Siddhartha Journey

The story follows him from young adulthood into his elderly years, and among the many paths he chooses. There many times you see Siddhartha stumble, pick himself up, and try again. Hesse is making the point that enlightenment does not come quickly, it does not come easily, and it does not come without making mistakes. The book opens with Siddhartha in his home town. It is here we learn Siddhartha is blessed and cursed with being the town's “prince of Brahmins.”(6) Most readers would agree that the town's people would be shocked to hear that Siddhartha became anything less than a legend. We see that he is well educated, and has the hunger to learn all he can. By all appearances, Siddhartha is living the perfect life, even his best friend, Govinda, hero worships him. Hermann Hesse reveals that he is discontented, living behind a mask. He goes through the motions of “offering and invoking the gods,”(8) all the while questioning if, this way of life is going to help him achieve inner peace. These thoughts and questions slowly haunt him. Siddhartha flounders for an answers he is not ready to receive. Instead of realizing that he needed to slow down, and not just observe the life he is leading, but become a part of it; he is convinced that living among the samanas will …show more content…
These rumors started slow at first, and soon Gautama's name was on the lips of everyone in the towns. Govinda seemed unable to contain his excitement over the chance to see this man, and to be able to learn from his teachings. Siddhartha after becoming so disappointed with teachings, didn't believe going to another teacher was going to make a difference. He gave in to Govinda because his friend was so excited, and felt that even if they didn't gain anything else out of the teachings at least they would be away from the