Siddhartha Section 4 (pages 95 - 122)

Respond to the text personally

In this part of the book, Herman Hesse talks about the relationship Siddhartha and his son have. Young Siddhartha doesn´t like his father. The boy is used to living in a luxurious house, using expensive clothing, eating all the food he wants, and receiving the help of many servants. His life by the river is the total opposite; he has to work; there is little food; and there are absolutely no servants to follow his orders. I can't relate to their relationship, but I can relate to one thing; when I do something bad, I can relate to one thing; when I do something bad, I hate when my parents respond in a calm way because then I feel guilty, and I feel like I'm the only bad person in the family. Likewise, young Siddhartha hates that his father respond so calmly to his bad behavior.

On page 100 his feelings are explained. “This father who kept him in this wretched hut bored him, and when he answered his rudeness with a smile, every insult with friendliness, every naughtiness with kindness, that was the most hateful cunning of the old fox. The boy would have much preferred him to threaten him, to ill-treat him.” I can relate to the feelings of the boy. When I do something bad I prefer that my parents shout at me or punish me. I don´t like when they just say something like “you should´ve thought better” or “I expected better from you”. Their calmness at these moments irritates me. I´m not sure why this happens, but I think it’s because when they shout they make you feel like they are bad too, and that they are the bad people. When they punish you, you don´t feel so regretful because you feel they are culpable too by being mean. When your parents react calmly you see they are disappointed, so you feel sad, and regret what you did. You punish yourself and I think that punishing yourself and feeling guilty is harder and more important than when others try to fix your mistakes. I think that Young Siddhartha didn´t like his father reacting calmly because deep inside he would be sorry for his actions. Young Siddhartha didn´t want to regret his actions, instead he wanted to look like a tough guy who had no deep feeling. “There was nothing about this father that attracted him and nothing that he feared.” (Page 100). The boy wants to be tough and his father´s acts of kindness prevent this from happening.. 

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Siddhartha Section 3 (pages 60 - 94)

Connect text to another book, a film, work of art, a comic or any other creation

In this part of the book, Siddhartha abandons his rich, luxurious life. After a long sleep by the river he notices it has many things to teach him. I related what he learned from the river to the teaching of Taoism. Siddhartha and Lao Tzu have very similar ways of observing the river.

"'Love this river, stay by it, learn from it.' Yes, he wanted to learn from it, he wanted to listen to it. It seemed to him that whoever understood this river and its secrets, would understand much more, many secrets, all secrets." (Page83). 

In this part of the book, Siddhartha observes, analyses, and concludes that the river has millions of things to teach him. The river becomes one of his most profound instructors. Similarly, Taoism uses the flow of the river to demonstrate the movement of life. Lao Tzu believed in wu wei or non-action, and he used the river as the best example to describe it. The ferryman´s way of navigating the river is similar to what Taoism says; you can´t fight a river; you have to let it take you. Taoism believes that the power of rivers is derived from non-action. The river just flows, but it has many properties and characteristics that only the river can have. Taoists say "Be still like a mountain and flow like a great river". On page 83 of Siddhartha Herman Hesse describes what Siddhartha was thinking: "He saw that the water continually flowed and flowed and yet it was always there; it was always the same and yet every moment it was new." Siddhartha notices the properties of the river and starts helping the ferryman with his job, so he can listen and learn from the river. Vasudeva, the ferryman, tells Siddhartha that he won´t be the one to teach him, “the river knows everything” and it will teach him. (Page 86)

Siddhartha Section 2 (pages 30-59)

Ask questions to later answer

• Will Siddhartha ever leave Kamala like he left his father, Govinda, and the Samanas?
• What is more valuable, what he learned from the Samanas or what he learned from Kamaswami?
• What is his relationship with Kamala?
• Will he ever return to his humble, "Samana style" life?
• Which life does he prefer? (Rich merchant or poor and spiritual)
• Will he ever see his family and friends (Govinda) again?
• Will Siddhartha and Kamala get married or have a kid?
• Will Siddhartha work the rest of his life with Kamaswami?
• Would Siddhartha consider me a "falling leave controlled by the wind" or a "star which travels a defined path"? (page 58)
• How does his life with Kamala and Kamaswami help him reach Nirvana?
• What makes Siddartha go from being a Samana to a merchant?
• Why did he stop himself from desiring the woman at thr river (page 42) but not from wanting Kamala?
• Did Siddartha get off track with Kamala and Kamaswami or will it help him reach his goal?
• How can you desire to reach Nirvana if it means "free from desire"?

Siddhartha Section 1 (pages 1-29)

Connect text to another book, a film, work of art, a comic or any other creation

In this part of the book, Siddartha starts as part of a rich, powerful family. He wants to reach Nirvana, but he  notices he won't be able to reach it with his current life. He leaves his father and goes to live and learn from the Samanas. After a while he notices that he won´t be able to reach Nirvana with the Samanas either. He goes to the Buddha and notices that the only way he will be able to reach Nirvana is by himself. I can connect this book to a movie called Go Figure. In this movie, Katelin wants to be a professional ice skater. When she has the opportunity to train with a professional coach she takes it and trains really hard to go to the Olympics. 

 In the movie, Katlin wants to change her ice skating coach since she thinks it’s time to move on and improve. Siddhartha’s goal in life is to reach Nirvana, but he feels that he will never reach his goal with they Samanas or his father. None of the people he knows has reached Nirvana, so he feels that they won´t help him reach it either. "Siddhartha had begun to feel the seeds of discontent within him. He had begun to feel that the love of his father and mother, and also the love of Govinda, would not always make him happy, give him peace, satisfy and suffice him." (Page 3). Here he notices that he has to begin his journey to find a new teacher. In the movie, Katelin, the main character wants to go to the Olympics but she knows that with her current coaches she will never make it. When she gets the opportunity to work with Natasha, a professional Russian coach, she works really hard to get to the Olympics. Siddhartha and Katelin both have to sacrifice a lot of things to reach their goal, and they leave their teachers, families, and friends to begin a journey and a new life. The difference between them is that Siddhartha ends up continuing his journey alone. He doesn´t stay with the Buddha; Siddhartha believes he will do better alone. He finds his inner self and decides he will teach himself. “But he has given to me Siddhartha, myself." (page 29). In Go Figure, Katelin does stay with the Russian coach, but also discovers that figure skating and having the best coach is not the only thing that matters in her life. Both characters learn an important lesson that will help them in the rest of their journey.