Sidhartha And Antigone Analysis

Society is constructed around organizations whether they are religious, political or based on a common denominator such as a hobby. Within these groups there are goals set in place by the members, including spreading the word of their God, getting a candidate from their party elected and making it to a championship game. At times these goals are not so clear-cut and can go over the line of what a member believes to be ‘right’. In both Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha and Sophocles’ Antigone, the main characters face challenging decisions in doing what they believe to be right, even when it is not the favored view of the majority, but in the end they follow their own beliefs despite the opinions of others and the consequences they may face. In the novel Siddhartha, the main character, Siddhartha encounters

After determining that the life of the Brahmins was not fulfilling, Siddhartha decides to follow the Samanas with his best friend Govinda (Hesse, 6-11). Siddhartha and Govinda shadow the ways of the Samanas until Siddhartha announces that he will be leaving them soon (Hesse 16-20). Siddhartha and Govinda hear that they will be able to hear the Buddha, which they then decide to tell one of the eldest Samanas about their departure, and he becomes immediately upset (Hesse 20-23). This illustrates that Siddhartha followed what he believed was going to be the way to achieve ‘oneness’ despite what anyone thought. Siddhartha and Govinda go out to find the Buddha to hear his teaching, while Govinda finds comfort in it and decides to follow him; Siddhartha is not so convinced and the friends part ways (Hesse 28-34). Even though