonverbal communication full of what it meant to be enlightened and Siddhartha ignored that and instead focused on the words and the text that Gotama was saying instead of looking in between the lines. This shows how Siddhartha really did not understand how to read in between the lines yet and how he still has to figure out what he really does know and not let his ego get in the way of him learning and feeling what it means to be enlightened.
I agree that a lot is expressed through the characters’ actions and feelings rather than words. This is reflective of Siddhartha’s realization that he cannot learn anymore from other people’s teachings, and that he is on his own journey. Siddhartha says, “I am going to continue my wandering-not to find a better teaching, for I know that one does not exist, but in order to leave behind all teachings and all teachers and to attain my goal on my own or die” (Hess 28). From the Buddha, Siddhartha learns that the truth cannot be expressed, and one has to find it on his or her own.
I found Awakening to be one the most interesting and pivotal chapters in the narrative. Based on the chapter's title, it’s obvious Siddhartha will be awoken or will realize something important. In the chapter Siddhartha comes to realize the journey to reach Nirvana will be a lonely one, one he must do by himself. Hesse shows Siddhartha’s realization of this when “He realized that one thing had left him, as a snake is left by its old skin… the wish to have teachers and to listen to teachings” (33). When Govinda left Siddhartha, he comes to the realization he must learn on his own. Hesse uses the metaphor “as a snake is left by its old skin” to symbolize Siddhartha’s growth into maturity. Snakes symbolize wisdom and clarity. This new found wisdom and maturity will help Siddhartha complete his quest for Nirvana. Although, Siddhartha does struggle with the thought of being alone throughout the chapter. Hesse describes his last struggle as “one moment and breath, his heart felt cold, he felt a cold in his chest…” (34). In this passage Siddhartha realizes how alone he really is. After being brought up in riches and protection he finds himself without that in the cold wilderness. He has never felt that before. The cold he feels inside is his fear for being alone and having to find answers by himself. Warmth can be compared to comfort in this instance. In his upbringing, Siddhartha was always warm, but now he is out of his comfort zone. Being out of his comfort zone, he feels cold and alone.
I agree that a common motif starting in chapter 4 was loneliness, I liked how you referenced the mood change from how he grew up, he was always accompanied by teachers and Govinda and the tone was very warm in comparison to the tone in this chapter. I agreed the quote from page 34 really emphasized the switch and turning point of the story as well as the importance of this motif as the story progresses. Although I do not fully agree that the snake would symbolize wisdom and clarity, I feel like this was more of a turning point where he realized his years before him and his continuous desire of becoming a worldly man was a lie. When I interpreted it the snake represented more of a lie than wisdom; I do agree this is a point of maturity and will help him on his path to nirvana.
Snakes often represent deceit, many books even take it a step further and straight up allude to the biblical serpent from Genesis (the one that was fabled to deceive Atom and Eve into taking a bite of the fruit of knowledge). I don't believe that this passage is necessarily alluding to the bible, but Siddhartha shedding the skin of a snake could symbolize his shedding of the lies and self-denial that had he had lived by all his life. The fact that snakes always grow back their skin, however, is pretty ironic when taken in that context as even when Siddhartha thinks he's shedding off that deceitful part of him, it foreshadows him growing it back. I definitely agree that this chapter is very pivotal, it's full of literary elements and personal growth. I love the motif of loneliness in this section of the book as well. It seems to me that Siddhartha shedding his skin could also be a reference to the fact that he's lost his friend Govinda; he's lost something that he considered to be a part of himself, and now he must continue on without it.
These two chapters are very important to this book. I think, especially in the awakening, there is a dramatic mood change. Siddhartha starts to realize that he is no longer the son of Brahmin and that he belongs to no family or belief system. The mood becomes very lonely and Herman Hesse shows this by creating a man vs. self conflict with Siddhartha. When Siddhartha leaves the grove, in the beginning of the awakening, he is thinking a lot and contemplating his decisions. He talks to himself and says things like, “Just what was it that you learned from teachings and from teachers…? I will no longer let Siddartha slip away!” (36) He is having a hard time deciding what to do in this situation and how he will reach enlightenment. Another thing I notice in these chapters is the symbol of the snake. I think the snake represents a new beginning for Siddhartha and how he will get past the suffering. For example it is said, “He realized that one thing had left him like the old skin that leaves the serpent, that one thing was no longer within him…”(35). This is Siddhartha forgetting about his old life and moving forward. He also says “While thinking these thoughts, Siddhartha halted again, suddenly, as if a serpent were lying in his path” (37). Right after he stops in the path he says, “For suddenly this was clear to him: He, who was truly awakened or newly born, he had to begin his life anew and afresh” (38).The serpent in the road makes him stop and understand what he is looking for in life.
While reading Chapter 3, Gautama, the passage where Siddhartha observes the Buddha, I enjoyed when Hermann Hesse really emphasized the perfectness of "the sublime one". Hesse utilized repetition in "...his silently lowered gaze, his silently hanging arm, and every last finger on his silently hanging hand spoke of peace" (Hesse 27). This also creates imagery showing that his presence gave off so many feelings that words were not needed. The Buddha's holiness almost radiated off of him, although Siddhartha still believed he would not learn anything new from his teachings, and decided to move on to reach enlightenment through experience. Another part later shown in the beginning of chapter 4, Awakening, that really stood out to me was when he referred to himself to a serpent or snake, he wrote "..one thing had left him like old skin that leaves a serpent.." (Hesse 35). This is also refers to later in the chapter on how he tries to rid of his ego, to mature, connecting this to his reference it shows he felt as if he was deceiving himself, that if he joined Govinda and followed the Venerable one he would only lose himself and only be deceiving himself that he had overcome his ego. Later Hesse also repeats the serpent was laying in his path, I feel as if this also foreshadows his next path, his life of deceit and desire of material things. For when most people think of a snake the connotation is a liar or deceiver, which relates to his next path in the city. I find this almost ironic that Siddhartha at first wants to overcome his ego, but by the end of this chapter "Siddhartha surfaced, more ego than before.." (Hesse 39). Although originally he spoke of becoming more mature and find his own path to reach enlightenment, when alone he realizes "I am no longer who I was, I am no longer a priest, I am no longer a Brahmin" (Hesse 38). This gives another meaning to the quote: "one thing had left him like the old skin that leaves the serpent" (Hesse 35), that he is changing and is not who he used to be but a new person; he is awakened.
I noticed how Hesse kept mentioning the snake throughout the chapter as well. I think it represents a new beginning for Siddhartha and the idea of shedding old skin. I like how you mentioned the serpent in the road and how it foreshadowed his next path. I find it interesting how you noticed that Siddhartha wanted to overcome his ego at the beginning of the chapter, but then by the end his ego was bigger than when he started. I never realized that irony until you pointed it out and I completely agree.
Awakening is one of the most powerful chapters in Siddhartha. One of my favorite quotes in the chapter was when Siddhartha realizes that he governs his fate, that he could choose himself, and follow himself. "How deaf and stupid I have been, he thought, walking on quickly. When anyone reads anything which he wishes to study, he does not despise the letters and punctuation marks, and call them illusion, chance and worthless shells, but he reads them, he studies and loves them, letter by letter. But I, who wished to read the book of the world and the book of my own nature, did presume to despise the letters and signs" (Hesse 32). I think that this quote symbolizes the ebb and flow of life. The way Hesse writes in this particular passage, I think he means that a person cannot believe that one truth governs all life; because truth varies for each individual, there is more than one answer. That's why Siddhartha's journey has made it this far--up until his awakening, he believed there was only one "right path." Siddhartha at first is a Brahmin, then sees a Samana's path as more enlightening, and lastly hears of Gotama's way of life, this proves that he believed one of these religions would give him the knowledge he sought, otherwise he wouldn't have left his first life as a Brahmin. Relating this back to the quote, he (Siddhartha) was trying to narrow the truth and knowledge of life down to a black and white meaning, and in doing so he couldn't see the bigger picture. He was examining each individual letter and punctuation mark, not reading the story. In addition, I also think the Hesse is trying to say that all along, Siddhartha's truth had been with him; in the river that flowed endlessly, in the people around him, and most of all, in himself, it just took him a long time to figure it out. Siddhartha's encounters with other characters also shows his realization of the existence of more than one truth. For example he knows almost instantly that Gotama's enlightenment was not the path for him to follow, even though he could clearly see that Gotama was at peace with himself. I'm not sure what made Siddhartha realize that he didn't want to become a follower again though.
In the next chapter, Kamala, the passage that really stood out to me was Siddhartha's dream on page 45. Some people, as said in class, believe that this dream referred to his relationship with Govinda, but I feel that it really foreshadows that his next partner will be a women. Hesse wrote, "...it was no longer Govinda, it was a women..." (Hesse 45). It references his past companion to show his new companion on his new path. Although Siddhartha's reverie also told of how it filled "every pleasure" mostly relating to physical pleasures, this showing that this women will be a total representative of the physical and material world. In my interpretation, it explained to me why later he refused the first girl he meets at the river. Of course in his past life he did not have any experience with women, nor did he give much thought about them, as well as it was a taboo in his life as a samana, so it seems natural he would say no to her, but he later approached Kamala. She was more of a true incarnation of the physical world that had been displayed in his dream and this attracted him. Siddhartha's dream foreshadowed that he would attain a new partner, Kamala, that purely represents this new world of physical desires and how this women will help guide him into this modern society.
This makes a lot of sense. When Hesse was talking about Siddhartha's dream about the bird, he wrote that, "The little bird was dead and lay stiff on the bottom of the cage. He took it out, weighed it a moment in his hand, then threw it away onto the street outside. That moment a terrible fright took hold of him and his heart pained his as though with this dead bird he had thrown away everything valuable and good." (Hesse 64). Siddhartha is upset because he feels that he had thrown away all his hard spiritual work by becoming absorbed in this material world, which is represented by the cage. Being in the cage killed the bird, which represents Siddhartha. Later on when Siddhartha leaves Kamala and the city behind, Kamala, "went to the window where she kept a rare songbird in a golden cage. She opened the door of the cage, took the bird out, and let it fly away." (Hesse 67). Hesse further establishes the connection between the bird and Siddhartha by calling the bird a rare songbird, because when Kamala met Siddhartha, she said that, "Never before has it happened to me that a shramana with long hair and in an old tattered loincloth came to me." (Hesse 44) Showing that Siddhartha to her is rare, like the songbird. When she lets this songbird free of this materialistic cage, she is letting Siddhartha free of the material world as well.
I agree with your view of Kamala being a true incarnation of the physical world. Kamala represents all that Siddhartha has not yet experienced in life, this is one of the reasons he is so intrigued by her. Siddhartha views love as something he has yet to learn and master, viewing it with a Samana perspective, but gets caught in Kamala's trap. He begins to value pleasure and physical attraction, which go against his Samana ways.
The chapter Kamala presents one of the more important characters in Siddhartha’s journey, Kamala. The one thing I noticed right away was Kamala’s ability to mesmerize Siddhartha unlike anyone had done before. Prior to meeting Kamala, Siddhartha meets a young woman on his way to town. During their sexual encounter, “he heard his innermost voice, and the voice said No” (43). The inner voice Siddhartha is hearing is his inner Samana telling him to not be attached to sexual desires and women. The power of his inner Samana really shows here during this encounter. Although, Kamala was a different story. When Siddhartha questions her about him being a Samana Kamala responds with “Why should I fear a shramana, a silly shramana from the forest, who has come to learn the ways of love?” (46). Siddhartha assures her and himself he should fear her but she does not. This is the first time that the Samana ways have been equaled by the strength of nature and power of a woman's beauty. This surprised me and helped me understand why Siddhartha is so intrigued by her and loses his way over her. Kamala is also the first person to look down on Siddhartha almost like a child. No one has ever looked at Siddhartha like that, which intrigues him. Kamala represents Siddhartha’s one weakness and an example of the real world. She sends him down a path of materialistic values and pleasure.
I agree now that you mention it, Kamala is the first person who looks down on Siddhartha. Up until now he had always been followed by Govinda. Govinda treated Siddhartha like someone of higher status, always following his lead. Now the situation has cycled around completely, and Siddhartha has become a follower of Kamala. This may just be my opinion, but Kamala has much in common with Siddhartha. Like him, she was always looked at for one of her most prominent features-her beauty, similar to the way Siddhartha was looked at in the Brahmin community as a knowledgeable boy for his age. This is why Siddhartha and Kamala seem so fitting together, they've both been in situations of power and influence.
Something I have been noticing is that people who are enlightened, or who have qualities of enlightenment smile. The amount that someone smiles is a measurement of how enlightened someone is and can be used to forecast these enlightened feelings. In the chapter Gotama, Hesse describes Gotama as giving, “the impression of a slight inward smile.” (Hesse 23). Hesse includes Gotama’s smile in many other places, like when Siddhartha had just finished talking with Gotama, he thinks, “I have never seen anyone smile, sit, and walk in such a way... I would like to be able to gaze, smile, sit, and walk-- so free, so worthy...” (Hesse 29) and when Kamala would talk about the things she has heard about Gotama she would say, “how pure his gaze was, how still and beautiful his mouth, how kindly his smile, how tranquil his walk.” (Hesse 63). Through these descriptions, the author has made a symbolic connection between the smile and the Buddha, who represents enlightenment. The ferryman is also another good example of someone who is a very enlightened individual who also smiles a lot. When Siddhartha is leaving the ferryman, Hesse says, “Smiling, they said their good-byes.” (Hesse 40). Siddhartha is also described as smiling throughout the book, but in the chapter Samsara when Siddhartha begins to lose himself, he begins to smile less. During Siddhartha’s gambling addiction, Hesse writes, “This was something he had formerly done lightheartedly and with a smile.” (Hesse 62). However, later on in the book, when Siddhartha decided to leave all of his possessions in life and resume his spiritual life, he began to smile more. The author says, “Here I sit in my pleasure garden under my mango tree. He smiled slightly-- was it necessary, was it right, was it not a foolish game, that he owned a mango tree, a garden?... With a tired smile, he shook himself and said good-bye to these things.” (Hesse 66). Hesse uses this connection between smiling and enlightenment to show the spiritual state of Siddhartha in this chapter. At first when Siddhartha stopped smiling, he had also lost his way, but when Siddhartha had made the decision to give up what he had, his smile had returned. This correlation between smiling and spirituality can be used to measure and predict what the character’s current enlightenment, and to see how it might change in the future.
I had noticed the smiling as well, but I had never made this connection and it all makes sense. I like how you pointed out where Siddhartha's smile withered showing his loss in faith. This displays how without enlightenment Siddhartha feels the emptiness in his actions made in that world and chooses to give up all that he had worked for again, like he had before joining the material world. It also shows a mood change in the book, reflecting Siddhartha's falling point, and then when he returns to his life searching for ultimate nirvana his smile softly returns and the mood lightens. In the passage where the Buddha had an inward smile I saw it as if he was made of joy and peace for he had found enlightenment. Thank you for pointing out this motif showing that finding enlightenment is like reaching true joy.
In the next chapter of Siddhartha, (called) Kamala, Siddhartha encounters the beautiful courtesan Kamala. In order to see Kamala, Siddhartha must have material-wealth, clothing, shoes, and status. However, Siddhartha stills sees this request as something that would give him knowledge in love. Being materialistic was the means to getting the result he desired-Kamala’s teachings of love, so Siddhartha made Kamala’s wishes his command. This is shown by the quote "Listen, Kamala, when you throw a stone into the water, it finds the quickest way to the botom of the water. It is the same when Siddhartha has an aim, a goal" (Hesse 50). The quote proves Siddhartha, even in wanting to serve Kamala, he had been following the most straightforward path to knowledge of love. However, this plan backfires because as his life progresses, he adjusts to a lifestyle of greed with the merchant Kamaswami, where he only desires material wealth and the pleasure of Kamala’s company. (which required him to have status) In these chapters, it seems as though Siddhartha has lost his way-the path he was so confidant about when he left his life with Govinda behind. At this point, I know I had a hard time believing he’d ever get back on the righteous quest of finding truth.
Kamala is a key character throughout Siddhartha's journey. Kamala taught Siddhartha about two things that he had never thought about before- Material things and love. Before Siddhartha met Kamala he thought of himself as superior to the the ordinary people around him. In his past life he was so focused on himself and his ego. Kamala showed Siddhartha ¨reality¨. One quote that shows this is when Hesse says, ¨The life they lead is simple, thought Siddhartha. It has no difficulties...now everything is easy, as easy as the kissing lesson that Kamala gives me. I need clothes and money, nothing else.¨ (54) One of the final conversations between Kamala and Siddhartha really stood out to me. Siddhartha says, ¨Yesterday I told you that I know how to think, how to wait, how to fast, and you felt that these things were useless. But they are useful...you will see that the foolish samanas in the forest learn a lot of lovely things and can do things that you people can't.¨(55) This is when Siddhartha has his realization that the life that Kamala lives is not what he wants for himself. He realizes that even though he didn't choose to continue with the samana life he learned something from it along the way. Some people may say that Siddhartha ¨lost¨ himself during this part in the book. Maybe because he sort of veered off his path of enlightenment. I think this was a critical step in Siddhartha's journey because without Kamala, he wouldn't have had those experiences and been able to grow from them. Growing from them is how he was able to find peace within himself.
In the two chapters, Kamala and Among the child people talks a lot about what Siddhartha has to offer them. Which has a lot to do with how the real world works. Siddhartha says “I can think, I can wait, I can fast” (Hesse 51). To both Kamala and Kamaswami these skills are useless. However, when Siddhartha tells Kamaswami how these skills are in fact helpful. “Siddhartha can calmly wait, he knows no impatience, no state of need” (51). When Kamaswami realizes this, he takes him in giving him clothes and the landlord business. Another important part was learning about love. When he first meets Kamala, Siddhartha is not enough for her. He needs to “Have clothes, beautiful clothes, handsome shoes, plenty of money in his purse-and gifts for Kamala” (44). Siddhartha finds that he is striving for all of this and in fact becomes greedy. Does losing all of your earlier beliefs make it justified for love? Was Siddhartha going down the right path in order to reach his Nirvana? Before Siddhartha had met Kamala having nothing was the most important thing to him. However, after meeting Kamala his life of material things and love is what he thought would lead him to his Nirvana.
I agree with the idea that the materialistic world being mostly focused on what you have to offer (money or gifts). Siddhartha sees it more as what skills you have to offer. This relates a lot to our world today. We are usually classified by our money and class. Rarely do people look at whether someone has patience or knowledge to offer. Kamaswami teaches Siddhartha a lot of important life lessons about being successful in the materialistic world, Siddhartha teaches him how to notice the little things.
In the chapter “By the River,” Siddhartha hears the Om which wakes him up from the materialistic life he lived with Kamala and Kamaswami. In this chapter, Siddhartha reunites with his faithful friend, Govinda. In this encounter Govinda asks “And what are you now, Siddhartha?” and Siddhartha responds: “I do not know; I know as little as you. I am on the way. I was a rich man, but am no longer and what I will be tomorrow I do not know” (Hesse 76). This quote is significant because it emphasizes that after hearing the Om, Siddhartha’s life has renewed, and he has been reborn as one who knows just as much as a child. His “invincible arts: fasting, waiting, and thinking” have been compromised in his learning of love with Kamala. Hesse writes “I stand once more beneath the sun, as I once stood as a small child. Nothing is mine, I know nothing, I possess nothing, I have learned nothing” (77). One way to look at this is that all his progress and compromises up until now, were meaningless because he only lived his greedy life like he did to be taught of love, and in doing so he compromised what he considered essential skills-fasting, waiting, and thinking. Another way of looking at Siddhartha’s situation is to see that Siddhartha’s path is more clear cut than ever. By starting life anew, the only thing “new” (or renewed) is his spirit, revived by Om. Otherwise Siddhartha is still Siddhartha. Taking this into account, he has a head start on small children- he’s already learned lessons of envy, greed, wealth, and love, and can now disregard these misleading paths that cycle endlessly (samsara!), and realize truth has been narrowed down because of the mistakes he’s made. The path to enlightenment, and Om, was really only found by chance; it was there all along for anyone who bothered to listen, in the sound of the river.
I also agree that in this chapter there is a theme of rebirth. I like how you incorporated Om into rebirth as well too. Om is kind of this weird concept and the way you put it, how Siddhartha's spirit was revived by Om, made a lot of sense. I think it is crazy how the key to enlightenment has been everywhere and how it was hiding in Om, something Siddhartha used to say a lot when he was young.
I think Govinda has some secret purpose (that only Hesse would know) in reappearing numerous times throughout Siddhartha. In my opinion, Govinda's fate was intertwined with Siddhartha's from the very beginning when they lived together in the Brahmin's village. By reuniting Siddhartha with Govinda, it is one for sure way Hesse uses to show that Samsara has made it's full cycle around. I mentioned in my earlier comment, the time when Siddhartha had just been awakened again after hearing Om. By hearing Om and claiming "I do not know; I know as little as you" (76), Siddhartha officially arrives at the point he began. His journey began with Govinda at his side, so I think it's only fitting that Govinda reappears; it reminds both Siddhartha and the reader that Siddhartha has yet to break the cycle of samsara. I also think Govinda making another appearance shows time passing, which is important-he (Govinda) barely even recognized Siddhartha in his wealthy man's clothing! Hesse writes with a calm tone (I explained it in my first post) and I really lost my sense of time when I read Siddhartha, I couldn't tell if it had been days or years passing, so showing Govinda as he aged gave me some clue as to how much time actually passed. In summary, yes, I think it HAD to be Govinda that was reunited with Siddhartha. It would have to be Govinda, or no one, because there are no other significant characters that the reader would be familiar enough to recognize.
In the chapter By the River, Hesse uses allusion to signify a rebirth in Siddhartha. After leaving the material world behind, SIddhartha reaches a low point and sits by the river. In a great bout of depression, Siddhartha decides to kill himself by drowning in the river. Hesse writes, ¨He sank. His eyes closed, toward death.¨ (Hesse 69). As he is drowning, a group of brahmin pass by speaking om. Right afterwards he falls asleep and when he wakes, he thinks, “He only knew that he had abandoned his earlier life.” (Hesse 70). Here, Hesse used an allusion to baptism. Siddhartha put himself in the river trying to rid himself of his past life, and after he heard the monks passing by, he came out of the river feeling like he had abandoned his old life, like he had been reborn, which is what baptism is. Later on, Siddhartha also remarks that, “I am starting all over from the beginning like a child!” (Hesse 74). Again, Hesse supports the rebirth of Siddhartha through this line. A child is someone who has just been born and by Hesse comparing Siddhartha to a child, he is saying that he has been born again.
The whole idea of rebirth is something I made a connection with in this chapter too. I used the ideas of sleep and children as symbols to Samsara, but I never made the connection of Siddhartha virtually baptizing himself as another way of showing the cycle of life.
I felt that Siddhartha almost committing suicide was a huge turning point in his journey. I loved how Hesse used a real life lesson, that you have to go through the bad first to gain a better perspective and get a better understanding. Siddhartha going through the attempt of suicide helped him realize how awful he had been living his life and to change his ways and lifestyle.
By the River was a very moving chapter for me as a reader but also for Siddhartha. For Siddhartha it was a very important step in his journey towards enlightenment. In this chapter Siddhartha contemplates suicide “There was no more purpose; there was nothing more than a deep, painful longing to shake off this whole confused dream, to spit out stale wine, to make an end to this bitter painful life” (88). Although, before he begins to end his life in the water, Siddhartha hears an Om rise up within him. This Om helps Siddhartha reflect on how wretched his life has been. The Om comes from deep down where his inner samana still lies. It reminds him of his past life and goals in which he strives to reach nirvana. Contemplating suicide gives Siddhartha a new perspective on life and is a huge turning point in his quest. After he falls into a deep sleep he awakes refreshed and happy. After some time, “he recognized himself, he recognized his hands and feet…” (91). As he awakens, Siddhartha sheds his old life of greed, deceit, and riches much like a snake sheds its dead skin. Being covered in expensive jewelry, fine clothing, and perfume prevented Siddhartha from seeing what he was and what he had become. Like Hesse described, “he recognized his hands and feet…” (91). When Siddhartha removed all that was restricting him, he was able to see what he had turned into.
One main symbol in Samsara and By the river is the idea of being a child. Hesse says “He envied them for the one thing that he lacked and that they had: the importance they were able to place on their lives, the passionateness of their joys and fears, the queasy but sweet happiness of being eternally in love.¨ (69) Siddhartha starts want the lives of the child people. Siddhartha starts to understand that being child person is starting fresh and looking at the world with new eyes. Children see the world as a pure place with no harm or disgust. Siddhartha says ¨I had to become a fool in order to gain grace… I had to become a fool in order to find Atman in me again. I had to sin in order to live again.¨(85) Gambling and getting involved in the materialistic world was Siddhartha's idea of ¨sinning¨. He doesn't regret this time in his life because he learned from it.
I agree that the chapters show his envy of the child people, their view of the world and the many things that they possess, characteristics that he, Siddhartha does not share. Although Siddhartha is ashamed of the life he is led, "with a twisted face he stared into the water, saw his face reflected, and he spit at it" (Hesse 78), he did not regret leading that way of life, he later saw it as a part of his journey, that going astray, sinning was essential to return in his path, in order to see the world with new eyes.
In this chapter, By the River, Siddhartha comes to a realization, that his past actions in his recent way of life have led him astray, that he is no longer following the path he dreamed of. This led Siddhartha to feel as if he had lost all freedom; lost all enlightenment. "Dead was the songbird that he dreamed of" (Hesse 77). Later, while contemplating life, Hesse writes: "In the water a dreadful emptiness mirrored a fearful emptiness in his soul" (Hesse 78), this displays Siddhartha's feeling toward his pitiful slef. The emptiness was previously shown in the chapter, Samsara, the tone the author creates in the beginning of it lacks much emotion reflecting to Siddhartha's empty actions. By the River is a chapter of reflection and realization, this is also shown through situational irony. At first Siddhartha does not recognize himself in the water, but only a pitiful man, although, Govinda also does not recognize his childhood friend. This displays his severe change of life. Govinda says "You say you are pilgrimming, and I believe you. But forgive me, O Siddhartha, you do not look like a pilgrim. You wear rich man's clothes..." (Hesse 82). This chapter not only depicts to the reader that Siddhartha realizes how he is lost, but also his realization that he, Siddhartha is lost and has gone astray from his teachings. This is shown not only in the wordplay of the reflection in the water,but Siddhartha's reflection on his way of life, as well as the situational irony played out in his meeting of Govinda.
Siddhartha, throughout his story ("Siddhartha", by Herman Hesse), manages to always be better than others in multiple aspects. This does not help him on his quest to abolish the ego, and yet it does help him in all of his other endeavors. '"I also know the sacrificial hymns," said Siddhartha, "but I do not wish to sing them anymore. I also know spells, but I no longer wish to cast them. I have read the scriptures--" "Stop," Kamala broke in. "You can read? And write?" "Of course I can. Lots of people can." "Most cannot. I cannot. It is very good that you can read and write, very good. And you may also need the spells."' These things that he had learned from being the son of a Brahmin, being a samana, being Siddhartha. He was told by Kamala that his samana knowledge would not get him very far in the "real world" (not the actual quote, but it would make sense for her to imply that), but his having read the scriptures and in general being able to read would get him farther than most locals. She also told him that being a merchant would yield him many a bountiful amount of money. And given the implication that Kamala loved for money (which is a nice way of saying that she is a refined prostitute with at least some standards), and that Siddhartha, recently released from the responsibilities asceticism, paired with his new-found desire to to get more out of the world (along with the wondrous wonders of the horizontal mambo ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)) this was the perfect opportunity to learn and understand more of this newly-uncovered art known as love. According to Siddhartha, the affiliation of merchant was easy, and with Sidd's background of being completely oblivious to pain (or otherwise being able to overcome it relatively quickly) the emotional component that went with it (i.e.: Kamaswami and his antics) would be no problem. His only real goal was to keep Kamala happy and loving him, teaching him. His re-introduction into society had been quick and easy, making the money-making business even easier after the short partner adoption process between Kamaswami and the not-so-infamous samana. This ease would give only him so much happiness, however, much like certain knowledge can only entertain the mind for so long before it yearns for something more. And when there is nothing left to learn, then there is nothing left to keep going for, but to empty one's soul. An endless amount of information and knowledge can truly quench the thirst of his soul.
Both "By the River" and "The Ferryman" definitely reinforce this book's common motif of death and rebirth. With both Gotama's dying as well as Kamala's untimely snake bite, the second of the two chapters has more actual death than the rest of the book combined. In "by the river" Siddhartha threatens to kill himself roughly five seconds before he starts spouting about his rebirth: "he took his arm away from the tree trunk and turned a little, so that he could fall headlong and finally go under" (Hesse 72); all that death must mean something. Throughout Siddhartha's quest to find tranquility he's encountered roughly three friends: Govinda, Kamala, and Gotama (I'm not including Kamaswami because I don't think Siddhartha ever felt close to him, along with that, his parents were only there for like a page and weren't really all that important to the book aside from giving siddhartha a place to start his journey). These two chapters re-introduce Govinda, Kamala, and Gotama; them all representing the most important pivot points in Siddhartha's journey: Govinda symbolizing Siddhartha's time as a Brahmin's son, Gotama representing his time as a Samana, and Kamala representing his time as a Samsara (or man of wealth). Now that all of Siddhartha's life has been accounted for, the fact that many of those characters die is very representative of Siddhartha leaving his past behind him and his seeking of a second "awakening" or rebirth. One hole in that theory, however, is that Govinda never "dies." I put "dies" in quotation marks because all Govinda's ever been is a follower; he's never truly been his own person, and much like a parasite he seems to feed off the success and sustenance of others. In the beginning of the book, as Siddhartha realizes he must travel a different path than that of a Brahmin's son, Hesse rights "Siddhartha was going his own way; his destiny was beginning to unfold itself, and with his destiny [Govinda's]" (Hesse 6). When Gotama and Siddhartha both "die" (I say Siddhartha dies because his trying to kill himself and then immediately taking a "long sleep" only to wake up as a completely changed person is about as close to death as a character can get without actually "dying") that also represents the death of Govinda, as he has no when left to cling on to; he is essentially no one now. Siddhartha has finally wiped his slate clean, and is ready to take his final steps towards enlightenment. But all this death isn't only about the cleansing of Siddhartha's slate and the foreshadowing of his coming to enlightenment, if one were to look at the last friend of Siddhartha that remained, it would be the Ferryman. It's pretty obvious that the ferryman is closely tied to the river, if not straight up symbolizing it, and the fact that he, and the river, is all that remains after those two chapters represents the fact that those who have died still exist; much like how Hesse describes the river's eternal existence, "...the river is everywhere at the same time...the present only exists for it, not the shadow of the past, nor the shadow of the future" (Hesse 87), the people close to Siddhartha remain timeless as well. Kamala still exists within Siddhartha's son, Gotama still exists within his countless followers, Govinda, because he saved Siddhartha's life, will forever be linked to Siddhartha's reborn future. Much like the river, lives flow on and on, passing through our children, friends, and actions, without actually ending. The abundance of death in these two chapters is indicative of life's flowing eternity.
WOW I never even thought that after Vesudeva died that he'd still exist within the river. And I never even considered that everyone that died and everyone that lives is linked together. I think I was unconsciously aware that Govinda was linked to Siddhartha's survival, but I never really thought of him saving and being linked to Siddhartha reborn and his (Siddhartha's) future generations. I also agree that the river is some sort of symbol of the flow of life. However I think the river is almost like an all knowing God that prefers to sit back and watch humans and the endless samsara. (I wrote about this in by blog post!) In short I think the river is god like because it's personified as a character that sings and laughs at the foolishness and pettiness of the repeated mistakes humans make.
The chapter Om is to me, is the most meaningful chapter in all of Siddhartha. In this chapter, Siddhartha hears and sees life in the river. The endless game of samsara plays in his son’s life, and Siddhartha watches what has become a beautiful cycle of “yearning, desiring, (and) suffering.” One of the most impressionable sections is when Hesse writes, “(Vesudeva speaking) ‘You have heard it laugh,’ he said, ‘but you have not heard anything’...The many-voiced song of the river echoed softly. Siddhartha looked into the river and saw many pictures in the flowing water. He saw his father, lonely, mourning for his son; he saw himself, lonely, also with the bonds of longing for his faraway son; he saw his son, also lonely, the boy eagerly advancing along the burning path of life’s desires; each one suffering. It sang with yearning and sadness, flowing towards its goal...The picture of his father, his own picture, and the picture of his son all flowed into each other. Kamala’s picture also appeared and flowed on, and the picture of Govinda and others emerged and passed on. They all became part of the river. It was the goal of all of them, yearning, desiring, suffering; and the river’s voice was full of longing, full of smarting woe, full of insatiable desire. The river flowed on towards its goal” (109-110). In this section, the river holds the most meaning. It’s personified into a higher (god-like)character that laughs at the foolishness of samsara. In seeing his reflection on the water, when Siddhartha was about to begin searching for his runaway son, he realizes that his son was playing the same role he had to his father when he (Siddhartha the original one) left to join the aesthetics. Now the cycle has made a full 360, and Siddhartha is now put in his father’s shoes, forced to deal with the loneliness, and forced to feel a pain similar to the one he caused his own father. In this passage, Siddhartha sees the message of the river as “All is one, one is all.” I’ve come to the conclusion that the river is Om, the word of words; Om is found by the river, so the river is everything(all the pictures are in the river). Relating the river back to the phrase “All is one, and one is all,” I mean that in the river, Siddhartha specifically sees himself, his father, and his son (they’re all the same person-they’ve all made the same mistakes), and his son is repeating wrongs Siddhartha had done in the paths of yearning, desiring and suffering. In everyone’s incompetence(at least until they realize their wrongs and realize nothing can be done to take back their actions anyways) samsara continues- young Siddhartha will not realize that he’s playing the river’s game until he’s old and is put on the other side of the situations he’s made others suffer through.
I saw the same connection between Siddhartha's son and the river. Siddhartha realizes that his son has done the same thing that he once did to his own father. Siddhartha has now traveled from being a child to being in his own fathers shoes. This really shows how long it has taken Siddhartha to reach Nirvana and the journey he has been on. The river is adressed so early on and is still being brought up in the second to last chapter of the book. I also loved that you connected Om to the river being the full cycle.
Om is the chapter the reader has desperately been waiting for. Siddhartha has finally reached Nirvana. The very subtle way he does this is by realizing that he is not as different from other people as he had liked to think. Hesse shows this when “He did not understand or share their thoughts and views, but he shared with them life’s urges and desires, most importantly, the desire to love and be loved” (130). It was the frustration of this desire that made Siddhartha so aware of his own power. Siddhartha learned to identify with other people by identifying with their own suffering. Through suffering, Siddhartha was able to see himself on the same level with other human beings. Although, traditional Buddhist view wants people to broaden their path for identification so that they can avoid suffering. Instead, Siddhartha’s path to peace continues by understanding that he is the type of person who can suffer and experience joy. He no longer views himself as above all things and one who can’t have certain things like love or lust. Siddhartha’s final step in reaching Nirvana is understanding he is no better than anyone else. He once believed that love and lust was for the child people and that they were stupid enough to fall in love. Now Siddhartha realizes that he is much like the child people after he falls for Kamala. Understanding that he is equal to others is the last step in reaching Nirvana.
I agree that it was through suffering that Siddhartha was able to level himself with others and escape his ego. I also thought that it was interesting how traditional Buddhist views try to avoid suffering and Siddhartha was only able to reach enlightenment through suffering. This reminds me of the conversation we had last class about if we can reach enlightenment in today's society. My group brought up a good point that the path to enlightenment and the meaning of enlightenment is different for everyone and Siddhartha's path to enlightenment just happened to involve suffering. Siddhartha is also seen diverging from the recommended path to pursue his own basically the whole entire book. This is probably another core message Hesse was trying to tell us. Each path to enlightenment and what it means is unique to each person.
In the chapter “The Son¨ the idea of there being sort of a circle of life is shown. Siddhartha's journey to enlightenment starts coming to an end and his son is just starting his. We all know that Siddhartha learned that you must create your own path to inner peace. He strongly believes in this idea. The author uses a little bit of situational irony because as readers we all think that Siddhartha will encourage his son to pick his own path. Instead Siddhartha wants him to stay with him and the ferryman. The ferryman says “He's no longer a child, he can take care of himself. He is seeking the path to town, and he is right, do not forget that. He is doing what you yourself have failed to do. He is taking care of himself, he is going his own way.¨ (109) His son treats him horribly and doesn't like the life that Siddhartha is living. The ferryman is reminding him that this is what young Siddhartha must do. This reminds me of when Siddhartha left the Brahmins and his father was disappointed that he didn't want to follow the teachings and live up to his father's status. HIs father not only wanted him to live the life of a Brahmin but he also loved him and wanted what was best for him. As a reader we can see that Siddhartha truly loves his son. At the beginning of the novel, Hesse creates Siddhartha into a character that we think will never be able to love anyone, but himself. Along the way to enlightenment, he learns the importance of love and he starts to become more like the child people. “Indeed, he had never been able to lose himself completely to another person, forget himself, commit follies of love for someone else. He had never been able to do these things, and this struck his as the great gap between him and the child people...Siddhartha, too, had become a child person...a fool for love.¨ (107) Siddhartha forgets what he believes in and focuses on the love he has for his son. He is able to see through his beliefs, just like the child people see through flaws and differences, but continue to love.
In the chapter Om, Hesse uses the theme of suffering to demonstrate unity among all things. As Siddhartha is suffering over the loss of his son, he hears the river laughing at him and looks at the river to see his face. However, he also noticed that his face also, “resembled the face of his father.” (Hesse 102). This shows how, just like his father, Siddhartha is mourning the loss of his son and this creates unity between Siddhartha and his father. This also give Siddhartha the more equalizing quality of suffering, which everyone goes through, helping him become more united with the people and things around him because he can relate to them. Later on, in Govinda, Siddhartha tells Govinda, “Time is not real... and if time is not real, then the gap that seems to exist between the world and eternity, between suffering and bliss, between good and evil, is also an illusion.” (Hesse 110). It is in this moment that Siddhartha is shown saying that everything is equal and in unity with one another. He also demonstrates that he has escaped his ego, because he has nothing to compare himself to if everything is equal. Overall, it is because of Siddhartha’s moment of suffering, that he found unity between himself and his father and that everything else is united as well.
I agree when you say suffering was a theme in this last chapter. I also want to point out that suffering leads to healing and happiness. Which happened to Siddhartha. He was in pain about his son and without dealing with this suffering, he would have never reached his Om. Which i think is very important to keep in mind when reading Siddhartha. Without suffering, we would never know what happiness and Om is.
In this chapter, Om, Siddhartha finally finds nirvana and true peace, the part that every reader is painfully waiting for, is a point where he comes to a realization that he is not some God above everyone else, he too, is like the child people. Hesse wrote “their greed, their vanity, their silliness had lost their silliness for him, became understandable, became even venerable to him” (Hesse 113). This is a prime example of how all the things he despised in the world around him, Siddhartha now understood, for he had experienced it in finding his own path to enlightenment. In the earlier chapter he considered many people ‘child people’, someone who is below him, not as worthy, less complex, not as advanced as him. In this chapter he sees them as quite similar to himself. Siddhartha thinks, “...powerfully triumphant drives and desires were no longer infantile for Siddhartha” (Hesse 113). He no longer thought of their lives as childish ways, for he too felt pain, longing to be loved, as well as greed, vulnerability and loss in the fight to survive, all of which he had explored down his path, this was all part of everyone's journey down the road to salvation. To find all these things he could not just be taught by someone else, but coughs only be taught by experiencing a certain set of actions. “I am not joking. I am telling you what I have sound. Knowledge can be communicated, but not wisdom” (Hesse 124). Overall Siddhartha comes to a realization that his self-centered being had overcome his feeling of superiority over others by deciding that he is just like everyone else, experiences pain, love and desire.
Reading these last two chapters of Siddhartha really reminded me of the Transcendentalism theory. Like Siddhartha found his Om in the River. “ And everything together, all the voices, all the goals, all the striving, all the suffering, all the pleasure-everything together was the river of what is, the music of life.” (Hesse 105). This corresponds with what the transcendentalist would think. They often thought going out and living and being apart of nature is how you reach happiness. SIddhartha did this when he finally realized what the River meant and was saying to him. Along with this, Siddhartha would have been shamed for his materialistic life. Thoreau lived out in the forest in order to live out a purposeful life because he felt what he was doing had no purpose. This is like Siddhartha at the beginning of the book when he first decides to go on his journey to find his Om. However, Siddhartha went through many stages of his life in order to reach his final Om. Whereas Thoreau had decided to move to the forest and live with nature in order to find his Om. A huge comparison of the two is “The waterfall, the lake, the rapids, the sea, and all the goals were reached; and each was followed by a nw one, and the water became vapor and climbed into the sky, became rain and crashed down from the sky, became springs, brooks, became a river, strove onward again, flowed anew. But the passionate voice had changed..... Voices of joy and suffering, good and evil, laughing and lamenting voices, a hundred, a thousand voices.” (105). Hesse is talking about nature and how Siddhartha sees nature differently now. This was a huge idea of transcendentalism.
Reading the first two chapters of Siddhartha gave a lot of foreshadowing. The first thing Hesse talks about is the riverbank. "In the sun on the riverbank by the boats" and "The sun on the riverbank browned his pale shoulders as he bathed" (Hesse 3). This is important because at the end of the book Siddhartha doesn't find Nirvana with himself until the end of his journey when he realizes it is the river. Another part that stood out to me was when he was talking about the shramanas. He says "By sunshine or by moonlight, he was once again ego, was pressed back into the cycle, felt craving, overcame the craving, felt craving anew"(13). This shows the reader that Siddhartha is going to encounter in his journey many of these feelings. His journey will be full of struggle between these feelings until he finally reaches his destination. His destination being the river, where he achieves Nirvana at the end of the book.
ReplyDeleteYes,I agree that the "return to the river" is a concept that cycles throughout Siddhartha. The river is where Siddhartha's journeys both begin and end. I also believe that when Siddhartha is at his lowest point and considers drowning himself in the river shows that the path to Nirvana can be misleading (if the river does symbolize Nirvana). I also think that om and Govinda are equally important ideas that return later in the book. Om is what ultimately saves Siddhartha from committing suicide, which shows the power of the single word. By hearing the word om, Siddhartha is not only convinced that he has more to live for, but also feels alive again (shown by Hermann Hesse's lively diction-rejuvenating, renewed etc) As for Govinda, I don't really have an explanation as to why he returns to Siddhartha's side. Maybe this is Hesse's way of showing time passing, by describing Govinda as he ages? Govinda's importance is unquestionable- why else would Hesse reunite him with Siddhartha? Siddhartha seems to have all the knowledge and power through his first hand experiences and om, so why bring Govinda back again, and again?
DeleteYes! I like the back and forth, guys! :)
Delete"The Son of the Brahman" is the opening chapter of "Siddhartha." The peaceful scene the author Hermann Hesse describes, brings the reader to a sacred, mystical land of knowledge. In order to achieve this affect, Hermann Hesse uses calm diction, and introduces key ideas and people such as om and Govinda to suggest their importance early on and to build on their character throughout. By repeating words such as shade, Brahman, tree, and sunshine, in the opening chapter, Hesse brings a calm to the reader by showing there is no press for time in the setting. This is an important element in the book "Siddhartha." By starting it with "The Son of the Brahman," the character Siddhartha is given personality; one of religion, reflection, and om. Om is another motif that exists throughout the entire book. As an older child, Siddhartha thought he had mastered "the word of words," the om, but later in his journey, he learns and hears the true om, the sound of everything in the world. Om is a seed that's planted in the reader's head to blossom later in the book. This is shown in the chapter where Siddhartha gives up his riches and life with the beautiful Kamala, and returns to the river he once crossed to get to the village, and where he now contemplates the idea of suicide at seeing his glutton in his own reflection on the river. At this lowest moment, when Siddhartha is about to drown himself, he realizes "...that he had come to himself by a river, under a cocoanut tree, with the holy word Om on his lips. Then he had fallen asleep, and on awakening he looked at the world like an new man" (73). In summary, Om was what saved and enlightened Siddhartha; what brought him to new paths, and ended other journeys. While calm diction, religion, and Om are important factors in the writing of Siddhartha, the character Govinda is equally important. Govinda was Siddhartha's forever friend, who by chance was always reunited with him. By writing "Siddhartha grew up, the handsome son of the Brahman, the young falcon, together with his friend Govinda, son of a Brahman," in the first chapter, Hermann Hesse uses foreshadowing through the words "friend" and "son of the Brahman" and even simply mentioning Govinda hints to the reader that not only is Govinda an important concept but also to show that the two have much in common. Everything mentioned in the first chapter of "Siddhartha" is introduced early to show it's importance. "Siddhartha" is a book of peace and reflection, and Hermann Hesse accomplishes this tone through his calm diction, relaxed setting, and motifs of om and by introducing important elements (Govinda and Om) early on, and building or returning to them later on.
ReplyDeleteYes! The diction and syntax are key in the calm tone--good point!
DeleteWhile reading the first two chapters of Siddhartha a couple of things stood out to me. Siddhartha is unhappy living the life of a Brahman. He thinks that they do the same thing over and over again in order to reach their main goal. During the first chapter, The Brahmin’s Son, Siddhartha asks himself a lot of questions regarding the Brahman beliefs. Siddhartha says “But where were the Brahmins, were the priests, where the sages or penitents who had succeeded in not only knowing this deepest knowledge but also living it?”(6) This quote from him foreshadows that he will leave his family and explore more than what he already knows. It shows that he is confused by why the people around him do what they do. He wants to find enlightenment for himself and not through teachings and words. Hermann Hesse uses didactic literature during this part of the book because Siddhartha has a moral question he is trying to solve (self discovery). This is shown when Siddhartha says, “To pierce there, to the self, to myself, to Atman- was there any other path worth seeking? Ah, but no one showed this path, no one knew it, not his father, not the teachers and sages, not the holy sacrificial chants!”(5-6) Another thing that stood out to me was how this novel shows the four noble truths. The first noble truth is the idea that suffering exists and it is universal. Siddhartha realizes this when Hermann Hesse says, “Everything else was seeking, was detour, was confusion. Those were Siddhartha's thoughts, that was his thirst, that was his suffering.”(7) He is suffering because he is trying to figure out life by himself. When Siddhartha joins the Samanas it starts his journey to end his suffering and find what he is looking for.
ReplyDeleteI agree on the four noble truths--glad you mentioned that!!
DeleteI agree that Siddhartha leaves because he is unhappy with his life of a Brahman. He leaves to understand and learn. When he feels he has learned enough or all, he leaves. Siddhartha leaves many groups and people over the course of the book to only come to realize that in the end, deep down he really is a Brahman, as stated by Kamala.
DeleteThere were several things that caught my attention while reading the first paragraphs of Herman Hesse’s novel, Siddhartha. One thing that really stood out to me was Hesse’s use of the word shade in the beginning paragraphs. As a child, Siddhartha was brought up in riches and protection. It was said that during his youth, he would stay in one of three palaces. Even when traveling between them, Siddhartha stayed in shaded, protected areas. An example of Hesse's word choice is when he writes, “... in the shade of the Sal-wood forest, in the shade of the fig tree is where Siddhartha grew up…” (1). Hesse describes the places Siddhartha grew up in as protected and restricted by the use of shade very early on in the novel. Another connection made with the use of shade is when Hesse explains that “... Siddhartha, was not a source of joy for himself, he found no delight in himself” (2). Being kept in shade and in protection his entire life, Siddhartha has not been able to experience the real world and understand things like, death, sadness and despair. He has been surrounded in a positive environment and because of his intelligence, he yearns for more knowledge, and more understanding. Siddhartha is not content with his life and senses there is more to life than riches and protection. The book's tone definitely stood out to me as well. The first couple of paragraphs focus on how great Siddhartha’s life has been and how other people have benefited from him and his goodness. This sets a happy, enjoyable tone for the reader, but soon after, the tides turn when the book reveals Siddhartha himself is not happy. This takes a darker turn and sets a more saddened and realistic tone going into the second chapter.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you when you talk about Hermann Hesse's tone at the start of the book and how it changes throughout the book. I think he leads the reader into thinking that this book is about how Siddhartha will become just like his father. He uses description like "the beautiful son" and "young falcon". He then takes a turn and you realize that Siddhartha is actually depressed and unhappy with his life.
DeleteAfter reading the first two chapters, a few things stuck out to me. The first thing is that the author starts Siddhartha out by the river in a calm and peaceful setting, “In the shadow of the house, in the sun on the riverbank by the boats...” (Hesse 3). This is very similar to the end of the book when Siddhartha becomes enlightened on the river. This creates a circular ending and an end to a cycle. It also plays under the if it is important, introduce it early maxim and foreshadows what will happen to Siddhartha. Furthermore, in chapter 2, Siddhartha complains a lot about how his current situation is a never ending cycle, “Whether by sunshine or moonlight, in shadow or in rain, once again Siddhartha and ego appeared, and once again he felt the torment of existence forced upon him” (Hesse 13). This reinforces the point I made earlier about how it foreshadows the ending of the novel because Hesse is basically saying that this book is centered around cycles and the life of Siddhartha is going to be one big cycle. This also introduces the idea of cycles and how life is just another cycle in a never ending chain of cycles. This becomes important later as Gotama talk about how he broke free from the chain of cycles. Lastly, this book reflects a lot of the experiences of Hesse. Hesse’s parents were missionaries and had gone to India. Hesse was expected to do the same, but he rebelled and decided he wanted to be a poet, much like how Siddhartha asked his father, “with your permission, Father, I’ve come to tell you that tomorrow I must leave your house and go off with the ascetics” (Hesse 8). It is clear that Hesse intentionally made a parallel between Siddhartha’s life and his own. Siddhartha was expected to become a brahmin, but wanted to become a shramana and Hesse was expected to become a missionary, but wanted to become a poet.
ReplyDeleteI really like the connection you made between the beginning and ending of the book talking about the river and how that is like the end to a cycle. I also really liked the connection between Hesse and Siddhartha. When the author creates a connection between him and the main character, it strengthens the novel that much more.
DeleteIn reading the first two chapters of Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse, an observation that really stood out was his doubt in his own Brahmin beliefs after seeing one of the four noble truths, Dukkha: suffering exists. This is displayed when Hesse wrote, "Siddhartha had started to nurse discontent" (Hesse 5). Siddhartha continuously interrogated himself, asking "...but where, where was this self...? It was not flesh and blood, it was not thinking or consciousness" (Hesse 5). He questioned the fact that although he is admired and considered wise, how could he be if there was so much he had not experienced or discovered. Later when the group of samanas past through their city, he decides immediately to join them: "Tomorrow morning, my friend Siddhartha will join the samanas..." (Hesse 8). Siddhartha not only saw how the samanas were suffering, he saw how he was suffering in discontent in his life. He saw this as greed, and gives up his desires, this introducing another of the four noble truths: Samudaya. These chapters, in my opinion, emphasizes the importance of the four noble truths in this story as well as developing Siddhartha's character to show his curiousness and search for enlightenment, this introducing a theme.
ReplyDeleteWhen reading these two chapters, Awakening really stuck out me. The main reason for this was the repetition of a sentence. On both page 32 and 33. “ He came to a halt again, suddenly, as though a snake lay on the path” (Hesse 32) and “ He came to a halt as though a snake lay on his path” (32). This was a really important part. Not only did it make myself feel like I had just reread the page before hand, it stuck with me. Hesse used similar sentences twice in order to do this to the reader. It represents Siddhartha’s realization of not reaching Nirvana yet and thinking he has, when he has not. This is true throughout the entire book. Siddhartha is always thinking he has found what he is looking for and then comes to realization that he has not. It is repetition. It is not until the end of the book it loops around back to the river that he finally reaches his personal Nirvana. Which is also repetition. Hesse repeated sentences in order for readers to feel this lost feeling as well.
ReplyDelete(Hi I'm not sure if I can post here BUT I really wanted to so sorry but I'm not sorry because it's for the good of literature)
DeleteSo I've already wrote this once and it bungled up on me, so I'll keep it short.
I really appreciate you bringing out this line, Britt, I think the symbolism and connotations is loaded on so many levels.
First, we have the fact that out of every possible simile or metaphor Hesse could use to explain the way Sidd. stopped in his tracks and didn't move a muscle, he chose to use a snake in his path. Not only that, he repeats it, so it's got to mean something, right?
The more western/modern connotation of the snake is as a liar and a deceiver. This lightly foreshadows that the next lifestyle/ way of life he chooses won't be the way to nirvana and salvation- it will be a lie. Sidd. ends up becoming rich and getting caught up in petty, materialist things in the city. After squandering many years of his life, he realizes nothing that he has done in those years is going to effect him at all. Everything that looked so tempting about becoming a worldly man was a lie.
However, the snake in older and even ancient times meant rebirth and renewal. Just as a snake sheds it's skin, Sidd. too sheds his past life and moves on. The times when Siddhartha is stopped as if there were a snake in his paths are the times he describes as the last steps of his re-awakening; the rebirth of the new Sidd.
Tagging on from this, do you know how snakes shed their skin? They sit for a while, trying to let the skin loosen from themselves as much as possible, until it becomes to itchy. They will then slither and move constantly, until the offending itchy skin is gone. Other than Sidd. exhibiting this behavior just while moving along the path (start and stop, start and stop), this is a pattern Sidd. follows until he reaches nirvana. His skin becomes to itchy, he becomes to unhappy with where he is, and must move and journey to change it, until his new skin (his new lifestyle) grows in. But any snake still has to shed their skin, and Sidd. always finds himself unsatisfied. With each change he makes, he is reborn, as if he had shed his skin.
There's also subtle foreshadowing, as the way Kamala dies is by a snake bite on her ankle as she is walking along a path.
Awakening is my favorite chapter throughout this whole book; it describes both the moment Siddhartha sees his first sign of hope towards attaining enlightenment, as well as the moment he experiences the repercussions of that knowledge. After rejecting the teachings of many elders, including the Buddha himself, Siddhartha finds that before he can reach nirvana, he must first reach himself. On page 34 the narrator states, " At that moment, when the world around him melted away, when he stood alone like a star in the heavens, he was overwhelmed by a feeling of icy despair..." (Hesse 34). Siddhartha obviously feels as though he is completely alone; after Govinda left him behind, it really stuck with him that this path towards enlightenment was one he would need to travel on his own. The most interesting point of that quote, however, was the simile: "when he stood alone like a star in the heavens..." (Hesse 34). One of our literary maxims is that flight represents freedom, I think that point applies to this quote perfectly. The loneliness Siddhartha feels is also accompanied by a sense of freedom, he has taken his first step towards rising above the mortal world he was born into, and is closer than ever towards becoming that free, flying, peaceful holy star. Releasing himself from Govinda, someone who had gravitated towards him all his life, as well as the endless teachings of others, helped Siddhartha to realize that he did not need neither moon nor planet to help him understand his nature; only he could understand who he was, is, and would become. To back up this whole flight is freedom allusion, the narrator compares the Buddha to a star in the heavens much like Siddhartha in the next chapter: "Clearly and quietly his voice was carried to his listeners-like a light, like a star in the heavens" (Hesse 23). There's so much hidden depth to that one phrase, and using it to describe both the Buddha and Siddhartha ties the two characters together and even foreshadows Siddhartha's coming to enlightenment. Just as the Buddha has become a lonely star in the heavens, so will Siddhartha. It's quite ironic to note that, although Siddhartha struggles with the fact that he is the most alone he's ever been in this chapter, the strong comparison between him and the Buddha (one that has never been made in the past as Siddhartha has always been thought to be above everyone else) shows that he has finally found someone who is the same breed as he. A symbol of that fact may be the repetition of the snake blocking his path in the road. Siddhartha compares himself to a snake during the beginning of his awakening, he says "He realized that something had left him, like the old skin that a snake sheds" (Hesse 30). As he continues through the forest, another snake appears to block his path: "Now, however, in that moment he stood still, as if a snake lay in his path..." (Hesse 33). Siddhartha has found a creature of his own likeness in his path, much like his finding of the Buddha in the previous chapter. This whole section of the book is one big ironic foreshadowing of Siddhartha's coming to enlightenment and "lonely future", even though the Buddha, the person he is striving to be, is probably the least lonely man in the world.
ReplyDeleteI really like the connections that you made throughout the chapter. I agree that the two quotes about the heavens connects Siddhartha to Budha and gives him an equal in the world. It grounds Siddhartha and allows him to think more clearly about where he wants to go. I also think that Siddhartha and Govinda parting ways is symbolic of Siddhartha finally letting go of his past and realizing that the teachings he previously learned won't help him on the next leg of his journey. He is truly moving forward on his own with nothing to hold him back. This also ties into the maxim Flight is Freedom because it expresses freedom from Siddhartha's past and freedom from his burdens or emotions that held him back from attaining enlightenment and understanding of himself.
DeleteI definitely agree that Siddhartha and Gotama are linked in this book and how it foreshadows how Siddhartha will also become enlightened. This connection between the two is also seen in the very end of the book when Govinda meets Siddhartha again and says that the energy from Siddhartha is a lot like Gotama's, who had just passed. This link between the two can also be found outside of the book in Siddhartha Gautama, the name of the real Buddha. Hesse took the Buddha's first name and made it the character of Siddhartha and took the Buddha's last name and made it Gotama's. So in a way, they are basically the same person!
DeleteWhen reading these passages, I noticed another symbol in the story, which was Govinda. After leaving his old friend behind, he's leaving his last tie to the world, leaving him with the ability and time to find himself. Govinda traveled with Siddhartha from the start, however, when he left, Siddhartha found himself alone, without the person "who was [his] shadow and is now Gotama's shadow," (Hesse 29). By leaving Govinda, he lost his last tie to what he recognized as home - the brahmins, his father, the way of life he grew up in. In the sentence following, Siddhartha thinks, "he gave me Siddhartha, he gave me myself," (29). This shows how Siddhartha is now just himself, with no Govinda to be his shadow, he, again, no longer has ties to his previous life, and has the access to who he is without that background and history. This is again shown when Siddhartha is leaving, after he talks to Gotama about his plans. Govinda was a monk following someone who'd achieved nirvana, he had "a thousand monks [who] were his brothers," he was everything that Siddhartha thought he wanted when he first embarked on his journey (33). By leaving Govinda behind, he left this idea that he needed to be taught how to reach nirvana behind. For him, this last step away from his old life was "that last pang of rebirth," (34). Govinda was a symbol of the old life that Siddhartha led, and the old beliefs he held. By leaving him, he was able to start a new path that didn't involve his past teachings, or any teachings at all. By leaving him, he was "alone like a star in the sky." (33)
DeleteIgnore that that was odd and shouldn't be there idk
DeleteWhile reading chapter 3, an interesting thing popped out at me. When Hesse talked about the Buddha, he always mentioned something about how radiant his presence was. He would say that, “...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... This man, this Buddha, was in truth who he was even in the movements of his little fingers.” (Hesse 23). This shows how a lot of what Gotama communicated was nonverbal and how these communications were much more of a feeling rather than words that describe those feelings, which dull the true impact. It is because that words cannot truly communicate how to feel things, like enlightenment, that Siddhartha left the Buddha, and figured that if he wanted to reach enlightenment, he had to find it for himself. Later on in chapter 4, Siddhartha thinks, “How deaf and dumb I have been!... When one is reading a text whose meaning he is seeking, he does not scorn the signs and letters as deceptions, accidents, and worthless husks; rather he reads them, he studies them, he loves them, letter by letter... I have awakened, I have really awakened, and have only today been born!” (Hesse 32). I believe that this creates irony because Siddhartha is laughing at himself for not looking at the details and says that he’ll not notice them again as he leaves the teachings of the Buddha. The Buddha gave a lot of nonverbal communication full of what it meant to be enlightened and Siddhartha ignored that and instead focused on the words and the text that Gotama was saying instead of looking in between the lines. This shows how Siddhartha really did not understand how to read in between the lines yet and how he still has to figure out what he really does know and not let his ego get in the way of him learning and feeling what it means to be enlightened.
ReplyDeleteI agree that a lot is expressed through the characters’ actions and feelings rather than words. This is reflective of Siddhartha’s realization that he cannot learn anymore from other people’s teachings, and that he is on his own journey. Siddhartha says, “I am going to continue my wandering-not to find a better teaching, for I know that one does not exist, but in order to leave behind all teachings and all teachers and to attain my goal on my own or die” (Hess 28). From the Buddha, Siddhartha learns that the truth cannot be expressed, and one has to find it on his or her own.
DeleteI found Awakening to be one the most interesting and pivotal chapters in the narrative. Based on the chapter's title, it’s obvious Siddhartha will be awoken or will realize something important. In the chapter Siddhartha comes to realize the journey to reach Nirvana will be a lonely one, one he must do by himself. Hesse shows Siddhartha’s realization of this when “He realized that one thing had left him, as a snake is left by its old skin… the wish to have teachers and to listen to teachings” (33). When Govinda left Siddhartha, he comes to the realization he must learn on his own. Hesse uses the metaphor “as a snake is left by its old skin” to symbolize Siddhartha’s growth into maturity. Snakes symbolize wisdom and clarity. This new found wisdom and maturity will help Siddhartha complete his quest for Nirvana. Although, Siddhartha does struggle with the thought of being alone throughout the chapter. Hesse describes his last struggle as “one moment and breath, his heart felt cold, he felt a cold in his chest…” (34). In this passage Siddhartha realizes how alone he really is. After being brought up in riches and protection he finds himself without that in the cold wilderness. He has never felt that before. The cold he feels inside is his fear for being alone and having to find answers by himself. Warmth can be compared to comfort in this instance. In his upbringing, Siddhartha was always warm, but now he is out of his comfort zone. Being out of his comfort zone, he feels cold and alone.
ReplyDeleteI agree that a common motif starting in chapter 4 was loneliness, I liked how you referenced the mood change from how he grew up, he was always accompanied by teachers and Govinda and the tone was very warm in comparison to the tone in this chapter. I agreed the quote from page 34 really emphasized the switch and turning point of the story as well as the importance of this motif as the story progresses. Although I do not fully agree that the snake would symbolize wisdom and clarity, I feel like this was more of a turning point where he realized his years before him and his continuous desire of becoming a worldly man was a lie. When I interpreted it the snake represented more of a lie than wisdom; I do agree this is a point of maturity and will help him on his path to nirvana.
DeleteSnakes often represent deceit, many books even take it a step further and straight up allude to the biblical serpent from Genesis (the one that was fabled to deceive Atom and Eve into taking a bite of the fruit of knowledge). I don't believe that this passage is necessarily alluding to the bible, but Siddhartha shedding the skin of a snake could symbolize his shedding of the lies and self-denial that had he had lived by all his life. The fact that snakes always grow back their skin, however, is pretty ironic when taken in that context as even when Siddhartha thinks he's shedding off that deceitful part of him, it foreshadows him growing it back. I definitely agree that this chapter is very pivotal, it's full of literary elements and personal growth. I love the motif of loneliness in this section of the book as well. It seems to me that Siddhartha shedding his skin could also be a reference to the fact that he's lost his friend Govinda; he's lost something that he considered to be a part of himself, and now he must continue on without it.
DeleteThese two chapters are very important to this book. I think, especially in the awakening, there is a dramatic mood change. Siddhartha starts to realize that he is no longer the son of Brahmin and that he belongs to no family or belief system. The mood becomes very lonely and Herman Hesse shows this by creating a man vs. self conflict with Siddhartha. When Siddhartha leaves the grove, in the beginning of the awakening, he is thinking a lot and contemplating his decisions. He talks to himself and says things like, “Just what was it that you learned from teachings and from teachers…? I will no longer let Siddartha slip away!” (36) He is having a hard time deciding what to do in this situation and how he will reach enlightenment. Another thing I notice in these chapters is the symbol of the snake. I think the snake represents a new beginning for Siddhartha and how he will get past the suffering. For example it is said, “He realized that one thing had left him like the old skin that leaves the serpent, that one thing was no longer within him…”(35). This is Siddhartha forgetting about his old life and moving forward. He also says “While thinking these thoughts, Siddhartha halted again, suddenly, as if a serpent were lying in his path” (37). Right after he stops in the path he says, “For suddenly this was clear to him: He, who was truly awakened or newly born, he had to begin his life anew and afresh” (38).The serpent in the road makes him stop and understand what he is looking for in life.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading Chapter 3, Gautama, the passage where Siddhartha observes the Buddha, I enjoyed when Hermann Hesse really emphasized the perfectness of "the sublime one". Hesse utilized repetition in "...his silently lowered gaze, his silently hanging arm, and every last finger on his silently hanging hand spoke of peace" (Hesse 27). This also creates imagery showing that his presence gave off so many feelings that words were not needed. The Buddha's holiness almost radiated off of him, although Siddhartha still believed he would not learn anything new from his teachings, and decided to move on to reach enlightenment through experience. Another part later shown in the beginning of chapter 4, Awakening, that really stood out to me was when he referred to himself to a serpent or snake, he wrote "..one thing had left him like old skin that leaves a serpent.." (Hesse 35). This is also refers to later in the chapter on how he tries to rid of his ego, to mature, connecting this to his reference it shows he felt as if he was deceiving himself, that if he joined Govinda and followed the Venerable one he would only lose himself and only be deceiving himself that he had overcome his ego. Later Hesse also repeats the serpent was laying in his path, I feel as if this also foreshadows his next path, his life of deceit and desire of material things. For when most people think of a snake the connotation is a liar or deceiver, which relates to his next path in the city. I find this almost ironic that Siddhartha at first wants to overcome his ego, but by the end of this chapter "Siddhartha surfaced, more ego than before.." (Hesse 39). Although originally he spoke of becoming more mature and find his own path to reach enlightenment, when alone he realizes "I am no longer who I was, I am no longer a priest, I am no longer a Brahmin" (Hesse 38). This gives another meaning to the quote: "one thing had left him like the old skin that leaves the serpent" (Hesse 35), that he is changing and is not who he used to be but a new person; he is awakened.
ReplyDeleteI noticed how Hesse kept mentioning the snake throughout the chapter as well. I think it represents a new beginning for Siddhartha and the idea of shedding old skin. I like how you mentioned the serpent in the road and how it foreshadowed his next path. I find it interesting how you noticed that Siddhartha wanted to overcome his ego at the beginning of the chapter, but then by the end his ego was bigger than when he started. I never realized that irony until you pointed it out and I completely agree.
DeleteAwakening is one of the most powerful chapters in Siddhartha. One of my favorite quotes in the chapter was when Siddhartha realizes that he governs his fate, that he could choose himself, and follow himself. "How deaf and stupid I have been, he thought, walking on quickly. When anyone reads anything which he wishes to study, he does not despise the letters and punctuation marks, and call them illusion, chance and worthless shells, but he reads them, he studies and loves them, letter by letter. But I, who wished to read the book of the world and the book of my own nature, did presume to despise the letters and signs" (Hesse 32). I think that this quote symbolizes the ebb and flow of life. The way Hesse writes in this particular passage, I think he means that a person cannot believe that one truth governs all life; because truth varies for each individual, there is more than one answer. That's why Siddhartha's journey has made it this far--up until his awakening, he believed there was only one "right path." Siddhartha at first is a Brahmin, then sees a Samana's path as more enlightening, and lastly hears of Gotama's way of life, this proves that he believed one of these religions would give him the knowledge he sought, otherwise he wouldn't have left his first life as a Brahmin. Relating this back to the quote, he (Siddhartha) was trying to narrow the truth and knowledge of life down to a black and white meaning, and in doing so he couldn't see the bigger picture. He was examining each individual letter and punctuation mark, not reading the story. In addition, I also think the Hesse is trying to say that all along, Siddhartha's truth had been with him; in the river that flowed endlessly, in the people around him, and most of all, in himself, it just took him a long time to figure it out. Siddhartha's encounters with other characters also shows his realization of the existence of more than one truth. For example he knows almost instantly that Gotama's enlightenment was not the path for him to follow, even though he could clearly see that Gotama was at peace with himself. I'm not sure what made Siddhartha realize that he didn't want to become a follower again though.
ReplyDeleteIn the next chapter, Kamala, the passage that really stood out to me was Siddhartha's dream on page 45. Some people, as said in class, believe that this dream referred to his relationship with Govinda, but I feel that it really foreshadows that his next partner will be a women. Hesse wrote, "...it was no longer Govinda, it was a women..." (Hesse 45). It references his past companion to show his new companion on his new path. Although Siddhartha's reverie also told of how it filled "every pleasure" mostly relating to physical pleasures, this showing that this women will be a total representative of the physical and material world. In my interpretation, it explained to me why later he refused the first girl he meets at the river. Of course in his past life he did not have any experience with women, nor did he give much thought about them, as well as it was a taboo in his life as a samana, so it seems natural he would say no to her, but he later approached Kamala. She was more of a true incarnation of the physical world that had been displayed in his dream and this attracted him. Siddhartha's dream foreshadowed that he would attain a new partner, Kamala, that purely represents this new world of physical desires and how this women will help guide him into this modern society.
ReplyDeleteThis makes a lot of sense. When Hesse was talking about Siddhartha's dream about the bird, he wrote that, "The little bird was dead and lay stiff on the bottom of the cage. He took it out, weighed it a moment in his hand, then threw it away onto the street outside. That moment a terrible fright took hold of him and his heart pained his as though with this dead bird he had thrown away everything valuable and good." (Hesse 64). Siddhartha is upset because he feels that he had thrown away all his hard spiritual work by becoming absorbed in this material world, which is represented by the cage. Being in the cage killed the bird, which represents Siddhartha. Later on when Siddhartha leaves Kamala and the city behind, Kamala, "went to the window where she kept a rare songbird in a golden cage. She opened the door of the cage, took the bird out, and let it fly away." (Hesse 67). Hesse further establishes the connection between the bird and Siddhartha by calling the bird a rare songbird, because when Kamala met Siddhartha, she said that, "Never before has it happened to me that a shramana with long hair and in an old tattered loincloth came to me." (Hesse 44) Showing that Siddhartha to her is rare, like the songbird. When she lets this songbird free of this materialistic cage, she is letting Siddhartha free of the material world as well.
DeleteI agree with your view of Kamala being a true incarnation of the physical world. Kamala represents all that Siddhartha has not yet experienced in life, this is one of the reasons he is so intrigued by her. Siddhartha views love as something he has yet to learn and master, viewing it with a Samana perspective, but gets caught in Kamala's trap. He begins to value pleasure and physical attraction, which go against his Samana ways.
DeleteThe chapter Kamala presents one of the more important characters in Siddhartha’s journey, Kamala. The one thing I noticed right away was Kamala’s ability to mesmerize Siddhartha unlike anyone had done before. Prior to meeting Kamala, Siddhartha meets a young woman on his way to town. During their sexual encounter, “he heard his innermost voice, and the voice said No” (43). The inner voice Siddhartha is hearing is his inner Samana telling him to not be attached to sexual desires and women. The power of his inner Samana really shows here during this encounter. Although, Kamala was a different story. When Siddhartha questions her about him being a Samana Kamala responds with “Why should I fear a shramana, a silly shramana from the forest, who has come to learn the ways of love?” (46). Siddhartha assures her and himself he should fear her but she does not. This is the first time that the Samana ways have been equaled by the strength of nature and power of a woman's beauty. This surprised me and helped me understand why Siddhartha is so intrigued by her and loses his way over her. Kamala is also the first person to look down on Siddhartha almost like a child. No one has ever looked at Siddhartha like that, which intrigues him. Kamala represents Siddhartha’s one weakness and an example of the real world. She sends him down a path of materialistic values and pleasure.
ReplyDeleteI agree now that you mention it, Kamala is the first person who looks down on Siddhartha. Up until now he had always been followed by Govinda. Govinda treated Siddhartha like someone of higher status, always following his lead. Now the situation has cycled around completely, and Siddhartha has become a follower of Kamala. This may just be my opinion, but Kamala has much in common with Siddhartha. Like him, she was always looked at for one of her most prominent features-her beauty, similar to the way Siddhartha was looked at in the Brahmin community as a knowledgeable boy for his age. This is why Siddhartha and Kamala seem so fitting together, they've both been in situations of power and influence.
DeleteYes--definitely!! What are some ways that Hesse shows us this literarily as well?
ReplyDeleteMs. Ballard
Something I have been noticing is that people who are enlightened, or who have qualities of enlightenment smile. The amount that someone smiles is a measurement of how enlightened someone is and can be used to forecast these enlightened feelings. In the chapter Gotama, Hesse describes Gotama as giving, “the impression of a slight inward smile.” (Hesse 23). Hesse includes Gotama’s smile in many other places, like when Siddhartha had just finished talking with Gotama, he thinks, “I have never seen anyone smile, sit, and walk in such a way... I would like to be able to gaze, smile, sit, and walk-- so free, so worthy...” (Hesse 29) and when Kamala would talk about the things she has heard about Gotama she would say, “how pure his gaze was, how still and beautiful his mouth, how kindly his smile, how tranquil his walk.” (Hesse 63). Through these descriptions, the author has made a symbolic connection between the smile and the Buddha, who represents enlightenment. The ferryman is also another good example of someone who is a very enlightened individual who also smiles a lot. When Siddhartha is leaving the ferryman, Hesse says, “Smiling, they said their good-byes.” (Hesse 40). Siddhartha is also described as smiling throughout the book, but in the chapter Samsara when Siddhartha begins to lose himself, he begins to smile less. During Siddhartha’s gambling addiction, Hesse writes, “This was something he had formerly done lightheartedly and with a smile.” (Hesse 62). However, later on in the book, when Siddhartha decided to leave all of his possessions in life and resume his spiritual life, he began to smile more. The author says, “Here I sit in my pleasure garden under my mango tree. He smiled slightly-- was it necessary, was it right, was it not a foolish game, that he owned a mango tree, a garden?... With a tired smile, he shook himself and said good-bye to these things.” (Hesse 66). Hesse uses this connection between smiling and enlightenment to show the spiritual state of Siddhartha in this chapter. At first when Siddhartha stopped smiling, he had also lost his way, but when Siddhartha had made the decision to give up what he had, his smile had returned. This correlation between smiling and spirituality can be used to measure and predict what the character’s current enlightenment, and to see how it might change in the future.
ReplyDeleteI had noticed the smiling as well, but I had never made this connection and it all makes sense. I like how you pointed out where Siddhartha's smile withered showing his loss in faith. This displays how without enlightenment Siddhartha feels the emptiness in his actions made in that world and chooses to give up all that he had worked for again, like he had before joining the material world. It also shows a mood change in the book, reflecting Siddhartha's falling point, and then when he returns to his life searching for ultimate nirvana his smile softly returns and the mood lightens. In the passage where the Buddha had an inward smile I saw it as if he was made of joy and peace for he had found enlightenment. Thank you for pointing out this motif showing that finding enlightenment is like reaching true joy.
DeleteIn the next chapter of Siddhartha, (called) Kamala, Siddhartha encounters the beautiful courtesan Kamala. In order to see Kamala, Siddhartha must have material-wealth, clothing, shoes, and status. However, Siddhartha stills sees this request as something that would give him knowledge in love. Being materialistic was the means to getting the result he desired-Kamala’s teachings of love, so Siddhartha made Kamala’s wishes his command. This is shown by the quote "Listen, Kamala, when you throw a stone into the water, it finds the quickest way to the botom of the water. It is the same when Siddhartha has an aim, a goal" (Hesse 50). The quote proves Siddhartha, even in wanting to serve Kamala, he had been following the most straightforward path to knowledge of love. However, this plan backfires because as his life progresses, he adjusts to a lifestyle of greed with the merchant Kamaswami, where he only desires material wealth and the pleasure of Kamala’s company. (which required him to have status) In these chapters, it seems as though Siddhartha has lost his way-the path he was so confidant about when he left his life with Govinda behind. At this point, I know I had a hard time believing he’d ever get back on the righteous quest of finding truth.
ReplyDeleteKamala is a key character throughout Siddhartha's journey. Kamala taught Siddhartha about two things that he had never thought about before- Material things and love. Before Siddhartha met Kamala he thought of himself as superior to the the ordinary people around him. In his past life he was so focused on himself and his ego. Kamala showed Siddhartha ¨reality¨. One quote that shows this is when Hesse says, ¨The life they lead is simple, thought Siddhartha. It has no difficulties...now everything is easy, as easy as the kissing lesson that Kamala gives me. I need clothes and money, nothing else.¨ (54) One of the final conversations between Kamala and Siddhartha really stood out to me. Siddhartha says, ¨Yesterday I told you that I know how to think, how to wait, how to fast, and you felt that these things were useless. But they are useful...you will see that the foolish samanas in the forest learn a lot of lovely things and can do things that you people can't.¨(55) This is when Siddhartha has his realization that the life that Kamala lives is not what he wants for himself. He realizes that even though he didn't choose to continue with the samana life he learned something from it along the way. Some people may say that Siddhartha ¨lost¨ himself during this part in the book. Maybe because he sort of veered off his path of enlightenment. I think this was a critical step in Siddhartha's journey because without Kamala, he wouldn't have had those experiences and been able to grow from them. Growing from them is how he was able to find peace within himself.
ReplyDeleteIn the two chapters, Kamala and Among the child people talks a lot about what Siddhartha has to offer them. Which has a lot to do with how the real world works. Siddhartha says “I can think, I can wait, I can fast” (Hesse 51). To both Kamala and Kamaswami these skills are useless. However, when Siddhartha tells Kamaswami how these skills are in fact helpful. “Siddhartha can calmly wait, he knows no impatience, no state of need” (51). When Kamaswami realizes this, he takes him in giving him clothes and the landlord business. Another important part was learning about love. When he first meets Kamala, Siddhartha is not enough for her. He needs to “Have clothes, beautiful clothes, handsome shoes, plenty of money in his purse-and gifts for Kamala” (44). Siddhartha finds that he is striving for all of this and in fact becomes greedy. Does losing all of your earlier beliefs make it justified for love? Was Siddhartha going down the right path in order to reach his Nirvana? Before Siddhartha had met Kamala having nothing was the most important thing to him. However, after meeting Kamala his life of material things and love is what he thought would lead him to his Nirvana.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the idea that the materialistic world being mostly focused on what you have to offer (money or gifts). Siddhartha sees it more as what skills you have to offer. This relates a lot to our world today. We are usually classified by our money and class. Rarely do people look at whether someone has patience or knowledge to offer. Kamaswami teaches Siddhartha a lot of important life lessons about being successful in the materialistic world, Siddhartha teaches him how to notice the little things.
DeleteIn the chapter “By the River,” Siddhartha hears the Om which wakes him up from the materialistic life he lived with Kamala and Kamaswami. In this chapter, Siddhartha reunites with his faithful friend, Govinda. In this encounter Govinda asks “And what are you now, Siddhartha?” and Siddhartha responds: “I do not know; I know as little as you. I am on the way. I was a rich man, but am no longer and what I will be tomorrow I do not know” (Hesse 76). This quote is significant because it emphasizes that after hearing the Om, Siddhartha’s life has renewed, and he has been reborn as one who knows just as much as a child. His “invincible arts: fasting, waiting, and thinking” have been compromised in his learning of love with Kamala. Hesse writes “I stand once more beneath the sun, as I once stood as a small child. Nothing is mine, I know nothing, I possess nothing, I have learned nothing” (77). One way to look at this is that all his progress and compromises up until now, were meaningless because he only lived his greedy life like he did to be taught of love, and in doing so he compromised what he considered essential skills-fasting, waiting, and thinking. Another way of looking at Siddhartha’s situation is to see that Siddhartha’s path is more clear cut than ever. By starting life anew, the only thing “new” (or renewed) is his spirit, revived by Om. Otherwise Siddhartha is still Siddhartha. Taking this into account, he has a head start on small children- he’s already learned lessons of envy, greed, wealth, and love, and can now disregard these misleading paths that cycle endlessly (samsara!), and realize truth has been narrowed down because of the mistakes he’s made. The path to enlightenment, and Om, was really only found by chance; it was there all along for anyone who bothered to listen, in the sound of the river.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that in this chapter there is a theme of rebirth. I like how you incorporated Om into rebirth as well too. Om is kind of this weird concept and the way you put it, how Siddhartha's spirit was revived by Om, made a lot of sense. I think it is crazy how the key to enlightenment has been everywhere and how it was hiding in Om, something Siddhartha used to say a lot when he was young.
DeleteDo you think it was really significant it was Govinda? Or could it have been anyone?
ReplyDeleteI think Govinda has some secret purpose (that only Hesse would know) in reappearing numerous times throughout Siddhartha. In my opinion, Govinda's fate was intertwined with Siddhartha's from the very beginning when they lived together in the Brahmin's village. By reuniting Siddhartha with Govinda, it is one for sure way Hesse uses to show that Samsara has made it's full cycle around. I mentioned in my earlier comment, the time when Siddhartha had just been awakened again after hearing Om. By hearing Om and claiming "I do not know; I know as little as you" (76), Siddhartha officially arrives at the point he began. His journey began with Govinda at his side, so I think it's only fitting that Govinda reappears; it reminds both Siddhartha and the reader that Siddhartha has yet to break the cycle of samsara. I also think Govinda making another appearance shows time passing, which is important-he (Govinda) barely even recognized Siddhartha in his wealthy man's clothing! Hesse writes with a calm tone (I explained it in my first post) and I really lost my sense of time when I read Siddhartha, I couldn't tell if it had been days or years passing, so showing Govinda as he aged gave me some clue as to how much time actually passed. In summary, yes, I think it HAD to be Govinda that was reunited with Siddhartha. It would have to be Govinda, or no one, because there are no other significant characters that the reader would be familiar enough to recognize.
ReplyDeleteIn the chapter By the River, Hesse uses allusion to signify a rebirth in Siddhartha. After leaving the material world behind, SIddhartha reaches a low point and sits by the river. In a great bout of depression, Siddhartha decides to kill himself by drowning in the river. Hesse writes, ¨He sank. His eyes closed, toward death.¨ (Hesse 69). As he is drowning, a group of brahmin pass by speaking om. Right afterwards he falls asleep and when he wakes, he thinks, “He only knew that he had abandoned his earlier life.” (Hesse 70). Here, Hesse used an allusion to baptism. Siddhartha put himself in the river trying to rid himself of his past life, and after he heard the monks passing by, he came out of the river feeling like he had abandoned his old life, like he had been reborn, which is what baptism is. Later on, Siddhartha also remarks that, “I am starting all over from the beginning like a child!” (Hesse 74). Again, Hesse supports the rebirth of Siddhartha through this line. A child is someone who has just been born and by Hesse comparing Siddhartha to a child, he is saying that he has been born again.
ReplyDeleteThe whole idea of rebirth is something I made a connection with in this chapter too. I used the ideas of sleep and children as symbols to Samsara, but I never made the connection of Siddhartha virtually baptizing himself as another way of showing the cycle of life.
DeleteI felt that Siddhartha almost committing suicide was a huge turning point in his journey. I loved how Hesse used a real life lesson, that you have to go through the bad first to gain a better perspective and get a better understanding. Siddhartha going through the attempt of suicide helped him realize how awful he had been living his life and to change his ways and lifestyle.
DeleteBy the River was a very moving chapter for me as a reader but also for Siddhartha. For Siddhartha it was a very important step in his journey towards enlightenment. In this chapter Siddhartha contemplates suicide “There was no more purpose; there was nothing more than a deep, painful longing to shake off this whole confused dream, to spit out stale wine, to make an end to this bitter painful life” (88). Although, before he begins to end his life in the water, Siddhartha hears an Om rise up within him. This Om helps Siddhartha reflect on how wretched his life has been. The Om comes from deep down where his inner samana still lies. It reminds him of his past life and goals in which he strives to reach nirvana. Contemplating suicide gives Siddhartha a new perspective on life and is a huge turning point in his quest. After he falls into a deep sleep he awakes refreshed and happy. After some time, “he recognized himself, he recognized his hands and feet…” (91). As he awakens, Siddhartha sheds his old life of greed, deceit, and riches much like a snake sheds its dead skin. Being covered in expensive jewelry, fine clothing, and perfume prevented Siddhartha from seeing what he was and what he had become. Like Hesse described, “he recognized his hands and feet…” (91). When Siddhartha removed all that was restricting him, he was able to see what he had turned into.
ReplyDeleteOne main symbol in Samsara and By the river is the idea of being a child. Hesse says “He envied them for the one thing that he lacked and that they had: the importance they were able to place on their lives, the passionateness of their joys and fears, the queasy but sweet happiness of being eternally in love.¨ (69) Siddhartha starts want the lives of the child people. Siddhartha starts to understand that being child person is starting fresh and looking at the world with new eyes. Children see the world as a pure place with no harm or disgust. Siddhartha says ¨I had to become a fool in order to gain grace… I had to become a fool in order to find Atman in me again. I had to sin in order to live again.¨(85) Gambling and getting involved in the materialistic world was Siddhartha's idea of ¨sinning¨. He doesn't regret this time in his life because he learned from it.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the chapters show his envy of the child people, their view of the world and the many things that they possess, characteristics that he, Siddhartha does not share. Although Siddhartha is ashamed of the life he is led, "with a twisted face he stared into the water, saw his face reflected, and he spit at it" (Hesse 78), he did not regret leading that way of life, he later saw it as a part of his journey, that going astray, sinning was essential to return in his path, in order to see the world with new eyes.
DeleteIn this chapter, By the River, Siddhartha comes to a realization, that his past actions in his recent way of life have led him astray, that he is no longer following the path he dreamed of. This led Siddhartha to feel as if he had lost all freedom; lost all enlightenment. "Dead was the songbird that he dreamed of" (Hesse 77). Later, while contemplating life, Hesse writes: "In the water a dreadful emptiness mirrored a fearful emptiness in his soul" (Hesse 78), this displays Siddhartha's feeling toward his pitiful slef. The emptiness was previously shown in the chapter, Samsara, the tone the author creates in the beginning of it lacks much emotion reflecting to Siddhartha's empty actions. By the River is a chapter of reflection and realization, this is also shown through situational irony. At first Siddhartha does not recognize himself in the water, but only a pitiful man, although, Govinda also does not recognize his childhood friend. This displays his severe change of life. Govinda says "You say you are pilgrimming, and I believe you. But forgive me, O Siddhartha, you do not look like a pilgrim. You wear rich man's clothes..." (Hesse 82). This chapter not only depicts to the reader that Siddhartha realizes how he is lost, but also his realization that he, Siddhartha is lost and has gone astray from his teachings. This is shown not only in the wordplay of the reflection in the water,but Siddhartha's reflection on his way of life, as well as the situational irony played out in his meeting of Govinda.
ReplyDeleteSiddhartha, throughout his story ("Siddhartha", by Herman Hesse), manages to always be better than others in multiple aspects. This does not help him on his quest to abolish the ego, and yet it does help him in all of his other endeavors. '"I also know the sacrificial hymns," said Siddhartha, "but I do not wish to sing them anymore. I also know spells, but I no longer wish to cast them. I have read the scriptures--" "Stop," Kamala broke in. "You can read? And write?" "Of course I can. Lots of people can." "Most cannot. I cannot. It is very good that you can read and write, very good. And you may also need the spells."' These things that he had learned from being the son of a Brahmin, being a samana, being Siddhartha. He was told by Kamala that his samana knowledge would not get him very far in the "real world" (not the actual quote, but it would make sense for her to imply that), but his having read the scriptures and in general being able to read would get him farther than most locals. She also told him that being a merchant would yield him many a bountiful amount of money. And given the implication that Kamala loved for money (which is a nice way of saying that she is a refined prostitute with at least some standards), and that Siddhartha, recently released from the responsibilities asceticism, paired with his new-found desire to to get more out of the world (along with the wondrous wonders of the horizontal mambo ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)) this was the perfect opportunity to learn and understand more of this newly-uncovered art known as love. According to Siddhartha, the affiliation of merchant was easy, and with Sidd's background of being completely oblivious to pain (or otherwise being able to overcome it relatively quickly) the emotional component that went with it (i.e.: Kamaswami and his antics) would be no problem. His only real goal was to keep Kamala happy and loving him, teaching him. His re-introduction into society had been quick and easy, making the money-making business even easier after the short partner adoption process between Kamaswami and the not-so-infamous samana. This ease would give only him so much happiness, however, much like certain knowledge can only entertain the mind for so long before it yearns for something more. And when there is nothing left to learn, then there is nothing left to keep going for, but to empty one's soul. An endless amount of information and knowledge can truly quench the thirst of his soul.
ReplyDeleteBoth "By the River" and "The Ferryman" definitely reinforce this book's common motif of death and rebirth. With both Gotama's dying as well as Kamala's untimely snake bite, the second of the two chapters has more actual death than the rest of the book combined. In "by the river" Siddhartha threatens to kill himself roughly five seconds before he starts spouting about his rebirth: "he took his arm away from the tree trunk and turned a little, so that he could fall headlong and finally go under" (Hesse 72); all that death must mean something. Throughout Siddhartha's quest to find tranquility he's encountered roughly three friends: Govinda, Kamala, and Gotama (I'm not including Kamaswami because I don't think Siddhartha ever felt close to him, along with that, his parents were only there for like a page and weren't really all that important to the book aside from giving siddhartha a place to start his journey). These two chapters re-introduce Govinda, Kamala, and Gotama; them all representing the most important pivot points in Siddhartha's journey: Govinda symbolizing Siddhartha's time as a Brahmin's son, Gotama representing his time as a Samana, and Kamala representing his time as a Samsara (or man of wealth). Now that all of Siddhartha's life has been accounted for, the fact that many of those characters die is very representative of Siddhartha leaving his past behind him and his seeking of a second "awakening" or rebirth. One hole in that theory, however, is that Govinda never "dies." I put "dies" in quotation marks because all Govinda's ever been is a follower; he's never truly been his own person, and much like a parasite he seems to feed off the success and sustenance of others. In the beginning of the book, as Siddhartha realizes he must travel a different path than that of a Brahmin's son, Hesse rights "Siddhartha was going his own way; his destiny was beginning to unfold itself, and with his destiny [Govinda's]" (Hesse 6). When Gotama and Siddhartha both "die" (I say Siddhartha dies because his trying to kill himself and then immediately taking a "long sleep" only to wake up as a completely changed person is about as close to death as a character can get without actually "dying") that also represents the death of Govinda, as he has no when left to cling on to; he is essentially no one now. Siddhartha has finally wiped his slate clean, and is ready to take his final steps towards enlightenment. But all this death isn't only about the cleansing of Siddhartha's slate and the foreshadowing of his coming to enlightenment, if one were to look at the last friend of Siddhartha that remained, it would be the Ferryman. It's pretty obvious that the ferryman is closely tied to the river, if not straight up symbolizing it, and the fact that he, and the river, is all that remains after those two chapters represents the fact that those who have died still exist; much like how Hesse describes the river's eternal existence, "...the river is everywhere at the same time...the present only exists for it, not the shadow of the past, nor the shadow of the future" (Hesse 87), the people close to Siddhartha remain timeless as well. Kamala still exists within Siddhartha's son, Gotama still exists within his countless followers, Govinda, because he saved Siddhartha's life, will forever be linked to Siddhartha's reborn future. Much like the river, lives flow on and on, passing through our children, friends, and actions, without actually ending. The abundance of death in these two chapters is indicative of life's flowing eternity.
ReplyDeleteWOW I never even thought that after Vesudeva died that he'd still exist within the river. And I never even considered that everyone that died and everyone that lives is linked together. I think I was unconsciously aware that Govinda was linked to Siddhartha's survival, but I never really thought of him saving and being linked to Siddhartha reborn and his (Siddhartha's) future generations. I also agree that the river is some sort of symbol of the flow of life. However I think the river is almost like an all knowing God that prefers to sit back and watch humans and the endless samsara. (I wrote about this in by blog post!) In short I think the river is god like because it's personified as a character that sings and laughs at the foolishness and pettiness of the repeated mistakes humans make.
DeleteThe chapter Om is to me, is the most meaningful chapter in all of Siddhartha. In this chapter, Siddhartha hears and sees life in the river. The endless game of samsara plays in his son’s life, and Siddhartha watches what has become a beautiful cycle of “yearning, desiring, (and) suffering.” One of the most impressionable sections is when Hesse writes, “(Vesudeva speaking) ‘You have heard it laugh,’ he said, ‘but you have not heard anything’...The many-voiced song of the river echoed softly. Siddhartha looked into the river and saw many pictures in the flowing water. He saw his father, lonely, mourning for his son; he saw himself, lonely, also with the bonds of longing for his faraway son; he saw his son, also lonely, the boy eagerly advancing along the burning path of life’s desires; each one suffering. It sang with yearning and sadness, flowing towards its goal...The picture of his father, his own picture, and the picture of his son all flowed into each other. Kamala’s picture also appeared and flowed on, and the picture of Govinda and others emerged and passed on. They all became part of the river. It was the goal of all of them, yearning, desiring, suffering; and the river’s voice was full of longing, full of smarting woe, full of insatiable desire. The river flowed on towards its goal” (109-110). In this section, the river holds the most meaning. It’s personified into a higher (god-like)character that laughs at the foolishness of samsara. In seeing his reflection on the water, when Siddhartha was about to begin searching for his runaway son, he realizes that his son was playing the same role he had to his father when he (Siddhartha the original one) left to join the aesthetics. Now the cycle has made a full 360, and Siddhartha is now put in his father’s shoes, forced to deal with the loneliness, and forced to feel a pain similar to the one he caused his own father. In this passage, Siddhartha sees the message of the river as “All is one, one is all.” I’ve come to the conclusion that the river is Om, the word of words; Om is found by the river, so the river is everything(all the pictures are in the river). Relating the river back to the phrase “All is one, and one is all,” I mean that in the river, Siddhartha specifically sees himself, his father, and his son (they’re all the same person-they’ve all made the same mistakes), and his son is repeating wrongs Siddhartha had done in the paths of yearning, desiring and suffering. In everyone’s incompetence(at least until they realize their wrongs and realize nothing can be done to take back their actions anyways) samsara continues- young Siddhartha will not realize that he’s playing the river’s game until he’s old and is put on the other side of the situations he’s made others suffer through.
ReplyDeleteI saw the same connection between Siddhartha's son and the river. Siddhartha realizes that his son has done the same thing that he once did to his own father. Siddhartha has now traveled from being a child to being in his own fathers shoes. This really shows how long it has taken Siddhartha to reach Nirvana and the journey he has been on. The river is adressed so early on and is still being brought up in the second to last chapter of the book. I also loved that you connected Om to the river being the full cycle.
DeleteOm is the chapter the reader has desperately been waiting for. Siddhartha has finally reached Nirvana. The very subtle way he does this is by realizing that he is not as different from other people as he had liked to think. Hesse shows this when “He did not understand or share their thoughts and views, but he shared with them life’s urges and desires, most importantly, the desire to love and be loved” (130). It was the frustration of this desire that made Siddhartha so aware of his own power. Siddhartha learned to identify with other people by identifying with their own suffering. Through suffering, Siddhartha was able to see himself on the same level with other human beings. Although, traditional Buddhist view wants people to broaden their path for identification so that they can avoid suffering. Instead, Siddhartha’s path to peace continues by understanding that he is the type of person who can suffer and experience joy. He no longer views himself as above all things and one who can’t have certain things like love or lust. Siddhartha’s final step in reaching Nirvana is understanding he is no better than anyone else. He once believed that love and lust was for the child people and that they were stupid enough to fall in love. Now Siddhartha realizes that he is much like the child people after he falls for Kamala. Understanding that he is equal to others is the last step in reaching Nirvana.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it was through suffering that Siddhartha was able to level himself with others and escape his ego. I also thought that it was interesting how traditional Buddhist views try to avoid suffering and Siddhartha was only able to reach enlightenment through suffering. This reminds me of the conversation we had last class about if we can reach enlightenment in today's society. My group brought up a good point that the path to enlightenment and the meaning of enlightenment is different for everyone and Siddhartha's path to enlightenment just happened to involve suffering. Siddhartha is also seen diverging from the recommended path to pursue his own basically the whole entire book. This is probably another core message Hesse was trying to tell us. Each path to enlightenment and what it means is unique to each person.
DeleteIn the chapter “The Son¨ the idea of there being sort of a circle of life is shown. Siddhartha's journey to enlightenment starts coming to an end and his son is just starting his. We all know that Siddhartha learned that you must create your own path to inner peace. He strongly believes in this idea. The author uses a little bit of situational irony because as readers we all think that Siddhartha will encourage his son to pick his own path. Instead Siddhartha wants him to stay with him and the ferryman. The ferryman says “He's no longer a child, he can take care of himself. He is seeking the path to town, and he is right, do not forget that. He is doing what you yourself have failed to do. He is taking care of himself, he is going his own way.¨ (109) His son treats him horribly and doesn't like the life that Siddhartha is living. The ferryman is reminding him that this is what young Siddhartha must do. This reminds me of when Siddhartha left the Brahmins and his father was disappointed that he didn't want to follow the teachings and live up to his father's status. HIs father not only wanted him to live the life of a Brahmin but he also loved him and wanted what was best for him. As a reader we can see that Siddhartha truly loves his son. At the beginning of the novel, Hesse creates Siddhartha into a character that we think will never be able to love anyone, but himself. Along the way to enlightenment, he learns the importance of love and he starts to become more like the child people. “Indeed, he had never been able to lose himself completely to another person, forget himself, commit follies of love for someone else. He had never been able to do these things, and this struck his as the great gap between him and the child people...Siddhartha, too, had become a child person...a fool for love.¨ (107) Siddhartha forgets what he believes in and focuses on the love he has for his son. He is able to see through his beliefs, just like the child people see through flaws and differences, but continue to love.
ReplyDeleteIn the chapter Om, Hesse uses the theme of suffering to demonstrate unity among all things. As Siddhartha is suffering over the loss of his son, he hears the river laughing at him and looks at the river to see his face. However, he also noticed that his face also, “resembled the face of his father.” (Hesse 102). This shows how, just like his father, Siddhartha is mourning the loss of his son and this creates unity between Siddhartha and his father. This also give Siddhartha the more equalizing quality of suffering, which everyone goes through, helping him become more united with the people and things around him because he can relate to them. Later on, in Govinda, Siddhartha tells Govinda, “Time is not real... and if time is not real, then the gap that seems to exist between the world and eternity, between suffering and bliss, between good and evil, is also an illusion.” (Hesse 110). It is in this moment that Siddhartha is shown saying that everything is equal and in unity with one another. He also demonstrates that he has escaped his ego, because he has nothing to compare himself to if everything is equal. Overall, it is because of Siddhartha’s moment of suffering, that he found unity between himself and his father and that everything else is united as well.
ReplyDeleteI agree when you say suffering was a theme in this last chapter. I also want to point out that suffering leads to healing and happiness. Which happened to Siddhartha. He was in pain about his son and without dealing with this suffering, he would have never reached his Om. Which i think is very important to keep in mind when reading Siddhartha. Without suffering, we would never know what happiness and Om is.
DeleteIn this chapter, Om, Siddhartha finally finds nirvana and true peace, the part that every reader is painfully waiting for, is a point where he comes to a realization that he is not some God above everyone else, he too, is like the child people. Hesse wrote “their greed, their vanity, their silliness had lost their silliness for him, became understandable, became even venerable to him” (Hesse 113). This is a prime example of how all the things he despised in the world around him, Siddhartha now understood, for he had experienced it in finding his own path to enlightenment. In the earlier chapter he considered many people ‘child people’, someone who is below him, not as worthy, less complex, not as advanced as him. In this chapter he sees them as quite similar to himself. Siddhartha thinks, “...powerfully triumphant drives and desires were no longer infantile for Siddhartha” (Hesse 113). He no longer thought of their lives as childish ways, for he too felt pain, longing to be loved, as well as greed, vulnerability and loss in the fight to survive, all of which he had explored down his path, this was all part of everyone's journey down the road to salvation. To find all these things he could not just be taught by someone else, but coughs only be taught by experiencing a certain set of actions. “I am not joking. I am telling you what I have sound. Knowledge can be communicated, but not wisdom” (Hesse 124). Overall Siddhartha comes to a realization that his self-centered being had overcome his feeling of superiority over others by deciding that he is just like everyone else, experiences pain, love and desire.
ReplyDeleteReading these last two chapters of Siddhartha really reminded me of the
ReplyDeleteTranscendentalism theory. Like Siddhartha found his Om in the River. “ And everything together, all the voices, all the goals, all the striving, all the suffering, all the pleasure-everything together was the river of what is, the music of life.” (Hesse 105). This corresponds with what the transcendentalist would think. They often thought going out and living and being apart of nature is how you reach happiness. SIddhartha did this when he finally realized what the River meant and was saying to him. Along with this, Siddhartha would have been shamed for his materialistic life. Thoreau lived out in the forest in order to live out a purposeful life because he felt what he was doing had no purpose. This is like Siddhartha at the beginning of the book when he first decides to go on his journey to find his Om. However, Siddhartha went through many stages of his life in order to reach his final Om. Whereas Thoreau had decided to move to the forest and live with nature in order to find his Om. A huge comparison of the two is “The waterfall, the lake, the rapids, the sea, and all the goals were reached; and each was followed by a nw one, and the water became vapor and climbed into the sky, became rain and crashed down from the sky, became springs, brooks, became a river, strove onward again, flowed anew. But the passionate voice had changed..... Voices of joy and suffering, good and evil, laughing and lamenting voices, a hundred, a thousand voices.” (105). Hesse is talking about nature and how Siddhartha sees nature differently now. This was a huge idea of transcendentalism.
what did siddhartha mean by ¨I had to sin in order to live again¨
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