The Pursuit Of Happiness In Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha
The wound smarted for a long time. Siddhartha took many travelers across the river who had a son or a daughter with them, and he could not see any of them without envying them, without thinking: So many people possess this very great happiness why not I?
Over time, Siddhartha became weary. Constantly taking travelers across the river was no longer appealing to him. He reflected on his life and felt something missing. Others, the childpeople of the villages he had visited in his youth, could be happy. They were content with their lives, and accepted their role as falling leaves caught in the wind. But Siddhartha was different. He still was not content with his life. Siddhartha felt that his son’s departure became the void in his life.
Siddhartha now knew of his …show more content…
father’s pain. He could hardly imagine the pain he put his father through when he spurned the Brahmin ways and left home.
Now that Siddhartha’s own son has rejected his values, Siddhartha realized that the pain that he has caused his father.
One day Siddhartha took a woman across the river. She was around the same age and seemed slightly familiar to him. After some conversation, Siddhartha realized that the woman was Govinda’s sister, Vidya, who had lived in the same village where he had grown up in. She was journeying to a friend’s wedding. When asked where Govinda, her long lost brother was,
Siddhartha simply replied that he has found himself in the ways of Gotama, the illustrious
Buddha. When Siddhartha asked about the his childhood home and his family, he was met with sadness. Vidya explained to Siddhartha that the village had greatly changed after Siddhartha’s departure. The streets were lined with poverty and after Siddhartha’s father, a religious leader in the village, passed away, the situation only got worse. The village desperately needed guidance.
At this moment, Siddhartha realized that he should go back to his roots as the cycle of Samsara dictates. Siddhartha told Vasudeva of his plans, and got ready to leave the next morning. On
his way to the shore, Siddhartha looked at his reflection in the river. For a second, he saw the wrinkles of his old, withered face transform into a face of youth and eagerness, the face he had as a child. Despite the bad situation the village was in, Siddhartha was excited to go back to his village, hoping to rekindle his passion.
As Siddhartha walked in from the village outskirts, his childhood memories came back to him. Immediately, Siddhartha saw the tree where he and his friends would play as a young child.
He became invigorated and started to walk towards his old home. However, when he reached the doorstep, he saw that his house was in ruin, raided, and looted for everything valuable. Sad and depressed, Siddhartha began to see the the deplorable state of the village.
While walking through the Village, Siddhartha was approached by a beggar.
“Excuse me, I have never seen you before. Are you new to the village.”
“I have lived here in my youth, and have decided to visit to see the village, and relive my childhood memories.”
Siddhartha saw the impoverished condition of the beggar and decided to give him the money he had brought from the journey.
The beggar was extremely surprised. He graciously accepted the donation, and asked who was the generous man, giving him all of his money.
“Thank you sir, please let me know what your name is, so I can properly thank you.”
Siddhartha thought for a moment, and told the beggar that his name was Vasudeva. He did not want anyone in the Village knowing who he was just yet.
In Siddhartha's ocean of sadness there was a drop of happiness. The villagers saw him as one of them, they didn’t acknowledge who he was. Instead he was just one of the crowd. He was reborn in this anonymity. Siddhartha felt that the day he left his life as the rich merchant was the day he had been reborn. His past life didn’t affect who he was now. Siddhartha sought to utilize this anonymity help invigorate the lives of the people in this village. He felt it was his right to give back to the place that gave him so much. Siddhartha’s life was riddled with selfish desires and worldly possessions, but now he had realized that to detach oneself from worldly possessions, one must help those in needs. He had a new purpose in life: to serve those in need to the best of his ability.
As Siddhartha pondered over his plans to help those in the village, he noticed an old man walking towards hims. The man fondly reminded him of Govinda. Perhaps it was Govinda
,Siddhartha wondered he realized that it was indeed his old friend, but his old friend had surrendered to time. The concept that time is irrelevant was demonstrated on Govinda’s familiar feature, and on Siddhartha's body.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you my friend”, said Govinda. His voice was that of a man who found true happiness.
“We won’t be apart anymore Govinda”, replied Siddhartha. He had plans of having
Govinda help him give back to the village.
“We both have lived our lives as Samanas and felt the joys of the world, it is now that we help this village rise from the embers of the past”.
“And so he went away. Siddhartha watched him. With great joy and gravity he watched him. With great joy and gravity he watched him, saw his steps full of peace, his face glowing, his form full of light”(137).
Rubric for Siddhartha Resolution Chapters
1617 Points
1819 Points
2022 Points
2325 Points
It is not apparent There is one or more that you have significant read the novel. inconsistency with what the reader knows about the plot, characters and themes of the novel.
There may be a minor inconsistency with what the reader knows about the plot, characters and themes of the novel. The chapter is consistent with what the reader knows about the plot, characters and themes of the novel.
Hesse’s style is not used at all.
There are significant deviations from
Hesse’s style.
There is an obvious effort to consistently imitate Hesse’s style, but there are some minor deviations. The writing style consistently reflects Hesse’s work. Symbols or motifs are not incorporated at all. Symbols or motifs may be incorporated but they may not help to convey a theme.
Symbols or motifs are incorporated and help to convey an important theme of the novel.
Symbols and motifs are incorporated deftly and help to convey an important theme of the novel.
There is no closure to the journey. There closure to the journey may be unclear. The chapter provides closure to the journey, but it may not convey a theme consistent with the rest of the novel. The chapter obviously provides closure to
Siddhartha’s
journey that conveys a theme consistent with the rest of the novel.
Errors in grammar, usage, mechanics and spelling interfere with meaning.
There are many errors in grammar, usage, mechanics and spelling.
There are few errors in grammar, usage, mechanics and spelling. There are very few or no errors in grammar, usage, mechanics and spelling. I like the effort to be creative and bring in a new character, but I’m not sure this fits with what we know about the characters. 21/25
Over time, Siddhartha became weary. Constantly taking travelers across the river was no longer appealing to him. He reflected on his life and felt something missing. Others, the childpeople of the villages he had visited in his youth, could be happy. They were content with their lives, and accepted their role as falling leaves caught in the wind. But Siddhartha was different. He still was not content with his life. Siddhartha felt that his son’s departure became the void in his life.
Siddhartha now knew of his …show more content…
father’s pain. He could hardly imagine the pain he put his father through when he spurned the Brahmin ways and left home.
Now that Siddhartha’s own son has rejected his values, Siddhartha realized that the pain that he has caused his father.
One day Siddhartha took a woman across the river. She was around the same age and seemed slightly familiar to him. After some conversation, Siddhartha realized that the woman was Govinda’s sister, Vidya, who had lived in the same village where he had grown up in. She was journeying to a friend’s wedding. When asked where Govinda, her long lost brother was,
Siddhartha simply replied that he has found himself in the ways of Gotama, the illustrious
Buddha. When Siddhartha asked about the his childhood home and his family, he was met with sadness. Vidya explained to Siddhartha that the village had greatly changed after Siddhartha’s departure. The streets were lined with poverty and after Siddhartha’s father, a religious leader in the village, passed away, the situation only got worse. The village desperately needed guidance.
At this moment, Siddhartha realized that he should go back to his roots as the cycle of Samsara dictates. Siddhartha told Vasudeva of his plans, and got ready to leave the next morning. On
his way to the shore, Siddhartha looked at his reflection in the river. For a second, he saw the wrinkles of his old, withered face transform into a face of youth and eagerness, the face he had as a child. Despite the bad situation the village was in, Siddhartha was excited to go back to his village, hoping to rekindle his passion.
As Siddhartha walked in from the village outskirts, his childhood memories came back to him. Immediately, Siddhartha saw the tree where he and his friends would play as a young child.
He became invigorated and started to walk towards his old home. However, when he reached the doorstep, he saw that his house was in ruin, raided, and looted for everything valuable. Sad and depressed, Siddhartha began to see the the deplorable state of the village.
While walking through the Village, Siddhartha was approached by a beggar.
“Excuse me, I have never seen you before. Are you new to the village.”
“I have lived here in my youth, and have decided to visit to see the village, and relive my childhood memories.”
Siddhartha saw the impoverished condition of the beggar and decided to give him the money he had brought from the journey.
The beggar was extremely surprised. He graciously accepted the donation, and asked who was the generous man, giving him all of his money.
“Thank you sir, please let me know what your name is, so I can properly thank you.”
Siddhartha thought for a moment, and told the beggar that his name was Vasudeva. He did not want anyone in the Village knowing who he was just yet.
In Siddhartha's ocean of sadness there was a drop of happiness. The villagers saw him as one of them, they didn’t acknowledge who he was. Instead he was just one of the crowd. He was reborn in this anonymity. Siddhartha felt that the day he left his life as the rich merchant was the day he had been reborn. His past life didn’t affect who he was now. Siddhartha sought to utilize this anonymity help invigorate the lives of the people in this village. He felt it was his right to give back to the place that gave him so much. Siddhartha’s life was riddled with selfish desires and worldly possessions, but now he had realized that to detach oneself from worldly possessions, one must help those in needs. He had a new purpose in life: to serve those in need to the best of his ability.
As Siddhartha pondered over his plans to help those in the village, he noticed an old man walking towards hims. The man fondly reminded him of Govinda. Perhaps it was Govinda
,Siddhartha wondered he realized that it was indeed his old friend, but his old friend had surrendered to time. The concept that time is irrelevant was demonstrated on Govinda’s familiar feature, and on Siddhartha's body.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you my friend”, said Govinda. His voice was that of a man who found true happiness.
“We won’t be apart anymore Govinda”, replied Siddhartha. He had plans of having
Govinda help him give back to the village.
“We both have lived our lives as Samanas and felt the joys of the world, it is now that we help this village rise from the embers of the past”.
“And so he went away. Siddhartha watched him. With great joy and gravity he watched him. With great joy and gravity he watched him, saw his steps full of peace, his face glowing, his form full of light”(137).
Rubric for Siddhartha Resolution Chapters
1617 Points
1819 Points
2022 Points
2325 Points
It is not apparent There is one or more that you have significant read the novel. inconsistency with what the reader knows about the plot, characters and themes of the novel.
There may be a minor inconsistency with what the reader knows about the plot, characters and themes of the novel. The chapter is consistent with what the reader knows about the plot, characters and themes of the novel.
Hesse’s style is not used at all.
There are significant deviations from
Hesse’s style.
There is an obvious effort to consistently imitate Hesse’s style, but there are some minor deviations. The writing style consistently reflects Hesse’s work. Symbols or motifs are not incorporated at all. Symbols or motifs may be incorporated but they may not help to convey a theme.
Symbols or motifs are incorporated and help to convey an important theme of the novel.
Symbols and motifs are incorporated deftly and help to convey an important theme of the novel.
There is no closure to the journey. There closure to the journey may be unclear. The chapter provides closure to the journey, but it may not convey a theme consistent with the rest of the novel. The chapter obviously provides closure to
Siddhartha’s
journey that conveys a theme consistent with the rest of the novel.
Errors in grammar, usage, mechanics and spelling interfere with meaning.
There are many errors in grammar, usage, mechanics and spelling.
There are few errors in grammar, usage, mechanics and spelling. There are very few or no errors in grammar, usage, mechanics and spelling. I like the effort to be creative and bring in a new character, but I’m not sure this fits with what we know about the characters. 21/25