Blog #2

 

Siddhartha by Herman Hesse

Synopsis: In the novel, Siddhartha, a young man, leaves his family for a contemplative life, then, restless, discards it for one of the flesh. He conceives a son, but bored and sickened by lust and greed, moves on again. Near despair, Siddhartha comes to a river where he hears a unique sound. This sound signals the true beginning of his life -- the beginning of suffering, rejection, peace, and, finally, wisdom.

Siddhartha by Herman Hesse addresses learning outcome 1 by using dialogue to further reveal the audience and purpose of the novel. In the beginning, young Siddhartha is immediately intoxicated by Samanas’ ascetic lifestyle. This is a huge turning point in the book because it is here that he drops his worldly possessions and completely transforms his lifestyle. Hesse uses short and simple dialogue to further explicate a deeper meaning. When Siddhartha conflicts with his father Hesse does not have them yell and scream. He has them use powerful diction instead.

“You will grow tired, Siddhartha.”

“I will grow tired.”

“You will fall asleep, Siddhartha.”

“I will not fall asleep.”

“You will die, Siddhartha.”

“I will die.”

Here, Hesse structures a combination of elongated descriptions followed by short, choppy dialogue. Being this way, it emphasizes the importance of what the characters are really saying. For example, this shows the reader how relentless Siddhartha has become for what he really wants. Like Siddhartha, any reader would relate because there always come a time when a parent and their child don’t see eye to eye. Also, everyone has one part of their inner self that cannot be changed – their dreams. In this text, Siddhartha is attempting to start his. When he later confronts Gautama Buddha about finding enlightenment within his Self, Gautama replies “He who lost his Self a thousand times and for days on end he dwelt in non-being. But although the paths took him away from Self, in the end they always led back to it.” This dialogue compliments the previous passage because even if your dreams seem to stray away, they will return; they are always a part of you. Using lots of dialogue to tell the story helps connect the audience to a Buddhist that they would normally never compare themselves to.