River In Siddhartha

Siddhartha comes to realize that he has discovered who he really is, he is Siddhartha. He knows himself more than any other teaching or religion. As he comes to self-realization, he comprehends he has been letting himself slip away, he has been running away from himself.

Because Siddhartha had finally left the past behind, he was able to move on and continue his path to enlightenment. Had he not heard “om” and decided to spare his life he wouldn’t have met Vasudeva or learned the teachings of the river and possibly wouldn’t have ever reached

Siddhartha by Herman Hesse is a classic novel and gives some insight to those seeking enlightenment or even just the spiritual understanding of a Buddhist. Siddhartha, the protagonist of this novel, is in search for enlightenment and does so with his friend, Govinda. Along his path to enlightenment, he learns many important lessons varying from guidance and distractions to love. All of these played a key role in his pursuit of enlightenment.

Born as the Brahmins Son, Siddhartha was surrounded by the luxuries and privileges of someone that has a supreme role in the caste system. The concept of Siddhartha's life is represented by the river comes into motion as we see the river being implemented in the early stages of the book as Herman Hesse describes Siddhartha’s childhood. Different actions, his childhood revolved around the river that Siddhartha grew up in but most importantly he performs his rituals and his holy offerings. “ Suntanned

   In Herman Hess's, Siddhartha, Siddhartha's constant growth and spiritual evolution is elucidated through the symbolism of the snake, the bird and the river.

        The stage of transcendence was when the inner voice that has guided Siddhartha thus far surges out and becomes boldly manifest in this river, which, far more than simply water, is the voice of life itself.  In the river, Siddhartha sees images come together, just as he hears voices come together.  Here, "He saw that the water continually flowed and flowed and yet it was always there, it was always the same and yet every moment it was new."  The river can be everywhere at the same time.  Only the present means anything to the river, not the past or the

Comparing the River and the Village of Desires is like comparing peanut butter and jelly, separately they have no relations but when you combine them they create something magnificent and something many can relate to. The village, for example, represents a distraction for Siddhartha. This distraction prevents Siddhartha from focusing on his enlightenment journey but also he eventually comes to a realization which helps guide him on the right path again, "He had finished with that. That also died in him. He rose, said farewell to the mango tree and the pleasure garden. As he had not had any food that day he felt extremely hungry, and thought of his house in town, of his room and bed, of the table with food. He smiled wearily, shook his head and said goodbye to these things" (68). Siddhartha finally leaves the city, leaving lonely and empty with no wealth, nor lover or any belongings where he realizes he hates the

Every hero faces an ordeal. Siddhartha begins to realize that he is consumed with greed and has lost his will to live. He leaves the village and goes to the river. Siddhartha decides that he should end his life and begins to attempt to drown himself in the river. Suddenly Siddhartha hears the holy word “Om” and again gets “reborn”. This is called the reward. Siddhartha has faced death and survived. Because of this, Siddhartha has gained a sense of happiness and radiance. Siddhartha begins to follow the river until he meets the ferryman, who teaches Siddhartha how to learn the way of life from the river.

one side to the other. He too has learnt a lot from the river. He

This time around Siddhartha decides to become a ferryman. He gets rid of all the things that he doesn't need just like when he was becoming a Samana. He learns a lot through his new friend Vasudeva. Vasudeva guides Siddhartha and tells him to listen to what the river tells him. " 'The River has taught me to listen; you will learn from it too.' " (Pg 105) Siddhartha learns a lot from listening to the river. Then Kamala comes back to him with his new son, but then Kamala dies because she gets bitten by a snake. This brings down Siddhartha's morale. When he runs into Govinda after many years of not seeing him, he becomes happy

1. The River – Almost any source of water will focus on the importance of life. Without water there is no life. A journey on or down a river is often a metaphor for life’s journey or a character’s journey, especially if the river is shown as a road or means of travel – pulling or pushing a character through changes. (Twain’s Huck Finn) Rivers can also be a metaphor for the passage of time (Big Fish) or the stages of a human life (creek, roaring river, sea; or the crossing of the river Styx in Greek myths). Since rivers are often used as political borders or boundaries, crossing one may be seen as a “passing over” or a decision that cannot be taken back. In Africa, and thus African literature, rivers are the

Finally, Siddhartha leaves the city due to a dream he had. In this dream, “this bird, which usually sang in the morning, became mute, and as this surprised him, he went up to the cage and looked inside. The little bird was dead... and then he threw it away on the road, and at the same moment he was horrified and his heart ached as if he had thrown away... all that was good and of value in himself”(Hesse 82). This dream showed Siddhartha that if he stayed in the city he would die and never reach enlightenment. Kamala is heartbroken, as written by Hesse, “When she heard news of Siddhartha's disappearance, she went to the window where she kept a rare songbird in a golden cage. She opened the door of the cage, took the bird out and let it fly away" (85). In other words, it is using symbolism to show that Siddhartha is freed from his worldly desires. At the conclusion of his journey, Siddhartha returns to the river he once crossed. This represents his growth and how

Another nature symbol serving as a motif is the river. This motif is used to represent the physical world around Siddhartha and his transition through it. The first reference comes when Siddhartha (as a Samana) is wandering after leaving the Buddha. He comes to it, and needs to cross to continue along a footpath on the other side. He does so, encountering Kamala on the other side and leaving the life of a businessman. The use of the river comes into play as a border, symbolizing the line he crosses when he transitions from a wanderer to a

Suddenly “a small black snake, which had bitten her had crawled away”. (91) The snake was poisonous and Kamala died moments later leaving Siddhartha’s son in his own care. Siddhartha’s son was accustomed to riches, commanding servants, and other worldly desires. He did not want to live in a hut with two old banana eaters. Little Siddhartha wanted to return to the city from which he came. Siddhartha was troubled by this and asked his dear friend Vasudeva for guidance. One important thing Vasudeva told him was “Water will go to water, youth to youth”. (97) One day little Siddhartha was gone with the raft on the other side of the river. Siddhartha went after his son “And when he felt the wound smarting, he whispered the word Om” (103) Vasudeva came for Siddhartha and they both went back to their hut and “Neither spoke of what had happened”. (104)

   In Siddhartha's quest for enlightenment, Herman Hesse makes the river the final focal point of the novel. Siddhartha is set on his journey to the river by listening to his inner voice and questioning authority. The river comes to represent the ideas through which Siddhartha reaches enlightenment. The essential concepts of time and how it relates to life are discovered by Siddhartha through listening to the river. He comes to realize that his previous conclusion is correct, wisdom cannot be taught. When he reaches nirvana, he also sees how spiritualism and materialism both have a place in the cycle of life. Acting as Siddhartha's inspiration to his ultimate goal, the river