Motif Analysis Of Herman Hesse's Siddhartha

Motif Analysis In his 1922 novel Siddhartha, Herman Hesse utilizes the motif of water and rivers to represent Samsara, the divine cycle of rebirth driven by desire, and reveals his belief of independence and self-awareness as the path to enlightenment. In the novel, a river is mentioned when Siddhartha is at an enlightened point in his life, when his is following his own path and practicing balance.
The story opens “in the sunshine on the river…”(Hesse 3) and in that scene Siddhartha is described as being “at one with the universe” (Hesse 4). Siddhartha's childhood home is near a river, and Hesse describes the child Siddhartha as respected and aware. At this point in his life Siddhartha is also more independent, he routinely questions authority. He also leaves behind his father and the other Brahmins who were his teachers to find enlightenment, which shows his self-determination and desire for an enlightenment that isn’t driven by other’s teachings. This pattern of a river being mentioned whenever Siddartha at more enlightened and independent stage of his journey is repeated by Hesse throughout the entire book.
On the next steps of his journey, as an …show more content…
Not is it reached by total immersion, because Siddhartha’s time as a rich merchant only leaves him soul-sick. It cannot be achieved through teaching because, as Hesse says, wisdom is not communicable. Therefore, Siddhartha is unable to learn enlightenment from the Buddha Gotama. The pattern of the water motif and enlightenment in the story, from Siddhartha's childhood to his decision to strike out own his own to his realization that sensual immersion was a bad choice, shows that Siddhartha is most enlightened when he is practicing independence and not following others. In this way, Hesse uses Siddhartha's journey this way to espouse his personal belief that independence and awareness is the root of