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Siddhartha Symbolism

Decent Essays

A wise man once said, “And in the end, we were all just humans, drunk on the idea that love, only love, could heal our brokenness.” Most people either choose to chase love with every fiber in their being, or they run from it as fast as they can. The classic story, “Siddhartha” by Hermann Hesse describes a young Brahman named Siddhartha and his quest to enlightenment, and in this story almost every character represents something. Siddhartha believed that love was an earthly matter that must be forgotten to transcend the world and reach Nirvana, but that could not be further from the truth. Siddhartha experienced love many times, and many of the people he met were symbolic of love. Whether it be his father, who symbolized his rejection of love; …show more content…

The entire first chapter sets up how Siddhartha’s rejection of his father’s love comes back on him. His father is just an average Brahman man who is happy with his life and Siddhartha has trouble understanding his father during his adolescence. Siddhartha then sees the Samanas in the town and realizes that maybe if he is like them, he can reach the understanding he seeks, and so he goes to his father and tells him he is leaving to join them. His father is very displeased at first and does not allow it, but sees Siddhartha’s determination and decides to let him leave. Siddhartha’s father loved Siddhartha so much that he wanted him to be happy even if it wasn’t with him. Siddhartha rejected his father’s love in the beginning because he did not understand that his father’s love is what made him so happy, and in Siddhartha’s quest for enlightenment, he realized in the end that to love like his father, is what can help him attain Nirvana and …show more content…

From the time he leaves Siddhartha on page 25 to when they meet up again on the final page and Govinda was in tears, the love is always evident. Govinda joined Siddhartha in his quest for enlightenment when he first went to meet the Samana’s and they split up after their encounter with the Buddha. They split because Siddhartha believes that enlightenment cannot be found in a teacher and Govinda disagrees, but no matter how long they were apart the love that they had was always there, it was unconditional, and that’s what made Govinda such a key character. Even in the midst of Siddhartha’s belief that love was nothing but a set back on his quest to enlightenment, he loved Govinda because it was truly an unconditional

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