Siddhartha Analysis Paper

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Time does not exist; love is eternal; death brings peace. Siddhartha illustrates each of these themes in the novel, Siddhartha. Throughout his life, Siddhartha is very independent. For example, Siddhartha demonstrates self-determination when he leaves his overbearing father “to begin the life of the Samanas” (Hesse 10). There, he escapes from the physical world to soon realize that enlightenment cannot come from ignoring the world around him. He decides to follow the Buddha and learn his teachings; however, he is unsuccessful. As Siddhartha goes through his unaccompanied journey towards Enlightenment, he comes to realize that he must let his loved ones go and “that each man must find the way by himself” (Malthaner 3). Foolishly, he falls for a young prostitute named Kamala; once they grow old the love dies and Siddhartha leaves. Siddhartha comprehends the fact that in order to grasp Enlightenment, one must love everything rather than possess individualistic love. After leaving Kamala, Siddhartha falls into depression. At this time he feels empty and saddened by what he perceives to be wasted time. Upon reaching a river, he leans in to take his life. Suddenly, the holy “om” brings him to his senses, and he remembers that Enlightenment is more important than death. Furthermore, he recognizes that time does not exist, and that he must become completely empty to start a new life—this concept plays in to the theme “mortality”. Kamala later returns to Siddhartha’s life by coincidence; she gets bitten by a deadly snake and passes away. Surprisingly, Siddhartha’s heart does not feel sorrow. Instead, Siddhartha feels peaceful knowing that she has reached Enlightenment, and that she will come back in a new life. In the novel, Siddhartha by ...

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...nd mortality in order to portray Siddhartha’s journey to Enlightenment. Time, love, and mortality all share one unique characteristic—they are all eternal. Throughout Siddhartha’s journey, he looses love; however he does not feel sorrow for he knows love is everlasting. While loosing love, he encounters death, and again feels no distress. Siddhartha learns one will soon return in another life—mortality. Not only are death and love endless, but also time shares this representative. As Siddhartha grows, he seems to struggle with the aspect of time until he realizes time is does not exist. Time is immortal. “Death is not an event in life: we do not live to experience death. If we take eternity to mean not infinite temporal duration but timelessness, then eternal life belongs to those who live in the present” (“Brainy Quotes” 1). Time, love, and mortality are infinite.

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