In the first part of Herman Hesse’s Siddhartha, it details the journey that Siddartha goes through with Govinda in their search for Enlightenment. Towards the end of the first part, Siddartha is one step closer to Enlightenment due to his character and view of the world. It is his thoughtfulness and determination to achieve this goal and his shifting view of the world throughout this part that allows him to awaken at the end and realize how he can attain his ultimate goal.
Siddhartha’s character is presented as a thinker who is willing to question all that he knows and explore different ideas in order to achieve Enlightenment. This presents itself in the first chapter of the novel in which Siddhartha poses the thought, “did he live in bliss, was he at peace?” (Hesse 6). He realizes that the teachings of the Brahmins could never fulfill his “thirst” for peace if they could not do so for a Brahmin as pure and wise as his father. By being able to have such thoughts, it reveals his overall character as a determined thinker. Siddhartha is able to look past all his teachings and beliefs that he was raised with and reject them in order to find the method that will best help him attain his goal. He does not blindly follow others, but actively challenges any belief that he views as false. This is further supported by his rejection of the Buddha’s teachings and teachers in general towards the end of the first part of the novel, despite the massive amount of followers the Buddha possesses. He is also presented to be a persistent and patient man. This is evident when Siddhartha’s father “…came again from hour to hour, silent, peered into the room, saw the unmoved stander…” (Hesse 10). He did not give in and was persistent yet patient with his father until his father allowed him to join the ascetics. It is his thoughtfulness, determination, persistence, and patience that become essential for his spiritual awakening. At first, the world and others around Siddhartha fill him with a sense of dissatisfaction and outrage, but throughout the first part turns into admiration and amazement. While he was with the Brahmins, he felt dissatisfied by the people around him and the teachings he had. He presents the thought that “he had started feeling that his father’s love, and his mother’s love, and also his friend Govinda’s love would not make him happy forever and always, not please him…” (Hesse 5). By allowing the readers into his thoughts, it allows for the understanding that he is not content with anything in his life. He desired peace and knowledge, which he could not find while in the world of the Brahmins. …show more content…
Due to his thoughtfulness and determination from the beginning, he was able to reject false ideas that would have led him astray from the path towards Enlightenment and allowed him to have an awakening to what the next step is. His shifting views of a world full of bitterness to one of beauty was another key in his step towards Enlightenment by providing him with the knowledge of what teachings were not the path he needed to take. It was his overall character and realization of the world that allowed him to reject false ideas and find his true awakening and path towards his goal, thus helping his quest for the good
Siddhartha’s character is presented as a thinker who is willing to question all that he knows and explore different ideas in order to achieve Enlightenment. This presents itself in the first chapter of the novel in which Siddhartha poses the thought, “did he live in bliss, was he at peace?” (Hesse 6). He realizes that the teachings of the Brahmins could never fulfill his “thirst” for peace if they could not do so for a Brahmin as pure and wise as his father. By being able to have such thoughts, it reveals his overall character as a determined thinker. Siddhartha is able to look past all his teachings and beliefs that he was raised with and reject them in order to find the method that will best help him attain his goal. He does not blindly follow others, but actively challenges any belief that he views as false. This is further supported by his rejection of the Buddha’s teachings and teachers in general towards the end of the first part of the novel, despite the massive amount of followers the Buddha possesses. He is also presented to be a persistent and patient man. This is evident when Siddhartha’s father “…came again from hour to hour, silent, peered into the room, saw the unmoved stander…” (Hesse 10). He did not give in and was persistent yet patient with his father until his father allowed him to join the ascetics. It is his thoughtfulness, determination, persistence, and patience that become essential for his spiritual awakening. At first, the world and others around Siddhartha fill him with a sense of dissatisfaction and outrage, but throughout the first part turns into admiration and amazement. While he was with the Brahmins, he felt dissatisfied by the people around him and the teachings he had. He presents the thought that “he had started feeling that his father’s love, and his mother’s love, and also his friend Govinda’s love would not make him happy forever and always, not please him…” (Hesse 5). By allowing the readers into his thoughts, it allows for the understanding that he is not content with anything in his life. He desired peace and knowledge, which he could not find while in the world of the Brahmins. …show more content…
Due to his thoughtfulness and determination from the beginning, he was able to reject false ideas that would have led him astray from the path towards Enlightenment and allowed him to have an awakening to what the next step is. His shifting views of a world full of bitterness to one of beauty was another key in his step towards Enlightenment by providing him with the knowledge of what teachings were not the path he needed to take. It was his overall character and realization of the world that allowed him to reject false ideas and find his true awakening and path towards his goal, thus helping his quest for the good