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hermann hesse's siddhartha
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STRUCTURE AND SETTING OF NOVEL MORE READING QUESTIONS |
Chapter One 1. Find the epithet for Siddhartha. What does it suggest? 2. “Atman” is described as something that is “within this inner essence of his that was indestructible and one with the universe” (p. 13). Is there anything that is roughly equivalent to “Atman” in other world religions? 3. How old do you believe Siddhartha is from all information given in Chapter One? 4. What is the significance of Siddhartha’s name? 5. What is Govinda’s opinion of “ordinary Brahmins”? What is it about real Hindu society that leads to this possibility? 6. How is the restlessness that Siddhartha feels similar to that experienced by many young people? How is Siddhartha different? 7. What is the setting of the story? 8. What kinds of epithets are offered for Govinda? How do they characterize Govinda? What does this tell us about Govinda’s literary function in the novel? 9. Interpret the sentence: “Siddhartha had started to cultivate the seed of discontent within himself” (p. 14). Why is Siddhartha discontented? 10. Why does Govinda ask Siddhartha whether his father will allow him to join the Samanas? What kind of life does Siddhartha live? Is it a hard or an easy life? Why would Siddhartha’s father be opposed to such a wish? 11. Identify the paradox in the description of the Samanas and interpret its intended meaning. How does this description characterize the Samanas? 12. Hesse describes the Samanas as “jackals in the domain of mankind” (p. 17). What effect does this characterization have? 13. What fi gurative language is used repeatedly in the several paragraphs following the “Om is the bow” (p. 16) verse that Siddhartha repeats to himself? What effect does it have on the reader? 14. Siddhartha tells Govinda his plans to join the Samanas. He states, “Siddhartha will go to the Samanas. He will become a Samana” (p. 17). Siddhartha is speaking about himself in the third person. How is this related to the practice of traditional Buddhism? 15. Is Siddhartha’s estimate of his father as “a mere seeker, one who had thirst,” (p. 16) accurate? Is there any indication from the text that supports this assertion? 16. What reaction do you suppose Govinda received at home when he announced his intent to join the Samanas? How significant is it that Govinda accompanies Siddhartha, and what does this reveal about his character? 17. In Indian culture, it is typically the mother who passes on the spiritual knowledge in the family. Why do you think Hesse chose to emphasize the father in the story? Chapter Two 1. “His goal was to stand open to the wonder of thoughts conceived in self-dissolution” (p. 21). How does Siddhartha’s goal of “self dissolution” relate to traditional Hinduism? 2. Why does Siddhartha fast, abstain from women, and withdraw completely from anything that provides him with comfort? 3. How does Siddhartha experience the “hazy intoxication of the cycle of existence” (p. 22) and to what end? 4. One of the criticisms offered about the Buddha was that he had no knowledge of the caste system. Explain how Buddha’s disregard for the caste system might be a point of criticism. Who might offer such criticism? 5. Why is learning Atman’s enemy? 6. Why is Siddhartha convinced that no one can teach him the way to perfection even before he meets the Buddha? Chapter Three 1. What is suggested by Siddhartha’s recognition of the Buddha while he has to be pointed out to Govinda? 2. Upon reaching the town where the Buddha resided, what understatement does Govinda make regarding enlightenment? What does this reveal about the character? 3. What information is given about the structures of Buddhism early in Chapter Three? 4. It is mentioned that Siddhartha had never loved a person as much as the Buddha. This is the first mention of Siddhartha loving anyone or anything. Why is it significant that Siddhartha feels more love for this person than either of his parents or Govinda? 5. Why does Hesse tell us about the Buddha’s eating habits? 6. Why is the parting of Govinda and Siddhartha so painful for Govinda? 7. Before he leaves, Siddhartha takes the opportunity to speak with the Buddha and to share with him some of his thoughts on his (the Buddha’s) doctrine. Siddhartha praises him for connecting everything in a perfect chain of related events (of cause and effect), but points out one exception. Explain Siddhartha’s exception. 8. During their brief discussion, the Buddha mentions knowledge or wisdom twice to Siddhartha. The first time is in reference to the four noble truths and the eightfold path, “their goal is not to explain the world to those who seek knowledge” (p. 34). The second, “You know how to talk wisely, my friend. Be wary of too much wisdom!” (p. 34). What is the theme of the Buddha’s advice to Siddhartha? 9. How has the Buddha given Siddhartha “himself”? Chapter Four 1. In Siddhartha’s pursuit of “the self” and salvation, how does “not knowing himself” act as a barrier to this goal? 2. In Chapter Four, Awakening, Siddhartha experiences “a profound feeling of awakening from long dreams” (p.38). In contrast to his time as a Samana, how is he “awakened” now? 3. What is Siddhartha’s epiphany during this chapter? 4. In the first chapter, Siddhartha’s father told him, “If you find blessedness in the woods, then come and teach me how to be blessed. If you find disappointment, then return once more and let us once again sacrifice to the gods together” (p. 19). Siddhartha considers returning but does not. Why? 5. “For many years, he had been without home and had felt nothing. Now he felt it” (p.39). Why? What has he lost? 6. Hesse makes use of the snake image repeatedly in this chapter. In literature, the snake often represents some foreboding or treachery. What possible foreboding or treachery can we anticipate in Siddhartha’s future as indicated in Chapter Four? Chapter Five 1. In the beginning of the chapter, Siddhartha is experiencing the world of Maya for the first time. According to Hinduism, what is Maya and how is it a barrier to salvation? 2. What realization does Siddhartha experience regarding the world of thought and the world of the senses? 3. Describe the dream Siddhartha has while staying the night at the ferryman’s hut. Interpret its literal and implied meaning as well as its possible symbolic meaning. 4. On his way into town, Siddhartha encounters a young woman who offers him sex. Why does Siddhartha refuse her advances and instead seek out a prostitute? What is the difference between the two, and how is this interaction symbolic? 5. What is the significance of the names Kamala and Kamaswami? 6. When Siddhartha left the Buddha, he was adamant about his desire to leave behind teachers and teachings, but he almost immediately enlists two new teachers, Kamala and Kamaswami. How do you suppose Siddhartha would explain this apparent contradiction? 7. When Siddhartha takes leave of the ferryman, he concludes that the ferryman is like Govinda: “They are all submissive, they all want to be friends, happily obeying and not thinking much. People are all like children” (p. 48). Is there any indication that Siddhartha is underestimating the ferryman? 8. What is the “charming omen” with which Siddhartha enters the city, and how does it influence his next steps? 9. What word does Siddhartha use repeatedly in his description of Kamala that may suggest a future relationship as his teacher? Where else in the book has there been another physical description of a character in such detail? Why is it significant again here? 10. Why, when Siddhartha first attempts to meet Kamala, does he direct the servant to introduce him as a “young Brahmin?” Chapter Six 1. Kamala tells Siddhartha, “You’ve remained a Samana. You still don’t love me; you love nobody.” Siddhartha, in turn, tells Kamala, “You also do not love—how else could you practice love as a craft?” (p. 61). What is it that Siddhartha and Kamala lack or have that makes them unable to love? What is it about the child-like people that allow them to love? 2. In Chapter Six, Siddhartha visits a village to buy grain, only to arrive and fi nd the grain bought and sold to another merchant. Instead of doing what Kamaswami would have wished and come straight back, Siddhartha stays and visits with the people of the town. In this sense, how is Siddhartha conducting “better business” than Kamaswami? 3. Siddhartha tells Kamala that, like him, she has an inner peace and refuge to which she can go at any time. Kamala incorrectly states that this is “cleverness,” but as Siddhartha points out, cleverness has nothing to do with it. Kamaswami is clever, but has no refuge inside himself. What is this inner refuge? 4. Even though Siddhartha, according to Kamaswami, “is no proper merchant and will never be one” (p. 57), he is, nonetheless, successful. Likewise, Kamala comments that he is “the best lover” she “ever saw” (p. 61). Why is this significant in relation to traditional Hinduism? 5. What is the “dying voice which admonished him with whispers, lamented softly” (p. 60)? Why is the dying of this voice significant? Chapter Seven 1. What is Siddhartha’s inner voice? Is it the same as, or similar to, his conscience? Compare and contrast the two. 2. What is the “disease of the soul which rich people have” (p. 65)? 3. Even though Siddhartha had “gradually assumed something of the child-like people’s ways for his own,”(p. 64) he is more miserable than ever before. Why? 4. Why did Kamaswami send out searchers for Siddhartha, while Kamala did not have anyone look for him? Why did Kamala expect him to disappear? 5. How is Siddhartha’s addiction to gambling ironic? 6. Siddhartha’s dream of the songbird and Kamala’s later release of the bird are both highly symbolic. Explain the meaning of the dream and the release. 7. Explain the concept of Samsara as demonstrated by the book. How did it affect Siddhartha? 8. Siddhartha observes the signs of Kamala’s aging: “under her eyes and next to the corners of the mouth he read . . . a horrible inscription of small lines, slight grooves” (p. 66). “With a sigh, he said farewell to her while his soul was full of hesitation and hidden anxiety” (p. 66). Some mistakenly attribute Siddhartha’s departure to the dream of the songbird, but Siddhartha had already decided to leave Kamala before he had the dream. Why? Was he afraid of death? Explain your answer. Chapter Eight 1. At this point in the book, Siddhartha “was full of disgust, full of suffering, full of death, until nothing in the world allured him, gave him joy, or comforted him” (p. 71). Compare this with the description of life with the Samanas. “Everything was a lie, everything stank, everything stank of lies, everything feigned meaning and happiness and beauty, and yet everything was decaying while nobody acknowledged the fact. The world tasted bitter; life was agony” (p. 21) Both seem quite similar, yet Siddhartha hadn’t considered suicide after leaving the Samanas. How is Siddhartha’s attitude and situation different now from before? 2. How did the “Om” save Siddhartha from suicide? What would have happened if his suicide attempt had been successful? 3. How did the meeting between Siddhartha and Govinda by the river serve a structural purpose within the novel? What do we learn of Govinda? 4. After Siddhartha’s long sleep by the river, he awoke with a new outlook and feeling about the world. What was this feeling and why was he feeling it now? 5. How does Siddhartha’s decision to stay by the river foreshadow the character of his future days? Chapter Nine 1. This chapter is entitled, The Ferryman. How is the title of the chapter and Vasudeva’s occupation symbolic to Siddhartha at this point in his journey? 2. Why do some people mistake Siddhartha and Vasudeva for brothers? 3. Explain the metaphor, “I looked at my life and found that it also was a river” (p. 84). What insight did Siddhartha gain from this realization? 4. Explain the theme of the passage below: “No, there were no teachings that a person who truly sought and wanted to find could accept. But the one who had already found could approve of any teachings, every path and goal” (p. 86). 5. Explain how Siddhartha’s observations of Kamala as she lay dying reinforced his belief that time does not exist. 6. Vasudeva observes, “You have experienced suffering...but I see that no sadness has entered your heart” (p. 89). Why has no sadness entered Siddhartha’s heart? 7. Approximately how old is Siddhartha as he begins his life as a ferryman, and which of the Four Life Stages of Hinduism would Siddhartha now be entering? Chapter Ten 1. Why does Siddhartha prefer “the suffering and worries of love over happiness and joy without the boy” (p. 92)? Is this the “right effort” for Siddhartha or is he wasting his time? Explain you answer. 2. Vasudeva asks the river what to do about Siddhartha’s son. In response, the river laughs. What is the river laughing at? What realization must Siddhartha come to? Why is this situation ironic? 3. Explain Vasudeva’s statement about Siddhartha and his son: “Don’t you shackle him with your love? Don’t you, every day, make him feel inferior, and make it harder on him with your kindness and patience?” (pp. 92-93). 4. After all of Siddhartha’s efforts, his son runs away in the end. What does Siddhartha gain/lose through the whole experience? 5. What did Siddhartha accomplish by following his son back to Kamala’s pleasure garden? 6. What is the state of Siddhartha’s “wound” at the close of the chapter? What are the possible outcomes and what are the consequences of each outcome? 7. At the end of the chapter, how does Vasudeva act as Siddhartha’s “guru”? Chapter Eleven 1. How does the river serve as the vehicle that helps bring Siddhartha to enlightenment? 2. Siddhartha loved his son so much that he wanted to “keep him from suffering, pain, and disappointment” (p. 93). In the process Siddhartha makes himself and his son miserable. Why wasn’t this working? 3. Vasudeva tells Siddhartha that his son is not in a “place where he can prosper” (p. 92). Why can’t he prosper there? 4. How has Siddhartha become like the child-like people? How is he different? 5. Under what circumstances does Siddhartha’s wound eventually heal? 6. How does Vasudeva continue to act as guru for Siddhartha in this chapter? Chapter Twelve 1. How is Siddhartha’s advice to Govinda reminiscent of Gotama Buddha’s advice to Siddhartha? What is the significance of these similarities? 2. Even though the Buddha forbade his followers from binding their hearts “to earthly things with love” (p. 110), Siddhartha says that love seems to be “the most important thing” (p. 110). How does Siddhartha explain the apparent contradiction? Interpret Siddhartha’s explanation in your own words. 3. According to the novel, in what ways might inner peace be outwardly apparent? What do Govinda and Kamala both recognize in Siddhartha that was apparent in Vasudeva and the Buddha? |