Siddhartha by Herman Hesse Book Review

In Siddhartha by Herman Hesse, there were 3 main events that contributed to Siddhartha becoming who he is throughout the book. The three important events were him going off on his own to fill an empty void he thought he had in himself, him evolving into being like the people in the material world , and him thinking he needed his son to fill a void , finding enlightenment and becoming a ferryman.

Siddhartha left his home where he stayed with his father, to travel and learn with the samanas . He learned to set himself free from things like clothes and he also reached a higher level of discipline as well as abstinence.For example, in the chapter of the Samanas it’s stated that “He went the way of self-denial by means of meditation,through imagining the mind to be void of all conceptions.”Although, Siddhartha decided to continue on and journey elsewhere as he felt even the most knowledgeable samanas could not teach him what he wanted to learn.He continued on his quest where he met and studied with the enlightened one (Buddha).In which he found a flaw in Buddha’s teachings therefore he spoke with the Buddha and departed on his path to find what he was missing.

After leaving his father, the samanas and Govinda behind with Buddha, Siddhartha continued on his Journey where he came into a city and met the fair Kamala.In which she taught him her ways of love once he changed his appearance .Therefore this shows Siddhartha how things he doesn’t think matters are important to ordinary people and their lives. In order to satisfy Kamala he went off and met Kamaswami who taught him skills of trade and commerce. As Siddhartha began to evolve into becoming a person of the material world he began to lose sight of what he was on his journey to find.While Siddhartha was in the business world which eventually led him to developing a terrible gambling problem that only brought Siddhartha unhappiness and no fulfillment. “In this pointless cycle he ran,growing tired,growing old,growing ill”.In which he compares himself to a songbird letting it out and it dies as it resembles that the lifestyle he was living was like he was throwing his life away.

After crossing paths again with Vasudeva (The Ferryman)  he begins to become more in touch with nature and learns the lifestyle of the ferryman..Also, Siddhartha learns that he has a son as Kamala brings him in which shortly after her arrival she gets poisoned by a snake and passes a way,leaving Siddhartha and their son on their own.The child could be very disrespectful but Siddhartha only wishes to keep him satisfied as he feels if he loses his son he will have a empty void left in him.Eventually he runs away Siddhartha goes after him although Vasudeva tells him he should let him go because their lifestyle isn’t meant for him. Therefore, Siddhartha let him go and thought the wound would never heal.After, he and Vasudeva sat and listened to the river and eventually found peace and his gateway to enlightenment.

In conclusion, there were 3 main events that shaped Siddhartha into the person he became throughout the book.The three  events were him going on his journey to fill an empty void he thought he had in himself, him changing and becoming like the people in the material world , and him meeting his son and the role he played in his life, finding enlightenment and becoming a ferryman.