Siddhartha
Looking for a Meaning in Nothing in Life
Where would one look to find meaning, or to find themselves? If one were to look for help, or to look for guidance and understanding, where would they look? Some people might find it through their experiences, and through their memories. In the novel, Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha goes through a number of different experiences as well as searching high and low to find the meaning of his existence, the meaning of life, and the meaning of communication.
Throughout the novel, Siddhartha encounters a lot of trials and temptations that leave him questioning and searching for meanings of why he went through what he went through and what will happen in the near future. One thing that Siddhartha uses to try and find a sense of meaning is the river, because “The river flowed softly and gently; it was dry in season but its voice rang out strangely. It was laughing, it was distinctly laughing!” (107). Siddhartha used the river as a way of guidance, a place where he can come to and sort out his thoughts. The river is also a place that he comes to for answers, because the little voice that he hears laughing, laughing at the old Ferrymen is also giving him advices. The river gives Siddhartha guidance that Buddha and the teachers couldn’t give him. One day when Siddhartha comes to the river, as he usually does, he begins to realize that “They all became part of the river. It was the goal of all of them, yearning, desiring, suffering; and the rivers voice was full of longing…full of instable desire…[the] river flowed towards its goals.”(110). Hermann Hesse uses this piece of evidence to reveal how Siddhartha feels and relates to the actions that is bestowed on the river. The endless streaming river shows Siddhartha’s paths are endless and that he has a little way longer to go to reach his goals. The river gives Siddhartha a sense of hope, and encouragement to keep going, to keep going
Where would one look to find meaning, or to find themselves? If one were to look for help, or to look for guidance and understanding, where would they look? Some people might find it through their experiences, and through their memories. In the novel, Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha goes through a number of different experiences as well as searching high and low to find the meaning of his existence, the meaning of life, and the meaning of communication.
Throughout the novel, Siddhartha encounters a lot of trials and temptations that leave him questioning and searching for meanings of why he went through what he went through and what will happen in the near future. One thing that Siddhartha uses to try and find a sense of meaning is the river, because “The river flowed softly and gently; it was dry in season but its voice rang out strangely. It was laughing, it was distinctly laughing!” (107). Siddhartha used the river as a way of guidance, a place where he can come to and sort out his thoughts. The river is also a place that he comes to for answers, because the little voice that he hears laughing, laughing at the old Ferrymen is also giving him advices. The river gives Siddhartha guidance that Buddha and the teachers couldn’t give him. One day when Siddhartha comes to the river, as he usually does, he begins to realize that “They all became part of the river. It was the goal of all of them, yearning, desiring, suffering; and the rivers voice was full of longing…full of instable desire…[the] river flowed towards its goals.”(110). Hermann Hesse uses this piece of evidence to reveal how Siddhartha feels and relates to the actions that is bestowed on the river. The endless streaming river shows Siddhartha’s paths are endless and that he has a little way longer to go to reach his goals. The river gives Siddhartha a sense of hope, and encouragement to keep going, to keep going