Hesse Analysis Paper
Kera Kojima
UCOR 1410: Marx, Nietzsche, and Freud
Dr. Kangas
November 22, 2014
Since the beginning of the novel we see evidence of Haller’s suicidal tendencies, it is not caused by depression, but by his obsessive animosity of the bourgeois. He states, "For what I always hated and detested and cursed above all things was this contentment, this healthiness and comfort, this carefully preserved optimism of the middle classes, this fat and prosperous brood of mediocrity."(18) Haller despises what the bourgeoisie’s society represents; conformity, empty values, petty pleasure, and empty intellectualism. Haller feels the need to separate himself from the inferior race, but is also alienated from them due to his mental state; Steppenwolf haunts his soul with guilt and evil, similar to an uncontrollable id. Haller fears being labeled as a schizophrenic and isolates himself from society; he enjoys the distance from bourgeois. Haller can be seen as a Nietzschean outsider, in the bourgeois society. Hesse compares the bourgeoisies to a heard of sheep among free wolves. He states “the vital force of the bourgeoisie resides by no means in the qualities of its normal members, but in those of its extremely numerous “outsiders” who by virtue of the …show more content…
The wolf in him considers “all human activities [to be] horridly absurd and misplaces, stupid and vain”(24). The wolf exists in opposition to the human. Nietzsche believes nihilism is “the radical repudiation of value, meaning, and desirability”(The Will to Power), the rejection of all religious and moral principles. He is against religion, philosophy and morals because it alienates the individual from their true self. The wolf represents a self-centered approach whose goal is to attain pleasure. The human side is responsible for bourgeois principles such as, morality, order, and
Kera Kojima
UCOR 1410: Marx, Nietzsche, and Freud
Dr. Kangas
November 22, 2014
Since the beginning of the novel we see evidence of Haller’s suicidal tendencies, it is not caused by depression, but by his obsessive animosity of the bourgeois. He states, "For what I always hated and detested and cursed above all things was this contentment, this healthiness and comfort, this carefully preserved optimism of the middle classes, this fat and prosperous brood of mediocrity."(18) Haller despises what the bourgeoisie’s society represents; conformity, empty values, petty pleasure, and empty intellectualism. Haller feels the need to separate himself from the inferior race, but is also alienated from them due to his mental state; Steppenwolf haunts his soul with guilt and evil, similar to an uncontrollable id. Haller fears being labeled as a schizophrenic and isolates himself from society; he enjoys the distance from bourgeois. Haller can be seen as a Nietzschean outsider, in the bourgeois society. Hesse compares the bourgeoisies to a heard of sheep among free wolves. He states “the vital force of the bourgeoisie resides by no means in the qualities of its normal members, but in those of its extremely numerous “outsiders” who by virtue of the …show more content…
The wolf in him considers “all human activities [to be] horridly absurd and misplaces, stupid and vain”(24). The wolf exists in opposition to the human. Nietzsche believes nihilism is “the radical repudiation of value, meaning, and desirability”(The Will to Power), the rejection of all religious and moral principles. He is against religion, philosophy and morals because it alienates the individual from their true self. The wolf represents a self-centered approach whose goal is to attain pleasure. The human side is responsible for bourgeois principles such as, morality, order, and