Siddhartha: A Journey Towards Enlightenment

(don't forget to write a catchy title)

in the world there different types of religions and spiritualities; in this book herman hesse uses a mixture of hinduism and buddhism .The author of the book is Herman Hesse he is famous for writing many books like Siddharta and if often criticized for certain things he did in the book. The main characters are Siddhartha, Siddhartha's father, Govinda, Kamala, siddhartha JR., Vesudeva, and Kamaswami. In this book Siddhartha is a rich man who feels like there is more to life, so he goes on a journey in search of enlightenment. In Siddhartha the theme is it you truly love something you must let it go and Herman Hesse develops this theme by plot sequence, characterization, and symbolism.

In the book there

are multiple places where plot sequence supports the thesis. Siddhartha was born into a rich family: he has never been satisfied with his life and has always had the feeling that there is something more to life:
You will go into the forest and become a Samana.

If you find bliss in the forest, come back and teach it to me. if you find disillusionment, come back and we shall again offer sacrifices to the gods together. Now go, kiss your mother and tell her where you are going. for me, however, it is time to go to the river and perform the first ablution.”( Herman 12)
He had to leave and find what he has been craving so greatly for a big portion of his life. He might of left his father, but that does not mean he did not love his father, he loved his father a great deal; however did he love his father too much?

Characterization displays the different relationships between the characters and shows the
love certain characters have for each other. Siddhartha loves his son very much, but sadly this love brings out the worst in his son:
Bring your own twigs, he shouted, foaming. i am not your servant. i know that you do not beat me; you dare not! i know, however, that you continually punish me and make me feel small with your piety and indulgence. you want me to become like you, so pious, so gentle, so wise, but just to spite you, i would rather become a thief and a murderer and go to hell, than be like you. i hate you; you are not my father even if you have been my mother’s lover a dozen times!” (hesse

12)
this terrible erratic behavior that siddhartha jr. shows upsets his father very much: however he would never dream of laying a finger on his child. shortly after this conversation Siddhartha jr. runs away from his father and Siddhartha goes to look after him. Siddhartha never does find his son, he stops looking for his son. He knew that his son was too far gone into the world of riches and guilty pleasures. He loved his son too much to watch him suffer and be unhappy living with him on the boat.

symbolism shows the deep, hidden meaning that can be very valuable to understand. Siddhartha and kamala have a conversation where they discuss that they are not normal people and can not love. there seems to be a repetitive comparison of siddhartha to a bird. “ when she heard the first news of siddhartha’s disappearance, she 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 85) earlier in the chapter siddhartha dreams about Kamala's songbird and later this bird is let go by kamala. the bird is siddhartha symbolically there are other references to bird in the later chapters of this book.