Hero Cycle Siddhartha

Step 8: The Ultimate Boon- " When Siddhartha listened attentively to this
river, to this song, of a thousand voices; when he did not listen to the sorrow
or laughter, when he did not bind his soul to any one particular voice and
absorb it in his Self, but heard them all, the whole, the unity... thousand
voices consisted of one word: Om-perfection... his Self had emerged into
unity." (Hesse 136) This quote provides a theme that flowed throughout the
book. The good and bad powers of water and the many lessons it teaches.
Water and its many different qualities were brought up several times
throughout Siddhartha's story. Water was used for teaching, conveying power,
and mirroring the flow of life. At the very end of the book Siddhartha
achieved what he had been searching for his whole life. He had come full
circle to reaching his goal and had become enlightened, he was no longer
aimlessly searching for knowledge of the world and himself.
Step 7: Apotheosis - "Govinda bowed low. Incontrollable tears trickled down
his old face. He was overwhelmed by a feeling of great love, of the most
humble veneration. He bowed low, right down to the ground, in front of the
man sitting there motionless, whose smile reminded him of everything that he
had ever loved in life, of everything that had ever been of value and holy in
his life." (Hesse 151-152) Since Siddhartha has reached enlightenment he
was almost God like, he was the Perfect One. He was in a state of peace, he
was free from the cycling of suffering. Hesse uses syntax to convey
Govinda's strong emotions. There are many short phrases that reveal the
importance of the relationship of his physical actions to his immediate
emotions.
Step 6: Belly of the Whale- "Yes, he was at the end...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... 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." (Hesse 89) In this moment Siddhartha is alone
in the woods questioning all his actions, what he had done with his life. After
this point he came out with a new output on life. This goes along with the
overall theme, what offsets you from your goals may only bring you closer to

realizing what you want. After this point in the book Siddhartha changed his
path into something he really wanted.
Step 5: The Temptress- " You have seen Siddhartha, the Brahmin's son, who
left his home in order to become a Samana, and who was a Samana for three
years. Now, however, I have left this path... I would like to ask you to be my
friend and teacher, I do not know anything of the art of which you are the
mistress." (Hesse 53) Siddhartha is willing to abandon his whole path to
enlightenment to learn the way of Kamala's love. It took one look and he was
under her spell. She continued to distract him for many years while he
became rich and educated in business and the art of love. Eventually he
forgot his path, then one day he realized he had strayed and went back to a
solemn life. This goes with the universal theme. Kamala distracted him from
his goal, but after some time the distraction made him realize what he really
wanted.
Step 4: Crossing the Threshold- " You have listened well to the teachings, O
Brahmin's son, and it is a credit to you that you have thought so deeply about
them. You have found a flaw. Think well about it again...its goal is salvation
from suffering. That is what Gotama teaches, nothing else." (Hesse 33) At
this point Siddhartha has traveled as a Samana for 3 years, he feels as though
he has learned all the Illustrious One must offer, and doesn't agree with all of
his teachings. Siddhartha is telling the Buddha that he is moving on to make
his own path to enlightenment. While in this quote, the Buddha is explaining
that he only teaches one thing... salvation from suffering. The Illustrious One
has a strong variation of syntax. He uses short, and long sentences, compound
sentences and simple sentences to make his points. His use of a wide variety
of sentence structures adds to his wisdom.
Step 3: Road of Trials- "Silently Siddhartha stood there in the fierce suns
rays, filled with pain and thirst, and stood until he no longer felt pain and
thirst. Silently he stood in the rain, water dripping from his head onto his
freezing shoulders, and onto his freezing hips and legs. Blood dripped from
his smarting skin, ulcers formed... both youths had lived with the Samanas
for about three years." (Hesse 14 and 20) The two young men are putting
themselves through extreme conditions to achieve enlightenment. They tried
many new things, including very difficult trials; in their case, they were
unsuccessful, but it had only been three years while other men had been

aiming for enlightenment for decades. Hesse uses details to describe the
harsh conditions the boys are enduring for the sake of finding enlightenment.
Step 2: Refusal of the Call- "It is not seemingly for Brahmins to utter forceful
and angry words, but there is displeasure in my heart. I should not like to hear
you make this request a second time." (Hesse 10) His father is forbidding him
to go on a religious journey, the old Brahmin wants to shelter his son from
the outside world and the possible struggle and suffering he might
experience. In this quote, Siddhartha's father is restricting him... he is
refusing the call for Siddhartha. The Brahmin uses strong diction to control
his sons urges to leave home. The words he uses to communicate his anger
show diction.
Step 1: Call to Adventure- "Tomorrow morning, my friend, Siddhartha is
going to join the Samanas. He is going to become a Samana." (Hesse 9)
Siddhartha had never experienced the real world until he saw the old beaten
down Samana's who had been pursuing enlightenment their entire adult lives.
He knew he had learned everything his teachers and elders had to give, that is
why he felt such a pull to join the nirvana seeking men. Siddhartha always
had a strong craving to know more about the world and himself. The quote is
from Siddhartha's best friends point of view and is a preview of what is next.