Internal Conflict in Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha - 967 Words

The novel Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse is a timeless story about one man’s journey of finding peace in his way of life and thoughts. Siddharta is a young Brahmin’s son, who is dissatisfied with his worship and in turn sets out to find the lifestyle that is right for him. Siddhartha is faced with many external, physical conflicts, yet that is not the most prominent type of conflict in the story. Hesse builds excitement and suspense through Siddhartha’s internal journey to create an emotional response usually associated with external conflict. The start to Siddhartha’s suspenseful journey was when he was a fairly young boy.That was when he had one of his most important awakenings, realizing that his religion wasn’t enough to truly feed†¦show more content†¦Before he found the secret that he was searching for, he had to overcome internal struggles, as he became frustrated that he had spent so much of his life looking for enlightenment and he h ad not yet found it. â€Å"The wound still smarted; he still rebelled against his fate. There was still no serenity and conquest of his suffering† (132). This quote shows what his thought process was like before Vasudeva gave him his final advice. He became almost doubtful, and certainly frustrated. This built up the reader’s feelings of suspense- would Siddhartha ever truly find enlightenment? Although Siddhartha’s internal thoughts reflected doubtfulness, he did eventually hear the words, spoken by Vasudeva, that he was searching for which led him to his enlightenment- From that hour Siddhartha ceased to fight against his destiny. There shone in his face the serenity of knowledge, of one who is no longer confronted with conflict of desires, who has found salvation, who is in harmony with the stream of events, with the stream of life, full of sympathy and compassion, surrendering himself to the stream, belonging to the unity of all things. (136) Siddhartha’s enlightenment was initially a composite of all the events that had happened throughout his lifetime. In the quote, â€Å"serenity of knowledge† may be referring to the knowledge gained by all the psychological conflicts Siddhartha experienced. All of the ups and downs, temptations and sacrifices added up, resulting in the excitingShow MoreRelated Siddhartha Essay: Use of Form, Symbolism, and Conflict1240 Words   |  5 PagesUse of Form, Symbolism, and Conflict in Siddhartha  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Hermann Hesse uses the literary devices of form, symbolism, and conflict to develop his novel, Siddhartha.    Hermann Hesses novel, Siddhartha, is a novel of classical symmetry, a perfection achieved (Hermann Hesse 25).   It tells the story of a young man who sets out to find his true self.   Throughout his journey, Siddhartha converts to various religions, searching for the one religion that will help him discover his identityRead MoreFear Is The Common, But Misunderstood And Even Complex Emotion Of Fear2050 Words   |  9 Pagesstruggles. Fear helps drive characters to struggle against difficult circumstances in books like Mrs. Dalloway, Siddhartha and Their Eyes were Watching God. However, even though the main characters in these novels all face struggle, each faces a different component of it. In Mrs. Dalloway, Clarissa faces two struggles: one against herself and one against others. The central conflict Clarrissa faces is which herself. She goes through the whole book planning for a party that will please people