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.