Siddhartha Socratic Seminar Questions
Christine Gao #6
K. Kassakatis
C&C Honors World Literature
17 September 2015
Siddhartha Socratic Seminar Questions
1. While Siddhartha’s journey is uniquely his own, it is also everyone’s journey. What connections to Siddhartha’s journey toward shaping and understanding his identity can you see within your own?
Siddhartha’s life journey is representative of the worldly human desire to find meaning and success within oneself.
Everyone’s journey is basically the same because they all require a certain drive tofind what is right for them. The intention to chase is the same; only the actual pursuit isdifferent. “A thought rose…the reason why Siddhartha has remainedalien and unknown to myself is due to one thing, to one single thing – I was afraidof myself, I was fleeing from myself. I was seeking Brahman, Atman, I wished todestroy myself, in order to find in the unknown innermost…by doing so, I lostmyself on the way (31)”.Concrete Detail #2: …show more content…
What is your interpretation of the death of Kamala’s rare songbird?
The death of the Kamala’s songbird symbolizes Siddhartha’s future; his isolation and potential death trapped within the city. The songbird within the cage represents the entrapment felt by Siddhartha in his endless cycle of Samsara, trapped by materialistic desires and values. When Kamala releases the bird upon hearing of Siddhartha’s absence, this represents the freedom Siddhartha has found in his decision to leave behind the sickly wealth of the city.
- “Kamala kept a small rare songbird in a small golden cage. It was about this bird that he dreamt… The little bird was dead and lay stiff on the floor. He took it out… and then threw it away on the road, and at the same moment he was horrified and his heart ached as if he had thrown away with this dead bird all that was good and of value in himself.” (p.82)
- “When she heard the first news of Siddhartha’s disappearance, she went to the window where the kept the rare songbird in a golden cage.”
K. Kassakatis
C&C Honors World Literature
17 September 2015
Siddhartha Socratic Seminar Questions
1. While Siddhartha’s journey is uniquely his own, it is also everyone’s journey. What connections to Siddhartha’s journey toward shaping and understanding his identity can you see within your own?
Siddhartha’s life journey is representative of the worldly human desire to find meaning and success within oneself.
Everyone’s journey is basically the same because they all require a certain drive tofind what is right for them. The intention to chase is the same; only the actual pursuit isdifferent. “A thought rose…the reason why Siddhartha has remainedalien and unknown to myself is due to one thing, to one single thing – I was afraidof myself, I was fleeing from myself. I was seeking Brahman, Atman, I wished todestroy myself, in order to find in the unknown innermost…by doing so, I lostmyself on the way (31)”.Concrete Detail #2: …show more content…
What is your interpretation of the death of Kamala’s rare songbird?
The death of the Kamala’s songbird symbolizes Siddhartha’s future; his isolation and potential death trapped within the city. The songbird within the cage represents the entrapment felt by Siddhartha in his endless cycle of Samsara, trapped by materialistic desires and values. When Kamala releases the bird upon hearing of Siddhartha’s absence, this represents the freedom Siddhartha has found in his decision to leave behind the sickly wealth of the city.
- “Kamala kept a small rare songbird in a small golden cage. It was about this bird that he dreamt… The little bird was dead and lay stiff on the floor. He took it out… and then threw it away on the road, and at the same moment he was horrified and his heart ached as if he had thrown away with this dead bird all that was good and of value in himself.” (p.82)
- “When she heard the first news of Siddhartha’s disappearance, she went to the window where the kept the rare songbird in a golden cage.”