Siddhartha

Finding meaning in the monotony of life has been the basis for countless narratives throughout the history of any culture. In Germany it took the form of the Bildungsroman, a genre that described “the ritual of transition from childhood to youth and adulthood” (Saprikina 1). In his novel, Siddhartha, Hermann Hesse illustrates the importance of a journey in the path to fulfillment through the simple and lyrically written story of the protagonist, while also criticizing man’s efforts to teach what can only be learned through personal experience.