Fathers+&+Sons

media type="custom" key="3686775" In Hermann Hesse’s novel Siddhartha, the parallelism in the father-son relationships between Siddhartha and his father, and Siddhartha and his son, reflects the concept of Samsara the cycle of life in time in Hindu beliefs, allowing the protagonist Siddhartha to understand the meaning of love, helping him overcome the final hurtle on his path to enlightenment. Ø **Parallelism between the two father-son relationships relates to the concept of the Samsara cycle (the cycle of death and rebirth to which life in the material world is bound) in Hinduism. ** //Siddhartha had started to nurse discontent in himself, he had started to feel that the love of his father and the love of his mother, and also the love of his friend, Govinda, would not bring him joy forever and ever, would not nurse him, feed him, satisfy him. He had started to suspect that his venerable father and his other teachers, that the wise Brahmans had already revealed to him the most and best of their wisdom, that they had already filled his expecting vessel with their richness, and the vessel was not full, the spirit was not content, the soul was not calm, the heart was not satisfied (3). // Ø Restless with spiritual teachings from elders and friends Ø Chose to follow another path in life that would show him how other people lived in the world //“The Brahmin saw that Siddhartha’s knees trembled slightly, but there was no trembling in Siddhartha’s face; his eyes looked far away. Then the father realized that Siddhartha could no longer remain with him at home – that he had already left him” (8-9). // Ø Was not satisfied with practices and gods worshiped by his father Ø Left his father mentally despite being physically present in the house while asking for permission to join the Samana  //“remained unfriendly and sulky, when he proved arrogant and defiant, when he would do no work, when he showed no respect to the old people and robbed Vasudeva’s fruit trees, Siddhartha began to realize that no happiness and peace had come to him with his son, only sorrow and trouble” (96). // <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-list: Ignore; msofareastfontfamily: Wingdings; msobidifontfamily: Wingdings; msolist: Ignore;">Ø <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Similar to his father’s rebellious spirit <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-list: Ignore; msofareastfontfamily: Wingdings; msobidifontfamily: Wingdings; msolist: Ignore;">Ø <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Refused to listen to father’s guidance and left his father like how Siddhartha rejected his father <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-list: Ignore; msofareastfontfamily: Wingdings; msobidifontfamily: Wingdings; msolist: Ignore;">Ø <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Parallelisms reflected the cycle of life in Samsara beliefs //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">“Your son, my dear friend, is troubling you, and also me. The young bird is accustomed to a different life, to a different nest. He did not run away from riches and the town with a feeling of nausea and disgust as you did; he has had to leave all these things against his will” (96). // <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-list: Ignore; msofareastfontfamily: Wingdings; msobidifontfamily: Wingdings; msolist: Ignore;">Ø <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Siddhartha failed to share his wisdom and save his son from the pain he suffered <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-list: Ignore; msofareastfontfamily: Wingdings; msobidifontfamily: Wingdings; msolist: Ignore;">Ø <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Unaccustomed to external guidance and must seek his own path and gain experience like Siddhartha did to gain wisdom and enlightenment
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Fathers and Sons **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Siddhartha as a Brahmin’s son **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Siddhartha’s Son **

<span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-list: Ignore; msofareastfontfamily: Wingdings; msobidifontfamily: Wingdings; msolist: Ignore;">Ø **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Siddhartha’s relationship with his son showed him the meaning of love and the emotion allowed Siddhartha to finally achieve enlightenment. ** <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">“Your son, my dear friend, is troubling you, and also me. The young bird is accustomed to a different life, to a different nest. He did not run away from riches and the town with a feeling of nausea and disgust as you did; he has had to leave all these things against his will” (96). // <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-list: Ignore; msofareastfontfamily: Wingdings; msobidifontfamily: Wingdings; msolist: Ignore;">Ø <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Siddhartha’s treatment of his son is too gentle and the boy becomes defiant, and constantly disobeyed Siddhartha in every way <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-list: Ignore; msofareastfontfamily: Wingdings; msobidifontfamily: Wingdings; msolist: Ignore;">Ø <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Siddhartha continued to offer unconditional love for his son //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">“Could his father’s piety, his teacher’s exhortations, his own knowledge, his own seeking, protect him? Which father, which teacher, could prevent him from living his own life, from soiling himself with life, from loading himself with sin, from swallowing the bitter drink himself, from finding his own path?” (98). // //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">“There was the blind love of a mother for her child, the blind foolish pride of a fond father for his only son, the blind foolish pride of a fond father for his only son, the blind eager strivings of a young vain woman for ornament and the admiration of men. All these little simple, foolish, but tremendously strong, vital, passionate urges and desires no longer seemed trivial to Siddhartha” (106). // <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-list: Ignore; msofareastfontfamily: Wingdings; msobidifontfamily: Wingdings; msolist: Ignore;">Ø <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Siddhartha’s encounter with love allowed Siddhartha to understand the meaning of love among all the common people and to experience the strong and important emotions of love and pain in the world. //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">"He remembered how once, as a youth, he had compelled his father to let him go and join the ascetics, how he had taken leave of him, how he had gone and never returned. Had not his father also suffered the same pain that he was now suffering for his son? Had not his father died long ago, alone, without having seen his son again? Did he not expect the same fate? Was it not a comedy, a strange and stupid thing, this repetition, this course of events in a fateful circle?"(107) // <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-list: Ignore; msofareastfontfamily: Wingdings; msobidifontfamily: Wingdings; msolist: Ignore;">Ø <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Siddhartha’s encounter with love helped him realize that it is merely another part of the cycle of life and achieve inner peace after the realization healed the pain of losing his son.