Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds will never progress. The ability to shift ones perspective to a new is rewarding. Perspective is such an important thing - it is how we view the world. When I selected the poem Backside, my initial thoughts were much different than my current ones. My perspective changed in a sense. In my eyes, the poem was filled with pretty images of nature but the deeper meaning was not clear and I had many questions. Luckily, it is not unusual to misinterpret a poem's meaning. It usually takes extensive research and discussions along with a thorough and deep analysis in order to stumble across it's underlying meaning. It was through those means that I was able to unearth its core: the damaging acts of human existence are the cause of the destruction of nature.
A riddle can help sharpen the mind and open up new thought processes. They come in many forms whether its a puzzle, a game or in this matter, a poem. Finding Backside's meaning was much like solving a riddle: every element needed to be identified, an open-mind to a different perspective needed to be present, and the use of logic and serious thought was required. I had a question about every line. "Day falls into the leaves like sparkling fish/ And struggles, like the lowly mud."(Sagawa 3-4) - what are the struggles that she is talking about? "And the space that was chopped down/ Tickles the weeds there by its feet."(Sagawa 7-8) - what was chopped down? Why? Who is "its"? Frustration began to be the only thing I felt during this process because it felt like I would never understand its deeper meaning. The biggest question I had in the entire poem was about the last line: "And then people move forward."(Sagawa 11). Into what are the people moving forward? After reading and analyzing the poem over and over again, words like "shriveled, deridable despair."(Sagawa 6) and "writhing darkness"(Sagawa 10) became more prominent, altering the images in my mind from beaming and illuminated to dark and grim. It became clear that this is not a happy poem. The riddle had not been solved yet, but I felt I was getting closer to unlocking Sagawa's metaphors. Every word and aspect of every line had been identified, but I needed a get new perspective.
The impact another person's thoughts can have on your own thinking is incredible. After comparing and exchanging different perceptions of Backside with a wise former English teacher, the poem's meaning started to become more evident. As John Heywood said, "two heads are better than one". It seemed we had the same thoughts on several aspects of the poem such as the mood. The two of us could agree that the poem felt very melancholy. We discussed the role of symbolism and how some objects probably have a double meaning. She gave symbolism to things like colors, cigarettes and the setting of the sun; things that played a huge role in the significance of the poem. Together we united our reactions and thoughts of the poem while feeding off of each other's logic. One could feel the flow of creativity throughout the entire room as we sat for hours discussing a poem only eleven lines long. The meeting with my old teacher was the most helpful source I had throughout the entire final. With an elemental and superficial understanding of Backside when I first selected it, she helped me in continuing my understanding of a complex and deep poem.
The presence of great conflict lingers throughout the entire poem. Through extensive research on Sagawa's background and inspirations, it became clear as to why there seemed to be so much conflict between nature and urbanization. A move from her provincial home town, Hokkaido, to the metropolitan Tokyo formed her sensibility due to the extremely opposite environments. This tension in Backside is described in the means of subtle violence, as with the poem's opening line, "Night eats color,"(Sagawa 1). This is followed by a criticism of artifice - "Flower bouquets lose their fake ornaments"(Sagawa 2)- as if portraying nature's desire to free itself from the man-made. Towns are full of man-made artifacts, houses, streets, cars, lights, etc. From time to time, a tree, but trimmed into an artificial shape, or a garden, but imprisoned inside fences. Nature itself looks artificial. Tobacco, manufactured into cigarettes by man, is perceived as artificial, whereas that same drug in its authentic form would be considered natural. Mankind has transformed everything pure into a synthetic state. "Fingers stained with tar from cigarettes/ Caress the writhing darkness."(Sagawa 9-10). The human nation has created something like a cigarette, which harms the Earth and is the farthest thing from natural. The hands of humanity are now soiled with the toxicity of our harmful actions. We encourage, or caress in a sense, these noxious behaviors which we have established in the world.
The study of poetry is often a neglected aspect of literature and is stereotyped as insignificant and pointless. As I write the very last piece of my final and as the days left in this class begin to disappear, I have come to realize the purpose of this examination process and why it was so extensive. It was to show students how poetry is a work of art that isn't acknowledged enough. It was to get us out of our comfort zone by forcing us studying someone, somewhere and something we know nothing about. I read Backside over and over again, knowing it contained some secret knowledge that I had yet to discover, but never gave up. It made me think and it opened me up to wonder the astonishing possibilities of language. It re-engaged me with the world I take too much for granted. This poem has changed the way I look at and listen to the world. It compelled me to look at life through a different lens; a new perspective.
Saturday, May 24, 2014
Saturday, May 17, 2014
An Interview with a Friend From the Past
During one of my first visits back at my old middle school, I had the opportunity of asking a dear teacher of mine several questions about a stunning yet complex poem. The walk from my high school to her classroom’s back door was slightly intimidating, fore I didn't understand the poem fully myself therefore wasn't sure how I was going to guide this interview. The chilled breeze filled my legs with goosebumps while my face felt like a furnace. As I approached the door, I saw my darling teacher, Ms. Humphrey, sitting at her desk working on her computer. Knocking on the door, I was welcomed into her classroom by her familiar raspy voice. Any insecurities I had about our meeting vanished, as I breathed in her musky scent as she hugged me. The little trinkets around her room had remained the same since I had been there, as well as new ones that she has added throughout the years. The desks were arranged for a Socratic seminar, in a circle that filled the whole room. She brought me over to her desk where she had been sitting and we both sat down.
The first thing we did was catch up on life and ask how each other was doing. But after the small talk had died down, I pulled out the poem and she began to read. She repeated the lines over and over, trying to connect the dots in her mind. The poem is filled with vivid imagery using words that are beautiful but don't make it easy to comprehend its meaning. She started throwing out ideas like the title backside meaning the backside of the moon and the line "Day falls into the leaves like sparkling fish"(Sagawa 3) meaning the setting of the sun. "What do you think of this poem? How does it make you feel?" were my first questions for her. Ms. Humphrey answered, "it confuses me. I can tell it's not a happy poem... it doesn't feel great. There is a depressing, melancholy, dangerous feel to it. I can tell there is a big conflict." We talked about our reactions; comparing them. The first times I read Backside, I felt very confused and knew there was some sort of conflict too. Instead of perceiving it as dangerous and depressing though, all I saw was the beauty in it's imagery. It became very clear to me how this poem is indeed not a happy poem, but a dark and somber one hidden behind exquisite illustrations.
After determining the aura and mood the poem emanates, we tried dissecting it to grasp the hidden true meaning. Together, we restated every line and came up with every possibility there was for its implication. The poem is a riddle and in the time I was sitting at her desk, we were determined to uncover its underlying message. One of us would share an analysis and the other would play off that with a different view. I asked her about the images she liked the most, what she felt the most connection to, and about the symbolism she saw. When the presence of humans are introduced, "Fingers stained with tar from cigarettes/ Caress the writhing darkness."(Sagawa 9-10), she saw symbolism that I hadn't seen before. "Cigarettes are not natural. Our fingers have been soiled with toxicity by our harmful actions. We take care of and encourage, or caress, these detrimental behaviors we have brought into the world," she said.
An hour had past since I had showed up, yet it felt like it had only only been ten minutes. I could have spent the entire day with her, reading the poem over and over again, evaluating every possible aspect. The bell sounded that indicated her student's lunch was over, so it was time for me to leave. The amount of knowledge I felt I had gained sitting at that desk with her was unbelievable. I walked into her classroom that morning with a very elemental understanding of a complex poem, and left feeling like I had the insight of a modernist poetry expert. We both didn't know what to expect from this meeting, but the two of us came to understand this poem on a much deeper level than before.
The first thing we did was catch up on life and ask how each other was doing. But after the small talk had died down, I pulled out the poem and she began to read. She repeated the lines over and over, trying to connect the dots in her mind. The poem is filled with vivid imagery using words that are beautiful but don't make it easy to comprehend its meaning. She started throwing out ideas like the title backside meaning the backside of the moon and the line "Day falls into the leaves like sparkling fish"(Sagawa 3) meaning the setting of the sun. "What do you think of this poem? How does it make you feel?" were my first questions for her. Ms. Humphrey answered, "it confuses me. I can tell it's not a happy poem... it doesn't feel great. There is a depressing, melancholy, dangerous feel to it. I can tell there is a big conflict." We talked about our reactions; comparing them. The first times I read Backside, I felt very confused and knew there was some sort of conflict too. Instead of perceiving it as dangerous and depressing though, all I saw was the beauty in it's imagery. It became very clear to me how this poem is indeed not a happy poem, but a dark and somber one hidden behind exquisite illustrations.
After determining the aura and mood the poem emanates, we tried dissecting it to grasp the hidden true meaning. Together, we restated every line and came up with every possibility there was for its implication. The poem is a riddle and in the time I was sitting at her desk, we were determined to uncover its underlying message. One of us would share an analysis and the other would play off that with a different view. I asked her about the images she liked the most, what she felt the most connection to, and about the symbolism she saw. When the presence of humans are introduced, "Fingers stained with tar from cigarettes/ Caress the writhing darkness."(Sagawa 9-10), she saw symbolism that I hadn't seen before. "Cigarettes are not natural. Our fingers have been soiled with toxicity by our harmful actions. We take care of and encourage, or caress, these detrimental behaviors we have brought into the world," she said.
An hour had past since I had showed up, yet it felt like it had only only been ten minutes. I could have spent the entire day with her, reading the poem over and over again, evaluating every possible aspect. The bell sounded that indicated her student's lunch was over, so it was time for me to leave. The amount of knowledge I felt I had gained sitting at that desk with her was unbelievable. I walked into her classroom that morning with a very elemental understanding of a complex poem, and left feeling like I had the insight of a modernist poetry expert. We both didn't know what to expect from this meeting, but the two of us came to understand this poem on a much deeper level than before.
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
Backside Research
Night eats color,
Flower bouquets lose their fake ornaments.
Day falls into the leaves like sparkling fish
And struggles, like the lowly mud,
The shapeless dreams and trees
Nurtured outside this shriveled, deridable despair.
And the space that was chopped down
Tickles the weeds there by its feet.
Fingers stained with tar from cigarettes
Caress the writhing darkness.
And then people move forward.
Poem Analysis: Backside is a poem that you read and immediately can sense its beauty. Her poetry contains the clearest and precise images, fore she gives human descriptors to inhuman objects. The effect of this is a touch of elegance throughout. But by enhancing these things with human activity, she also burdens them with human plight. To exist is to suffer, according to Chika Sawaga's poetry. Man and nature exist together in the same space, which is magnificent yet awful at the same time. In the coexistence of man and nature, the world becomes dark. Line 1 states- "Night eats color". Night symbolizes darkness of the soul, evilness and loss of faith. Color is symbolic for happiness, innocence, joy and nature. Sagawa is literally saying that the world's darkness is devouring and destroying the goodness of the Earth. Hands appear in the third to last line- "Fingers stained with tar from cigarettes/ caress the writhing darkness". These are the hands of humans in society. Society is stroking the atrocities in life as if they are it's pet. The fingers appear ghostly and blackened. Her image proposes that the stains are more than a blemish but a wound or scar. "Flower bouquets lose their fake ornaments," - line 2. The flowers that one can assume were once beautiful, are now wilted and presumed as 'fake'. The last line then gives a completely different aura to the poem. "And then people move forward." As Earth's creations tremble from abuse as their offenders turn the cheek and walk away, the poem ends with a debatable question. Is it people who are enduring the world, or is it the other way around?
Works Cited:
Sitar, James. "Chika Sagawa." Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation, 2014. Web. 12 May 2014.
Kashima, Shoko. "Chika Sagawa." Chika Sagawa. The Other Voices, 23 June 2013. Web. 13 May 2014.
"Poems by Sagawa Chika -- Translation." Poems by Sagawa Chika -- Translation. Ed. HOW2. Kathleen Fraser, 2014. Web. 10 May 2014.
Newick, Zack. "'Backside' by Chika Sagawa - Asymptote Blog." Asymptote Blog. Zack Newick, 19 Nove 2013. Web. 13 May 2014.
Friday, May 9, 2014
Chika Sagawa: Backside
Backside
by Chika Sagawa
Night eats color,
Flower bouquets lose their fake ornaments.
Day falls into the leaves like sparkling fish
And struggles, like the lowly mud,
The shapeless dreams and trees
Nurtured outside this shriveled, deridable despair.
And the space that was chopped down
Tickles the weeds there by its feet.
Fingers stained with tar from cigarettes
Caress the writhing darkness.
And then people move forward.
Thursday, May 8, 2014
Siddhartha Essay
Life is a gift according to the 20th century writer Herman Hesse. Hesse introduces various routes in life one can take, in his novel Siddhartha, that can either lead to a realization of one's true identity, or contribute to the individuals unfortunate downfall. The ultimate focal point Hesse highlights in Siddhartha is a journey one must take to establish their selfhood. Through his protagonist and story line, one can grasp the importance of this existential journey, accepting life's struggles and never dedicating one's life to a single intention. Herman Hesse wants his readers to believe that life has a purpose to all who believe so and that one is the sum of their actions, which accumulate to build the individual and their identity. Essentially, life is the choice between conformity and a meaningful, purposeful life. Herman Hesse's implementation of existential ideas exemplifies the importance of one's responsibility to determine their own essence and undergo an existential search for meaning.
Everyone is on a journey to find themselves. No journey is the same nor is there a "right" or "wrong" way to live one's life. It is the decisions that one makes in a lifetime that defines their identity and makes them who they are. From an existentialist point of view, the journey to find oneself is crucial. After Siddhartha lives among the Samanas, whom reject the needs of the self, for several years, he realizes that he is not getting any closer towards his goal of Nirvana. He realizes that in order to fulfill his wish of enlightenment, he must undergo a personal journey of self understanding. "And, he decided, It was the Self whose meaning and nature I wished to learn. It was the Self I wished to escape from, wished to overcome. But I was unable to overcome it, I could only trick it, could only run away from it and hide. Truly, not a single thing in all the world has so occupied my thoughts as this Self of mine, this riddle: that I am alive and that I am One, am different and separate from all others, that I am Siddhartha! And there is not a thing in the world about which I know less than about myself, about Siddhartha!" (Hesse 34). Because Siddhartha is now acknowledging his importance and actions, he is on a personal journey towards finding his true identity. Siddhartha did not conform with the surrounding society. He deserted his home to fulfill his wishes and left the Samanas because of his opposing beliefs. "I'll be my own teacher, my own pupil. I'll study myself, learn the secret that is Siddhartha," (Hesse 35). This illuminates the existential belief that one should not conform to society's wishes. It is one's own living which should determine their essence, not society. Siddhartha made many great strives towards finding himself, but along the way his initial motive began to become unclear to him. "Devoid of value, it seemed to him, devoid of value and meaning was this life he'd been living; nothing that was alive, nothing in any way precious or worthy of keeping, had remained in his hands. Alone he stood, and empty, like a shipwrecked man upon the shore," (Hesse 70). When one fails to make their own decisions and strive to create their own identity, their life will fail to have purpose.
A major belief of existentialists is to not dedicate one's life entirely to one goal. When a goal becomes one's sole purpose in life, the life becomes meaningless. From an existential perspective, Siddhartha made the mistake of doing exactly this. Reaching enlightenment by disregarding the self is his one and only objective. "Before him, Siddhartha saw a single goal: to become empty, empty of thirst, empty of want, empty of dream, empty of joy and sorrow. To let the ego perish, to be "I" no longer, to find peace with an empty heart and await the miraculous with thoughts free of Self. This was his goal," (Hesse 13). A goal is supposed to be a source of motivation to achieve a certain state of being. When a goal dominates one's life they are completely focused on achieving this goal that they don't acknowledge their surroundings or the events that take place, all of which should effect the person as a whole. Towards the end of the book when Siddhartha has gained much wisdom, he explains this very thing to his old friend Govinda. "'When a person seeks,' Siddhartha said, 'it can easily happen that his eye sees only the thing he is seeking; he is incapable of finding anything, of allowing anything to enter into him, because he is always thinking only of what he is looking for, because he has a goal, because he is possessed by his goal. Seeking meaning having a goal. Finding means being free, being open, having no goal. You, Venerable One, are perhaps indeed a seeker, for, striving to reach your goal, you overlook many things that lie close before your eyes,'" (Hesse 117). Govinda could never find enlightenment because he was completely fixated on attaining this goal, therefore never allowing himself to experience the world. One cannot thrive as a person and gain knowledge if they are consumed with a goal, never taking in and growing from the occurrences in life. Siddhartha found that in the process of trying to reach his goal of reaching Nirvana, he actually got farther away from it. He found himself lost and depressed while living among the child people, despite his good intentions. "In pursuit of his goal, he allowed the city to suck him in, drifted with the current down its streets, paused in its squares, rested upon the stone steps along the river," (Hesse 47). A goal can never be obtained if it is the single intent for life.
In order to successfully undergo the search for oneself and truly understand the meaning of one's life, it is imperative that one accepts the struggles encountered. Siddhartha holds the knowledge that the trials in life should be accepted and used as a tool to improve oneself. "He saw their struggles, watched them suffer and turn gray over things that seemed to him utterly unworthy of such a price- things like money, petty pleasures, petty honors. He saw people scold and insult one another, saw them wailing over aches and pains that would just make a Samana smile; suffering on account of deprivations a Samana would not notice," (Hesse 61). Throughout the journey to discover one's true essence, there will be hardship and many trials. The struggles one comes across should be embraced fore it is through pain and struggle that growth is experienced. One can gain a great deal from the strife in life because the opportunity to grow stronger is given in the presence of pain. Siddhartha undergoes an immense amount of struggles throughout his journey, but he is brought joy from his strife in that he develops a greater sense of self. "Now he too felt for once in his life, late as it was, this strongest and strangest of passions, was suffering because of it, suffering terribly, and yet he was blissful; he felt somehow renewed, somehow richer," (Hesse 102). Pain, struggle and defeat shows a person more about who they are and what they're capable of than in times of ease. The knowledge gained from misfortune contributes greatly to the development of the self and one's identity. When Siddhartha's son does not want to be associated with his father, Siddhartha accepts this even though it pains him vastly. "With longing and bitterness, Siddhartha thought of his son, nurtured the love and tenderness in his heart, allowed the pain to gnaw at him, committed all the follies of love," (Hesse 110). Embracing the struggles in life, although they may be painful, ultimately allows for personal growth and gaining a deeper sense of the self thus constituting one's existence.
The ideas Hesse implement in his writing force his reader to look at life through an extremely prevalent existential lens. His writing provides the modern world with guidance on how to live a valuable life with purpose. By setting in place a protagonist who's mind thinks as an existentialist and exposing the faults along his journey, one can self reflect on their life and develop a lifestyle that is beneficial to the improvement of their identity. It is through Siddhartha's mistakes that the reader is able to be free and make the correct choices for a fulfilling, meaningful existence. Siddhartha by Herman Hesse is a truly striking piece of art that thoroughly analyzes the decisions in life that play a role in one's happiness and quality of life.
Everyone is on a journey to find themselves. No journey is the same nor is there a "right" or "wrong" way to live one's life. It is the decisions that one makes in a lifetime that defines their identity and makes them who they are. From an existentialist point of view, the journey to find oneself is crucial. After Siddhartha lives among the Samanas, whom reject the needs of the self, for several years, he realizes that he is not getting any closer towards his goal of Nirvana. He realizes that in order to fulfill his wish of enlightenment, he must undergo a personal journey of self understanding. "And, he decided, It was the Self whose meaning and nature I wished to learn. It was the Self I wished to escape from, wished to overcome. But I was unable to overcome it, I could only trick it, could only run away from it and hide. Truly, not a single thing in all the world has so occupied my thoughts as this Self of mine, this riddle: that I am alive and that I am One, am different and separate from all others, that I am Siddhartha! And there is not a thing in the world about which I know less than about myself, about Siddhartha!" (Hesse 34). Because Siddhartha is now acknowledging his importance and actions, he is on a personal journey towards finding his true identity. Siddhartha did not conform with the surrounding society. He deserted his home to fulfill his wishes and left the Samanas because of his opposing beliefs. "I'll be my own teacher, my own pupil. I'll study myself, learn the secret that is Siddhartha," (Hesse 35). This illuminates the existential belief that one should not conform to society's wishes. It is one's own living which should determine their essence, not society. Siddhartha made many great strives towards finding himself, but along the way his initial motive began to become unclear to him. "Devoid of value, it seemed to him, devoid of value and meaning was this life he'd been living; nothing that was alive, nothing in any way precious or worthy of keeping, had remained in his hands. Alone he stood, and empty, like a shipwrecked man upon the shore," (Hesse 70). When one fails to make their own decisions and strive to create their own identity, their life will fail to have purpose.
A major belief of existentialists is to not dedicate one's life entirely to one goal. When a goal becomes one's sole purpose in life, the life becomes meaningless. From an existential perspective, Siddhartha made the mistake of doing exactly this. Reaching enlightenment by disregarding the self is his one and only objective. "Before him, Siddhartha saw a single goal: to become empty, empty of thirst, empty of want, empty of dream, empty of joy and sorrow. To let the ego perish, to be "I" no longer, to find peace with an empty heart and await the miraculous with thoughts free of Self. This was his goal," (Hesse 13). A goal is supposed to be a source of motivation to achieve a certain state of being. When a goal dominates one's life they are completely focused on achieving this goal that they don't acknowledge their surroundings or the events that take place, all of which should effect the person as a whole. Towards the end of the book when Siddhartha has gained much wisdom, he explains this very thing to his old friend Govinda. "'When a person seeks,' Siddhartha said, 'it can easily happen that his eye sees only the thing he is seeking; he is incapable of finding anything, of allowing anything to enter into him, because he is always thinking only of what he is looking for, because he has a goal, because he is possessed by his goal. Seeking meaning having a goal. Finding means being free, being open, having no goal. You, Venerable One, are perhaps indeed a seeker, for, striving to reach your goal, you overlook many things that lie close before your eyes,'" (Hesse 117). Govinda could never find enlightenment because he was completely fixated on attaining this goal, therefore never allowing himself to experience the world. One cannot thrive as a person and gain knowledge if they are consumed with a goal, never taking in and growing from the occurrences in life. Siddhartha found that in the process of trying to reach his goal of reaching Nirvana, he actually got farther away from it. He found himself lost and depressed while living among the child people, despite his good intentions. "In pursuit of his goal, he allowed the city to suck him in, drifted with the current down its streets, paused in its squares, rested upon the stone steps along the river," (Hesse 47). A goal can never be obtained if it is the single intent for life.
In order to successfully undergo the search for oneself and truly understand the meaning of one's life, it is imperative that one accepts the struggles encountered. Siddhartha holds the knowledge that the trials in life should be accepted and used as a tool to improve oneself. "He saw their struggles, watched them suffer and turn gray over things that seemed to him utterly unworthy of such a price- things like money, petty pleasures, petty honors. He saw people scold and insult one another, saw them wailing over aches and pains that would just make a Samana smile; suffering on account of deprivations a Samana would not notice," (Hesse 61). Throughout the journey to discover one's true essence, there will be hardship and many trials. The struggles one comes across should be embraced fore it is through pain and struggle that growth is experienced. One can gain a great deal from the strife in life because the opportunity to grow stronger is given in the presence of pain. Siddhartha undergoes an immense amount of struggles throughout his journey, but he is brought joy from his strife in that he develops a greater sense of self. "Now he too felt for once in his life, late as it was, this strongest and strangest of passions, was suffering because of it, suffering terribly, and yet he was blissful; he felt somehow renewed, somehow richer," (Hesse 102). Pain, struggle and defeat shows a person more about who they are and what they're capable of than in times of ease. The knowledge gained from misfortune contributes greatly to the development of the self and one's identity. When Siddhartha's son does not want to be associated with his father, Siddhartha accepts this even though it pains him vastly. "With longing and bitterness, Siddhartha thought of his son, nurtured the love and tenderness in his heart, allowed the pain to gnaw at him, committed all the follies of love," (Hesse 110). Embracing the struggles in life, although they may be painful, ultimately allows for personal growth and gaining a deeper sense of the self thus constituting one's existence.
The ideas Hesse implement in his writing force his reader to look at life through an extremely prevalent existential lens. His writing provides the modern world with guidance on how to live a valuable life with purpose. By setting in place a protagonist who's mind thinks as an existentialist and exposing the faults along his journey, one can self reflect on their life and develop a lifestyle that is beneficial to the improvement of their identity. It is through Siddhartha's mistakes that the reader is able to be free and make the correct choices for a fulfilling, meaningful existence. Siddhartha by Herman Hesse is a truly striking piece of art that thoroughly analyzes the decisions in life that play a role in one's happiness and quality of life.
Monday, May 5, 2014
Part II Siddhartha Reflection
Part II of Siddhartha has been the most interesting and enjoyable part of the book for me. Siddhartha takes more steps towards finding himself and reaching enlightenment. In the beginning of Part II, Siddhartha meets Kamala, who becomes his lover and eventually the mother of his son. But upon meeting Kamala, Siddhartha becomes immersed in a lifestyle far from his self-denying life he lived as a Samana. Siddhartha began to live a life of sex, drugs, alcohol and gambling. Kamala is his "teacher", of both love, this new lifestyle, the harsh realities of a self-centered world. As Siddhartha continues to experience the activities of a self-indulgent life, his sense of self becomes very unclear to him. All of the tangible possessions he owned and pleasures he indulged in become a blurry illusion to him, making him lose himself even more. The town captivated him and he lost all sight of the morals he used to follow fullheartedly. This all leads to Siddhartha running away from his lavish lifestyle to a tree by a river. He is in a huge abyss, fore he is emotionally and spiritually lost, and therefore even considers suicide.
By the end of this chapter, Hesse introduces the theme of water and the water cycle. Essentially, no matter where the water goes, where it ends up, what form its in, the water's origins remain the same. The implementation of the water cycle creates a perfect visual for the reader to really understand Siddhartha's crazy experiences; even though he feels very lost, he remains the same underneath it all. Siddhartha soon meets a ferryman, named Vasudeva. Vasudeva is the Siddhartha's mentor if you are looking at Campbell's Hero Cycle. Vasudeva distracts him from his abyss and teaches him how to listen to the river, because its waters will teach him many things. When Siddhartha is living with the ferryman, Kamala and their son are traveling to follow the Buddha and learn his doctrine. Kamala is bitten by a snake and dies, leaving Siddhartha with his son, Siddhartha. Young Siddhartha grew up with a lavish lifestyle and therefore shows much hatred toward his father for keeping him from his home; he eventually runs back to his old life. Siddhartha comes to a realization that he is getting treated by his son the same way he treated his own father, by leaving him and never coming back. He wants to protect his son and shelter him from harm, but he knows that personal experiences are what makes a person grow and find their own identity. That is essentially the message at the end of the book. One must find themselves by experiencing life in their own way and making their own decisions. I really enjoyed the second half of Siddhartha and I think it has an exeptionally great message.
By the end of this chapter, Hesse introduces the theme of water and the water cycle. Essentially, no matter where the water goes, where it ends up, what form its in, the water's origins remain the same. The implementation of the water cycle creates a perfect visual for the reader to really understand Siddhartha's crazy experiences; even though he feels very lost, he remains the same underneath it all. Siddhartha soon meets a ferryman, named Vasudeva. Vasudeva is the Siddhartha's mentor if you are looking at Campbell's Hero Cycle. Vasudeva distracts him from his abyss and teaches him how to listen to the river, because its waters will teach him many things. When Siddhartha is living with the ferryman, Kamala and their son are traveling to follow the Buddha and learn his doctrine. Kamala is bitten by a snake and dies, leaving Siddhartha with his son, Siddhartha. Young Siddhartha grew up with a lavish lifestyle and therefore shows much hatred toward his father for keeping him from his home; he eventually runs back to his old life. Siddhartha comes to a realization that he is getting treated by his son the same way he treated his own father, by leaving him and never coming back. He wants to protect his son and shelter him from harm, but he knows that personal experiences are what makes a person grow and find their own identity. That is essentially the message at the end of the book. One must find themselves by experiencing life in their own way and making their own decisions. I really enjoyed the second half of Siddhartha and I think it has an exeptionally great message.
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