Silent Teacher
Teachers do not always need to have a voice to direct actions and expound intelligence. In the novel Siddhartha, by Hermann Hesse, the river serves as a guide that assists Siddhartha on his path to enlightenment. Throughout the book, the river represents something in the outside world that makes Siddhartha grow, but also separate him. By separating Siddhartha’s life into the new Siddhartha and the old, the river shows the growth and change that Siddhartha experiences throughout his entire journey from the teachings of the river.
In the first chapter, Siddhartha spends a lot of time at the river. He learns from the river and it becomes a part of his daily routine. Siddhartha is “thirsty for knowledge” (pg 2) and gains this knowledge that he craves so much from the river. He listens quietly while “bathing at the holy ablutions, at the holy sacrifices” (pg 1). The river is where he practices prayer and gains insight about the world. His “dreams and restless thoughts came flowing to him from the river” (pg 3). The river is a teacher; Siddhartha sits and listens to it as if it is always telling him something new …show more content…
Siddhartha learns a lot from the river but it also separates him from good and bad, the Brahmins and Kamala, and conscious unawareness and awareness. Rivers separate two land masses, and in the novel, the river separates the different wants of Siddhartha. The river differentiates “Siddhartha the boy, Siddhartha the mature man and Siddhartha the old man” (pg 86). Siddhartha needs guidance and clarity in his life and the river separating two different portions of himself teaches him how to finally reach enlightenment. As a young boy, Siddhartha does not learn to appreciate the river and its powers but “the new Siddhartha felt a deep love for this flowing water” (pg 81). By disconnecting Siddhartha’s life into different phases, (the old and new
Teachers do not always need to have a voice to direct actions and expound intelligence. In the novel Siddhartha, by Hermann Hesse, the river serves as a guide that assists Siddhartha on his path to enlightenment. Throughout the book, the river represents something in the outside world that makes Siddhartha grow, but also separate him. By separating Siddhartha’s life into the new Siddhartha and the old, the river shows the growth and change that Siddhartha experiences throughout his entire journey from the teachings of the river.
In the first chapter, Siddhartha spends a lot of time at the river. He learns from the river and it becomes a part of his daily routine. Siddhartha is “thirsty for knowledge” (pg 2) and gains this knowledge that he craves so much from the river. He listens quietly while “bathing at the holy ablutions, at the holy sacrifices” (pg 1). The river is where he practices prayer and gains insight about the world. His “dreams and restless thoughts came flowing to him from the river” (pg 3). The river is a teacher; Siddhartha sits and listens to it as if it is always telling him something new …show more content…
Siddhartha learns a lot from the river but it also separates him from good and bad, the Brahmins and Kamala, and conscious unawareness and awareness. Rivers separate two land masses, and in the novel, the river separates the different wants of Siddhartha. The river differentiates “Siddhartha the boy, Siddhartha the mature man and Siddhartha the old man” (pg 86). Siddhartha needs guidance and clarity in his life and the river separating two different portions of himself teaches him how to finally reach enlightenment. As a young boy, Siddhartha does not learn to appreciate the river and its powers but “the new Siddhartha felt a deep love for this flowing water” (pg 81). By disconnecting Siddhartha’s life into different phases, (the old and new