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.