After writing about 15 major literary works, Hermann Hesse has gotten quite famous. Hesse's most famous novel, Siddhartha, has really taken the cake on all the outside tendencies that authors normally include. This book is about a boy named Siddhartha, who leaves his home and travels around the area in search of enlightenment. Little does he know, he will find enlightenment, and will learn so much more than he thought imaginable. With a little bit of Christian twist on traditional Hindu and Buddhist, Hesse writes about the path to Nirvana. In Siddhartha, the character Siddhartha follows the hero's cycle perfectly. The main areas of the cycle that he goes through are thus: the call, the abyss/turning point, and the mentor helping him along his way to enlightenment.
Siddhartha first gets his "call to action" when he decides he wants more than his life is giving him now. He wants enlightenment. Siddhartha is first deciding he wants to leave and he is described as such: "That was how everybody loved Siddhartha. He delighted and made everybody happy. But Siddhartha himself was not happy" (Hesse 5). This is where one can first see that Siddhartha wants more than his rich, pleasure filled life can give. His call to action is on more of an internal level, than a physical one. "He had begun to feel that the love of his father and mother, and also the love of his friend Govinda, would not always make him happy, give him peace, satisfy and suffice him" (Hesse 5). Siddhartha starts to realize even the love of his best friend and family will not always make him happy. He is questioning staying at his home, or leaving and trying to find Nirvana. Right before he leaves he talks to his father. "Siddhartha said: 'With your permission, Father, I have come to tell you that I wish to leave your house tomorrow and join the ascetics. I wish to become a Samana. I trust my father will not object'" (Hesse 10). His father is displeased, but Siddhartha stands and waits for his dad to tell him to leave on his way. This is significant because Siddhartha has put his seek for enlightenment ahead of the love for his father. Siddhartha thinks nothing of it now, but he will regret this abandonment later on when he feels the exact same way.
Once Siddhartha leaves his home place, he comes across many incredible things and has a series of "different lives" or "trails" in a way. He has one where he completely submerges himself in pleasures and wealth. This is his abyss/turning point. He swore never to take part in such goodnesses, and after he has lived in this hell for many years, he finally explodes and even thinks about committing suicide because of this self loathing. He leaves the pleasure ridden town he has been living in, and goes to a nearby rivem. "He wished passionately for oblivion, to be at rest, to be dead. If only a flash of lightning would strike him! If only a tiger would come and eat him! If there were only some wine, some poison, that would give him oblivion, that would make him forget, that would make him sleep and never awaken" (Hesse 87, 88)! Siddhartha realizes he has lost his lost his path completely and there is no point in trying to find Nirvana now that he has wasted so much time on this physical world nonsense. He thinks he has completely lost his most cherished abilities: to think, to wait, to fast. "With a distorted countenance he stared into the water. He saw his face reflected, and spat in it; he took his arm away from the tree trunk and turned a little, so that he could fall headlong and finally go under. He bent, with closed eyes- towards death" (Hesse 89). Siddhartha thinks that death is the only escape for the confusion he is experiencing. This is it. He thinks this is his end; but it's really his miraculous turning point. "Siddhartha was deeply horrified. So that was what he had come to; he was so lost, so confused, so devoid of all reason, that he had sought death. This wish, this childish wish had grown so strong within him: to find peace by destroying his body. All the torment of these recent times, all the disillusionment, all the despair, had not affected him so much as it did the moment the Om reached his consciousness and he recognized his wretchedness and his crime" (Hesse 89). Siddhartha now understands that he can come back from all this. He can get back on his feet and find Nirvana; it's never too late to find the ultimate happiness, so that's what he does.
The last very prominent hero cycle ideal, is the mentor. In Siddhartha, the mentorship comes a little out of order from the original aspect of the hero cycle, but it is still just as important. The mentor is supposed to help the main character through their struggle. In Siddhartha, the Ferryman, named Vasudeva, is his mentor. Right as they meet Vasudeva immediately takes him under his wing and talks to him about the riven and Siddhartha's past. "When Siddhartha finished and there was a long pause, Vasudeva said: 'It is as I thought; the riven has spoken to you. It is friendly towards you, too; it speaks to you. That is good, very good. Stay with me Siddhartha, my friend" (Hesse 104, 105). A good mentor keeps their intern save, and that can be seen here. Later, Siddhartha is being told that the river will teach him what he wants to know, just like Vasudeva has. "'You have also learned this from the river. You will learn the other thing, too.' After a long pause, Siddhartha said: 'What other thing Vasudeva?' Vasudeva rose. 'It has grown late,' he said, 'let us go to bed. I cannot tell you what the other thing is, my friend. You will find out, perhaps you already know'" (Hesse 105). Vasudeva doesn't want to spoil the surprise that Siddhartha has to find for himself. Vasudeva knows that enlightenment cannot be found by someone else for you, you have to find it yourself. Vasudeva helps Siddhartha seek what the river can say, not WHAT is has to say. That is for Siddhartha to find for himself. Once Siddhartha has found that the river has all voices in it at once he talks to Vasudeva about his discovery. "'And do you know,' continued Siddhartha, 'what word it pronounces when one is successful in hearing all it's ten thousand voices at the same time?' Vasudeva laughed joyously; he bent towards Siddhartha and whispered the holy Om in his ear. And that is just what Siddhartha had heard" (Hesse 108). This is the ultimate teaching that Vasudeva offers Siddhartha. He offers him the understanding of Nirvana. After all Siddhartha has been through, he has been looking for this very moment, and could blame the mentorship of Vasudeva for this life changing feat.
Being a hero and all, Siddhartha follows the hero's cycle till death. He first gets the call the action, falls into his abyss, pulls himself out of it, and then has his mentor named Vasudeva help him seek his final prize. If Siddhartha didn't follow these paths he never would have found Nirvana, and going into his final sleep. Siddhartha's best friend Govinda is also looking for the secrets to enlightenment, but without Siddhartha, he would never get close. Every story ever written has to follow some path, and Siddhartha fits awesomely with the classic hero's journey, forcing his name to forever go down in history.
Once Siddhartha leaves his home place, he comes across many incredible things and has a series of "different lives" or "trails" in a way. He has one where he completely submerges himself in pleasures and wealth. This is his abyss/turning point. He swore never to take part in such goodnesses, and after he has lived in this hell for many years, he finally explodes and even thinks about committing suicide because of this self loathing. He leaves the pleasure ridden town he has been living in, and goes to a nearby rivem. "He wished passionately for oblivion, to be at rest, to be dead. If only a flash of lightning would strike him! If only a tiger would come and eat him! If there were only some wine, some poison, that would give him oblivion, that would make him forget, that would make him sleep and never awaken" (Hesse 87, 88)! Siddhartha realizes he has lost his lost his path completely and there is no point in trying to find Nirvana now that he has wasted so much time on this physical world nonsense. He thinks he has completely lost his most cherished abilities: to think, to wait, to fast. "With a distorted countenance he stared into the water. He saw his face reflected, and spat in it; he took his arm away from the tree trunk and turned a little, so that he could fall headlong and finally go under. He bent, with closed eyes- towards death" (Hesse 89). Siddhartha thinks that death is the only escape for the confusion he is experiencing. This is it. He thinks this is his end; but it's really his miraculous turning point. "Siddhartha was deeply horrified. So that was what he had come to; he was so lost, so confused, so devoid of all reason, that he had sought death. This wish, this childish wish had grown so strong within him: to find peace by destroying his body. All the torment of these recent times, all the disillusionment, all the despair, had not affected him so much as it did the moment the Om reached his consciousness and he recognized his wretchedness and his crime" (Hesse 89). Siddhartha now understands that he can come back from all this. He can get back on his feet and find Nirvana; it's never too late to find the ultimate happiness, so that's what he does.
The last very prominent hero cycle ideal, is the mentor. In Siddhartha, the mentorship comes a little out of order from the original aspect of the hero cycle, but it is still just as important. The mentor is supposed to help the main character through their struggle. In Siddhartha, the Ferryman, named Vasudeva, is his mentor. Right as they meet Vasudeva immediately takes him under his wing and talks to him about the riven and Siddhartha's past. "When Siddhartha finished and there was a long pause, Vasudeva said: 'It is as I thought; the riven has spoken to you. It is friendly towards you, too; it speaks to you. That is good, very good. Stay with me Siddhartha, my friend" (Hesse 104, 105). A good mentor keeps their intern save, and that can be seen here. Later, Siddhartha is being told that the river will teach him what he wants to know, just like Vasudeva has. "'You have also learned this from the river. You will learn the other thing, too.' After a long pause, Siddhartha said: 'What other thing Vasudeva?' Vasudeva rose. 'It has grown late,' he said, 'let us go to bed. I cannot tell you what the other thing is, my friend. You will find out, perhaps you already know'" (Hesse 105). Vasudeva doesn't want to spoil the surprise that Siddhartha has to find for himself. Vasudeva knows that enlightenment cannot be found by someone else for you, you have to find it yourself. Vasudeva helps Siddhartha seek what the river can say, not WHAT is has to say. That is for Siddhartha to find for himself. Once Siddhartha has found that the river has all voices in it at once he talks to Vasudeva about his discovery. "'And do you know,' continued Siddhartha, 'what word it pronounces when one is successful in hearing all it's ten thousand voices at the same time?' Vasudeva laughed joyously; he bent towards Siddhartha and whispered the holy Om in his ear. And that is just what Siddhartha had heard" (Hesse 108). This is the ultimate teaching that Vasudeva offers Siddhartha. He offers him the understanding of Nirvana. After all Siddhartha has been through, he has been looking for this very moment, and could blame the mentorship of Vasudeva for this life changing feat.
Being a hero and all, Siddhartha follows the hero's cycle till death. He first gets the call the action, falls into his abyss, pulls himself out of it, and then has his mentor named Vasudeva help him seek his final prize. If Siddhartha didn't follow these paths he never would have found Nirvana, and going into his final sleep. Siddhartha's best friend Govinda is also looking for the secrets to enlightenment, but without Siddhartha, he would never get close. Every story ever written has to follow some path, and Siddhartha fits awesomely with the classic hero's journey, forcing his name to forever go down in history.
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