Siddhartha is an interwar novel by Hermann Hesse. It was originally published in Germany in 1922, but was later published in America in 1951. The novel takes place between the fourth and seventh centuries BCE.
The novel, Siddhartha, displays the troubles faced throughout Siddhartha’s life on his journey to find spiritual understanding of himself and the world. As a boy, Siddhartha was born a respected Brahmin; however, he begins to doubt that the religious practices of the group will help him achieve peace. Therefore, he leaves to find a different path toward nirvana. He sees a wandering group of almost naked beggars, Samanas, looking for food and decides to experience …show more content…
On his new journey, Siddhartha comes across a river and a friendly ferryman, Vasudeva, who gives him a ride to the nearest city. Kamala, a courtesan, greets Siddhartha in the city and teaches him about love. A local merchant, Kamaswami, teaches Siddhartha how to be a businessman, and Siddhartha soon becomes wealthy. After many years of living an affluent life, Siddhartha recognizes that he is unhappy but continues to live a life of sex, gambling, and alcohol. After reaching rock bottom Siddhartha has a dream through which he understands that his current lifestyle is not providing him with the enlightenment he has been longing for. He leaves the city and returns to the river. At this point Siddhartha considers drowning himself, but ends up falling asleep on the bank. When Siddhartha wakes up he senses the peace he has been looking for within Vasudeva. Vasudeva shares how he has attained enlightenment and Siddhartha eventually finds nirvana through years of studying the river.
Throughout Siddhartha, Hesse utilizes Govina and Vasudeva as important major characters. Govinda and Siddhartha are childhood friends, but their bond stretches …show more content…
In the novel it is referred to as, “Nirvana,” but Siddhartha’s opinions on how, or if, it’s attainable, shift throughout the novel. The second most important theme would be discovering and utilizing his self-worth. Siddhartha, in the beginning, leaves home so that he can find Nirvana without the assistance of any material object or person. At different times, he becomes too aggressive in trying to find Nirvana, too proud of his self-awareness/intelligence, and too greedy with materialistic matters. The third theme is the man with nature. Throughout the story nature spiritually (and physically) guides him and ultimately ends up being the final lesson for him to reach unity. Lastly, the correlation between experience and knowledge is our fourth theme. Although Siddhartha was intellectual from the start, he didn’t have enough experience to solidify some of his thoughts. He used his logical thinking to reason through situations. Later on, he explored his emotional senses and naturally started using both his head and