Siddhartha

Now that we've finished reading Siddhartha, what are you closing thoughts? Were you satisfied with the ending? If not, what do you feel should have happened?

Some stuff

Well in the few chapters we were supposed to read we were hit with a lot of stuff! Kamala comes back into the story with Siddharthas son only to die and leaving Siddhartha with his son. I want to believe Kamalas death has some significance but I'm not sure how maybe someone knows!? I thought it was pretty sad how Siddhartha and his son split paths I'm sure that has caused Siddhartha a lot of pain. What I found interesting about the departure though is that Siddhartha realizes the pain he caused his father when he left while simontanously realizing he attempted to do what his father did to him by pushing his way of living on his own son.  Siddhartha also realizes the love his father must have had to truly let him go on his own path which he must follow now as well with his son.

Samsara.

Samsara (n.): The cycle of death and rebirth to which life in the material world is bound

This chapter that we had to read over the weekend had caught my attention the most because as we read, we can see that Siddhartha is no longer himself; he praises greed rather that gratifies nature. Along with that we have the dream of a singing bird, to which symbolizes Siddhartha. What was a surprise to me was the ending, where find out that Kamala is pregnant with Siddhartha's child. What do you guys think will happen? Will Siddhartha find out? Will he return?

Siddhartha's Dream

           In the novel we are reading in class, I find that the chapter Sansara really demonstrates Siddhartha's change of behavior. He becomes selfish and full of greed. He becomes impatient and angry. However, then he has this dream that Kamala had a rare bird in a golden cage and that bird was dead. The bird used to sing and now it became mute.That dead bird caught Siddhartha's eye and he decided to throw away the bird because it was of not valuable anymore. I believe this dream has more depth to it and the bird symbolizes Siddhartha. For example, the bird was rare and so is Siddhartha. Siddhartha is a samana and is unlike many others in the city. In addition, Kamala is the owner of the bird and in a way Kamala is in charge of Siddhartha because she is his teacher and she tells him what to do. Then, the bird's death symbolizes the loss of Siddhartha's control over himself; he turns into someone different and his past living dies. When Siddhartha throws away the bird, it's similar to him throwing away his good soul or past life and becoming more vain and full of evil ways. He shows no value of his life. Overall, I very much liked this chapter and it was easy to comprehend. Please do share and comment if you have any other ideas of the dreams symbolization or your interest/understanding of the chapter.

Siddhartha

What do you guys think so far about Siddhartha's journey? Is he accomplishing his goal?What do you guys think about him overall.

Mid term

How did everyone do today on their midterm ? Did anyone find it to be kind of easy while having fun with it? I know I sure did because I tried to be as creative as I can .

Writing techniques

Hello everyone, how did you guys like the writing technique packet today? Which one do you benefit from the first one or this one? Anyone suggest another style or technique for time writing ? 

Transcendentalism in Mr.Herman's Siddartha

So far as we read Siddartha, I feel like the story sucks the reader into the main character. Like Henry David Thoreau and other great transcendentalists, Hermann causes us (or me anyway) to look at our lives and compare it to siddartha's, which inspires us (or just me) to want to change our lives in accordance to the life of Siddartha: to find our true self.

Siddhartha: Love it or Hate it?

Hey guys! I was thinking...the book we are reading so far in class is very interesting. I have been enjoying Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse because I feel like I can relate to the main character in some part. I like how Hesse is writing about Siddhartha's life and is taking his readers along for the journey, but not only is he doing that, he is giving us some insight on life and as readers we are able to connect and say oh that's so true. I feel like Hesse made Siddhartha and in a way the main character is us. As people we want more and search for the real truth, not just what we are being told. We want to have satisfaction in life and we want to find ourselves. I love the novel so far and cannot wait to continue reading it. What do you guys thinks? How do you feel about te novel so far? Do you like it or dislike it? Why?

Thoughts on "Shooting and Elephant"

So I'm a pretty big Orwell fan and was already kind of familiar with "Shooting and Elephant". It's very clear to see the political aspect of the short story (the whole ordeal with British Imperialism) but what I like the most is the idea of conformity. Is conformity the right word? I don't know but the point is that the narrator obviously has a problem over shooting the elephant. He knows he shouldn't shoot the elephant and that not shooting it will make him happy but if he doesn't he'll look like a coward or weak in front of the multitude. So should he kill it and feel bad to please the crowd or should he not kill it and look bad but still have some sense of happiness? Obviously he kills the elephant and then suffers by having to watch it slowly die in front of him. What this makes me think about is how much power and influence does the multitude have? And why does it have so much power? What I love the most is the animal Orwell decided to use. An elephant is gigantic and extremely strong but yet it's not as powerful as the crowd of people with judgement. The thought of judgement defeats a physically powerful beast.

Govinda

Now that we've read more into the novel, in the chapter entitled "Gotama" Siddartha decides to leave his friend Govinda behind since he has joined the Buddha. When i read that part i felt sympathy for Govinda because he really wanted to go on the spiritual journey with Siddartha. What do you guys think was the motive of Govinda following Siddartha up until this point in their journey? Do you guys have any thoughts about Goivnda..?

Independent Reading Progress

How is everyone doing with their independent reading? Has anyone finished their books?