Hermann Rorschach

In the coming-of-age novels, Demian by Hermann Hesse and Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, personal morality plays a major role in defining who the novels' protagonists are. In Demian, the protagonist Emil Sinclair at the beginning of the novel describes his parents' room as a moral sanctuary, one that represents all that is good and right in the eyes of Sinclair. In Catcher in the Rye, protagonist Holden Caulfield finds his moral sanctuary in childhood innocence, a time in an individual's…

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…

used in everyday life and a fourth may have no idea what such an item could be. The subjectivity of each view means that no single culture is definitively correct, however it also makes misunderstandings and miscommunications inevitable. Throughout Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha, a novel following the life of a young Brahmin man and his quest for enlightenment, multiple ideologies and themes are introduced: some that are universal for each culture, whilst…

Siddhartha spends almost his entire life searching for enlightenment on a journey that brought him to become many different people and experience many different obstacles. As Siddhartha enters the different stages of his life he learns about not just the unity of all things, but he discovers himself and his place in the world. Going from being a Brahmin, to a beggar, to a wealthy merchant, to a ferryman instills perspective in Siddhartha. All of these obstacles and occurrences lead him on his…

Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by creating linkages between very different concepts and experiences. In the novel Siddhartha, by Hermann Hesse, the river is a symbol of all forms of life and that they are interconnected in a cycle without beginning or end. As Siddhartha attempts to find a group in which he can obtain Nirvana, Siddhartha cannot seem to be satisfied. Siddhartha continues to travel and does not stay in one place with a certain group for a long period of…

continue to play the game. Woven into a variety of stories, clues on how to to obtain personal fulfillment and discovering oneself can be commonly found, sometimes incorporated by the authors unknowingly. A similarity in both the story Demian written by Hermann Hesse, as well as the play A Streetcar Named Desire written by Tennessee Williams, reveals itself; both Demian and A Streetcar Named Desire bring to the light the factors that inhibit individuals and how to move forward when an individual…

In Chapter Eleven, Siddhartha is still emotionally wounded by the departure of his son. Out of desperation, Siddhartha attempts to seek out his son one last time. However, Siddhartha remembers that he had once left his father the same way his son left him. Then, the river laughs at him, and Siddhartha goes to tell Vasudeva, about his experience. Vasudeva brings him to show Siddhartha something he has not heard. They listen to the river intensely and Siddhartha finally hears all of the voices of…

Siddhartha’s journey is something that will change your point of view to an entirely new perspective. He was unlike anyone you have ever met. he grew up as the son of a brahman where he was fascinated with the knowledge his father taught him, and eventually siddhartha became so intelligent that there was nothing left in his home town for him to learn so he trailed off into the world where he would find the true meaning of life and grasp the true concept of life. Siddhartha was smart but what…

In Hesse’s novel, Siddhartha and Whitman’s poem, Song of Myself both relate with two common themes. The two themes that make the works come together are becoming one with nature and self acceptance/not being afraid to express oneself. In both works, Hesse and Whitman both represent similar ideas and themes to the readers. The first theme that connects both works is becoming one with nature which is strongly shown in both Hesse’s novel and Whitman’s poem. In Siddharta, Siddharta finds…

There are many different practice as we read about in the book of Siddhartha as in Eastern culture. A very common practice from eastern thought is meditation. Throughout this book I took part in this activity to be able to better get a feel of the book, to feel more connected to it. The practice I took was in meditation. In the book, Siddhartha meditated in the beginning. He took part in this just as his dad often did. It was when his dad was meditating that Sidddhartha told him he wanted to…