Conformity In Siddhartha And Herman Hesse's Things Fall Apart

There have been many teachers in one’s lifetime, some more important than others. These teachers and instructors affect different people in different ways, and lessons are learned that are important to prepare for real life situations. In the book Siddhartha by Herman Hesse, a young Brahmin named Siddhartha is not content with his current spiritual self. Siddhartha is directed to spiritual enlightenment and Nirvana because of his guidance and teaching from Kamala, Kamaswami, and Vasudeva.

In the book Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse, many similarities and differences are displayed between Hinduism and Buddhism. Siddhartha, a Buddhist, seeks to find find complete peace within himself, also known as enlightenment. Siddhartha's father who is a Brahmin, is opposed to his son leaving the family and finding his own path to the ultimate goal of Nirvana. Throughout the novel, Hinduism and Buddhism are the same because both religions seek complete peace, called enlightenment, and they both have an emphasis on meditation, however, Hinduism believes in the caste system while Buddhism does not.

Bless me, Ultima is a novel by Rudolfo Anaya that takes place in a poor farming community in Guadalupe, New Mexico. Antonio, the main character in the book, at such a young age he is witness to death, violence and evil. He is forced to make decisions that will affect his future. As this takes place Antonio is surrounded by various conflicts that in a way help him make his decisions. These conflicts; Good versus Evil, Mother versus Father and various religious conflicts are also the main themes in the novel.

Most young people have not witnessed five deaths, had their beliefs challenged, nor have been torn between their parents’ hopes, however, Antonio has done all three. In Rudolfo Anaya ’s coming-of-age novel, Bless Me, Ultima, Ultima comes to live with the Márez family.

In Bless Me, Ultima, Rudolfo Anaya used numerous messages, which influenced and inspired the readers in their lifestyle and future goals. The greatest lesson that Anaya teaches in the novel is that sometimes important people in our life can change our perspective in making and defending our choices. Antonio has numerous dreams throughout the novel, which changed as Antonio grew up according to the interpretations of his family members. This made him to change his perspective in making important steps to fulfil his dreams in his educational development.

Bless Me Ultima, a novel by Rudolfo Anaya, is one that is difficult to categorize but which manages to blend a number of different writing genres in telling the story of a young man who must leave adolescence behind and takes a spiritual journey into adulthood. In writing this book, Anaya interweaves legendary and mythic details, including a number of dreams, which gives the book a surrealistic feel reminiscent of the Latin American writing style. He combines this with a realistic depiction of the New Mexican landscape to create a rich picture of the lifestyle of the characters. Ultimately, Bless Me Ultima is a coming of age novel in which the main character, Adolfo, will undergo a number of difficult experiences and conflicts, including the death of his friend and spiritual teacher, as he goes about the process of self-discovery and growing into adulthood. In the end, it is Antonio’s striving to reconcile the complexities of those experiences that leads him to conclude that he cannot depend on others to answer the fundamental questions of life, but instead must learn to be his own man and arrive at his own conclusions about morality and the human experience.

Transcendentalism, a powerful intellectual and philosophical movement founded by Ralph Waldo Emerson in the early nineteenth century, was guided by the principle that individuals are inherently good and function at their best when they are independent and self-reliant. Striving to produce a philosophy that would serve a new nation, transcendentalists believed that religious institutions and political parties would eventually corrupt the natural pure goodness of man. Transcendentalist ideology further asserts that by conforming to the standards set by society, man would not only lose the ability to follow his own instincts, but also become incapable of freely expressing himself. In his essay Self Reliance, Emerson writes, “Be yourself; no base imitator of another, but your best self. There is something, which you can do better than another. Listen to the inward voice and bravely obey that. Do the things at which you are great, not what you were never made for” (Emerson). Other writers and intellectuals such as Frederick Douglass, Walt Whitman, and Emily Dickinson have adopted Emerson’s views on individuality and have expressed these ideals through their work. The spirit of individuality and self-reliance, key principles of Transcendentalism, are noted in Frederick Douglass’ Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Walt Whitman’s poem “Song of Myself” and Emily Dickinson’s poem “Nature (790).” Through their literary work, Douglass, Whitman, and Dickinson share

Spirituality is an interdependence of an individual to the religion and religious beliefs, such as, visiting to temple, church and other religious buildings and participating on spiritual activities (praying, meditation, worshiping and donation). In my opinion, spirituality is the way of existing in the society and the world because every human being learn to adjust in the society from their religious beliefs and value systems which are unique among various people. Spirituality helps to find the meaning of different circumstances of the individual’s life, which provides better solution of any problem in their life. Similarly, spirituality explains the human boundaries which promotes the safety and belongingness among various people. Also it is the way of understanding the world and their role in the world.

There is a time in all religious experiences that people look for spiritual growth by reflecting on the basics of life. An estimated 376 million people are considered to believe and follow Buddhist practices, the question of the four elements (sight’s), aging people, the sick, funerals processions and religion. These elements that Siddhartha Gautama saw, that led to him to seek religious enlightenment, and to give up his privileged life. These four elements come up in every religious walk at some point. Reflection on these elements can have astonishing effects in someone’s life. By looking at these elements, and by showing the effect they had on Siddhartha Gautama’s life, will show that anyone could grow in their spiritual belief by reflecting

Transcendentalism is entirely unique, due to the literature's tendency to explore spirituality and individuality in a broad and progressive manner. Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson are considered the “fathers” of this movement in literature. After reading the two most famous pieces of work from these writers, Self-Reliance and Civil Disobedience it becomes clear that they both originate from the same purpose. Transcendentalism teaches that humans are fundamentally good, and that it is the nature of this society to corrupt and sin rather than an individual's. Both writers display this concept, but in opposite ways. Emerson and Thoreau share the theme of individuality in their pieces, and the passion they put into their essays Self-Reliance and Civil Disobedience. However while Emerson focuses on inward reflection Thoreau focuses on outward disobedience towards society.

In his novel, Siddhartha, Herman Hesse implies that wisdom plays a huge part of the story since it seems to be a topic we’re jumping into a lot. For example, that is what inspires Siddhartha to go on his long life learning journey, to look for more knowledge and find wisdom. Along with that, to represent Siddhartha finding wisdom, he puts him through different kinds of experiences, since wisdom can be gained only from that.

[next work, again tied to thesis]. By the end of the story, Hesse shows the necessity “to wait, to listen, and to be patient” (111) in order to reach Nirvana, interpreted by Siddhartha’s learning from the river and reaching liberation from suffering. When the protagonist finally “stops fighting with destiny, stops suffering,” because “his ego had flowed into the oneness”(119), he reveals to Govinda his “little esteem for thoughts” (127) compared to things. However, developing one’s own thoughts is indeed the imperative and pivotal path to listening to nature and obeying the interior voice. “The knowledge of what wisdom actually is,” the ability “to think the thought of oneness,” and the “sincerity of knowledge … that knows perfection” blossom in Siddhartha’s heart when he reaches Nirvana, “the eternal perfection of the world” (114). Although Siddhartha despises the concept of learning and thinking at some parts of the novel, he explicitly cites “knowledge,” “wisdom,” and “thought,” at his eventual enlightenment. Hesse precisely exposes that in the end, both thought and experience are important: “it is everything long since and always” (126). Moreover, reflection on the past, “remember[ing] the Teaching, the divine Buddha, the conversation with the Sublime One…. all belongs together” (44), and such experience of knowledge during Siddhartha’s early age is fused with who he is ultimately. Although the process of learning and thinking is not the final path to Nirvana, it is doubtless the rudiment and one indivisible part of Siddhartha’s self. Only by accepting and embracing the benefits of all opposing values does Siddhartha obtain the wisdom of Buddhism and achieve his quest. [concluding sentence , reaffirming the thesis]

Do you have any beliefs or religion? If so you could probably find it in the Novel Siddhartha because it talks about multiple religions and beliefs. The author of this unique novel is Hermann Hesse a successful poet that wrote other books like The Glass Bead Game and Steppenwolf but, Siddhartha being one of the most famous one making him well known as the book Siddhartha is moving and a long journey of a man find himself. The novel Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse is about a man named Siddhartha sets out on a journey to seek enlightenment to satisfy his craving of knowledge, he was about to commit suicide when he heard something,

Enlightenment, as commonly practiced in Indian and Chinese cultures, refers to the individualistic path toward the ultimate goal of a spiritual awakening and a sense of timeless unity among all aspects of the world. This process is insightfully narrated within the text of Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha as the reader witnesses the sacrifice and unrelenting commitment required of one seeking enlightenment. Siddhartha’s almost consuming desire for spiritual wisdom leads him to several areas of his life in which he does not fulfill this thirst; he travels and follows the Brahmins, the Semanas, Gotama and Kamala, but still lacks understanding. However, when brought upon the river, Siddhartha is finally able to connect the river’s cyclical nature with the unity of all things. The river in Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha serves as an opportunity bringing upon Siddhartha’s goal of enlightenment as well as a symbol for life, time, unity and spirituality.

According to Albert Einstein, “wisdom is not a product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it.” In Siddhartha, Hermann Hesse utilizes the reoccurring theme that knowledge and wisdom are different to show the readers how to actually learn and become more complete in life. This theme can be proven at multiple points throughout the novel such as when Siddhartha is young and leaves home, when he meets Gotama and his followers, and when he advises Govinda at the end of his journey.