Siddhartha- Herman Hesse

This past summer, I read the novel Siddhartha, which was written by Nobel Prize-winning author Hermann Hesse. Siddhartha, the Brahmin's son, is a very talented and blessed young man, but struggles in his pursuit of greater knowledge and inner peace. After much deliberation, Siddhartha and his loyal friend Govinda join a group of samanas and leave all pleasures behind. After years of suffering, the two colleagues encounter the Buddha and listen to his teachings. Siddhartha is wildly impressed but still lacks the faith that the Buddha's teachings will give him ultimate satisfaction. He departs on a different journey while Govinda stays behind. Siddhartha eventually settles into a new life of riches and becomes acquainted with Kamaswami, a wealthy merchant, and Kamala, a beautiful courtesan. He soon realizes the folly of his ways and considers committing suicide, but suddenly hears "Om," the sound of perfection. Siddhartha chooses to live with Vasudeva, a simple ferryman, and dies peacefully in the presence of Govinda.

Hesse manages to keep Siddhartha flowing through his impressive yet crisp vocabulary choices. The descriptions of the protagonist's thoughts are lengthy and complex, but never overbearing. Hesse shows the growth of Siddhartha from a young, restless adolescent into a peaceful old man. Siddhartha goes through many trials and Hesse clearly conveys his message that one must go through several trials and experiences before attaining peace and contentment. Govinda also grows throughout the novel as he emerges from Siddhartha's shadow and lives a happy life of his own. The development of each character is very realistic, and makes the character-driven novel an enjoyable read. An interesting element of Siddhartha is that dialogue is seldom used. In the Ancient India described in the book, individuals rarely spoke unless they had something important to say. It was only suitable for Hesse to save dialogue for important situations. When utilized, the dialogue fits in seamlessly and adds dimensions to characters.

There are three passages in Siddhartha that I found particularly interesting:

"Although Siddhartha fled from the Self a thousand times, dwelt in nothing, dwelt in animal and stone, the return was inevitable; the hour was inevitable when he would again find himself, in sunshine or in moonlight, in shadow or in rain, and was again Self and Siddhartha, again felt the torment of the onerous life cycle." (16) This quotation captures the despair felt by Siddhartha. It shows that this experience with the ascetics will be valuable, but will never grant him true peace. At this stage, I couldn't help but feel that Siddhartha needed to accept the world and believed that even though he gave up worldly pleasures, he still displayed selfishness in a hopeless quest.

"It seemed to him that he had spent his life in a worthless and senseless manner; he retained nothing vital, nothing in any way precious or worth while. He stood alone, like a shipwrecked man on the shore." (82) This quotation is perfectly written, which gives it great appeal. Siddhartha was once content with hoarding riches, but will not cease to search for perfection.

"Knowledge can be communicated, but not wisdom." (142) Govinda has once again returned to Siddhartha's side, and he inquires as to whether Siddhartha has created a doctrine. Siddhartha, now at peace, delivers this thought-provoking statement. This gives us the impression that his journey has reached its conclusion.