Demian - Herman Hesse

Herman Hesse's novel Demian tells of a young boy

named Emil Sinclair and his childhood growing up

during pre-World War I. Emil struggles to find

his new self-knowledge in the immoral world and

is caught between good and evil, which is

represented as the light and dark realms. Hesse

uses much symbolic diction in his novel to give a

more puissant presentation of Emil Sinclair and

the conflict between right and wrong. The

symbolism gives direction, foreshadow, and

significance towards every aspect of the novel.

Emil Sinclair's home as a young child is a very

important symbol in the novel. As Emil attends

school he is shown a world immoral value. The

confusion of which is right or wrong creates the

need for a safe haven for Emil. Emil refers to his

home as a realm of light and states that he and his

family all belong to that realm. The house itself

was once a monastery, giving it a more powerful

representation of the light realm. This symbolic

asylum represents Emil's innocence within himself

and casts him apart from the real world. Another

safe haven Emil retreats to is after he finds

himself as a member of the mark of Cain. Eva's

garden symbolizes the Garden of Eden (a

religious setting therefore of the light realm) and

Emil separates himself there as one with the mark

of Cain apart from the rest of the corrupt world.

Both settings symbolize Emil's importance in the

world as well as his destiny.

The Garden of Eden presents itself as another

symbolic location. The event that Emil told the

story of stealing the apples from the garden was

a very symbolic point of the novel in which Emil

breaks away from his light realm. The garden that

Emil stole the apples from represented the

Garden of Eden and the apples, or forbidden

fruit, symbolized Emil's first sin. This event

foreshadows what is next to come in the conflict

of good and evil. Emil's first step out of the light

realm gives way to more symbolic events where he

becomes