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Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
13 Unit 1 Test and Essay
Handout Siddhartha
Handout packet
14 Journal: Should we try to protect children from the mistakes we made?
Discuss Part I: 1-4
Study Guide Questions
Fishbowl
Chapter Chart
Religion
Caste System – student notes
15 Journal: What’s the difference between knowledge and wisdom?
Discuss Part II: 5-8
Study Guide Questions
Fishbowl
Chapter Chart
Writing Style
16 Journal: Describe the most successful person you know.
Discuss Part III: 9-12
Study Guide Questions
Fishbowl
Chapter Chart
Herman Hesse
Assign Chapter Analyses
17 Journal: What stage of the Siddharthan journey are you at?
Writing Exercise
Work Chapter Analyses
18 Present Chapter Analyses
19 TEST: 4 one-paragraph analyses
SGQ Part I: 1-4 (3-42)
SGQ Part II: 5-8 (45100)
SGQ Part III: 9-12
(101-152)
Prepare Chapter
Analyses
Finish Chapter
Analyses
Prepare for essay test
Chapter Analyses
You will be in groups of two, and you will have most of one class to prepare the following:
 Give brief summary of events
 How does Siddhartha change (emotionally) over the course of this chapter? What
life/religious/philosophy events happen that corresponds to that change?
 Use a thesis and concrete details to convey this change.
 Create a poster that communicates the ideas effectively
 Read a short passage (3/4 page max) that illustrates a key moment
 Time: 3-5 minutes
 **Make sure you include the title of your chapter **
Note that some chapters feature more change than others, and that some change is deliberate
while other change is unconscious. The goal is a presentation on the philosophy of each
chapter.
Chapter Summaries
1. The Brahmin’s Son
5. Kamala
9. The Ferryman
2. Among the Samanas
6. Amongst the People
10. The Son
3. Gautama
7. Samsara
11. Om
4. Awakening
8. By the River
12. Govinda
The Brahmin’s Son (1)
1.
2.
3.
4.
Study Guide Questions
for homework
Why is Siddhartha unhappy?
Why is Govinda willing to follow him?
Describe the Samanas.
How did Siddhartha convince his
father?
Fishbowl Questions
for in-class discussion
1. What is the author’s tone towards the
Semanas?
2. Why doesn’t Siddhartha’s mother
have more of a role in his life?
With the Samanas (2)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Study Guide Questions
for homework
How does he act when he is with the
Samanas?
What is his goal?
What frustrates him?
According to Siddhartha, what can one
learn?
Who is Gotama?
Fishbowl Questions
for in-class discussion
1. How does Siddhartha meditate?
2. Complete the quote: “I could have
learned more quickly and easily
_____.” Explain.
3. What does Siddhartha do with the
oldest Samana? What does that feat
show?
Gotama (3)
Study Guide Questions
for homework
1. How is Gotama different from the
Samanas?
2. Why does Govinda join him? Why
won’t Siddhartha?
3. How does Siddhartha say he will find
enlightenment?
Fishbowl Questions
for in-class discussion
1. Gotama asks him if his (Gotama’s)
followers will also find enlightenment.
Siddhartha dodges this question.
How?
2. What has the Buddha robbed from
him? What has he given?
Awakening (4)
Study Guide Questions
for homework
1. What does Siddhartha decide to study?
How is that the one field he has been
ignorant in?
2. Why does he feel an “icy chill”? He
compares himself to a star. How is that
so?
3. What Siddhartha “awakes” from his
dream, what does he see for the first
time?
Fishbowl Questions
for in-class discussion
1. How is he different now?
2. What is the “Self”? Why has it
occupied Siddhartha so?
Kamala (5)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Study Guide Questions
for homework
What dream does Siddhartha see?
What does Siddhartha think of the
Ferryman and of the river?
How does Siddhartha prepare for
Kamala? What does he want from her?
What three things can Siddhartha do?
Who is Kamaswami?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Fishbowl Questions
for in-class discussion
How has his point of view changed?
How does the writing style reflect
this?
“To obey no other eternal command
___. Nothing else was necessary.”
Explain.
Why doesn’t Siddhartha “ascend the
tree” with the woman?
Hesse uses a simile to describe
Kamala’s mouth. What is it? What
does it say about the woman?
When Siddhartha receives his first
kiss, the style changes. How? Why?
Siddhartha compares himself to a
stone. How is this so?
Amongst the People (6)
Study Guide Questions
for homework
1. What makes Siddhartha good at
business?
2. What does his four-day trip to the
village show about him? How could that
be good business?
3. What does Siddhartha’s inner voice
say? How is life “flowing past” him?
1.
2.
3.
4.
Fishbowl Questions
for in-class discussion
For all of his holy skills, in the end,
why does Kamaswami hire him?
Answer this thoughtfully: What did
Kamala teach him?
What is a Samana heart?
How are Siddhartha and Kamala
similar?
Samsara (7)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Study Guide Questions
for homework
What had Siddhartha learned “amongst”
the people?
Does Siddhartha have a bad life?
What’s good about it?
Describe the Kamala dream.
Describe the bird dream.
Why does he feel dead?
1.
2.
3.
4.
Fishbowl Questions
for in-class discussion
How does his dice playing echo his
real life?
What does the Kamala dream mean?
What does the bird dream mean?
Why is it important that Kamala is
pregnant? Why out of that last trip?
By the River (8)
Study Guide Questions
for homework
1. Why does Siddhartha wish to kill
himself?
Fishbowl Questions
for in-class discussion
1. What is the tone in this section? Is it
entirely serious?
2. What sound does he hear? How does he
react?
3. How is he different when he wakes up?
Who is wish him?
4. What does Siddhartha start lecturing his
friend about?
The Ferryman (9)
Study Guide Questions
for homework
1. What does Siddhartha learn from the
Ferryman?
2. What do people say about the two of
them?
3. Describe the events surrounding
Kamala’s meeting Siddhartha again.
Fishbowl Questions
for in-class discussion
1. How is the dynamic between
Siddhartha and Kamala similar?
2. How is it different?
The Son (10)
1.
2.
3.
4.
Study Guide Questions
for homework
How does young Siddhartha take
advantage of the father?
Why doesn’t Siddhartha punish him?
Why does the son hate his father?
Why did he break the oar?
Fishbowl Questions
for in-class discussion
1. Why are Siddhartha’s parenting
techniques not working? What is he
attempting to do?
2. How can love be “Samsara”?
3. In losing his son, what might
Siddhartha have gained?
Om (11)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Study Guide Questions
for homework
What “wound” does he now have?
What is the different light that he sees
people in?
What does the river do when Siddhartha
goes to see his son?
Siddhartha and Vasudeva listen to the
river – what do they hear?
Where does Vasudeva go?
Fishbowl Questions
for in-class discussion
1. What has been his biggest change
since becoming a ferryman? As a
result, how does the tone change?
2. How does the river serve as a
metaphor for the nature of life?
3. Where does Vasudeva really go?
Govinda (12)
Study Guide Questions
for homework
1. Why is thre still restlessness in
Govinda’s heart?
2. What is wrong with seeking, according
to Siddhartha?
Fishbowl Questions
for in-class discussion
1. Why doesn’t Siddhartha have a
doctrine?
2. How can wisdom not be
communicable?
3. What is the difference between
seeking and finding?
4. What is the symbolism of the stone?
5. How can Nirvana and Samsara be the
same?
6. What does Govinda see Siddhartha
do? What does this show about
Siddhartha’s final change?
Additional questions for Fishbowl discussion:
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Should Siddhartha have followed Buddah, or was he right to reject him?
What teachers does Siddhartha have in his life? Does he learn from them?
In “Kamala” and “Amongst the People” is Siddhartha truly living? Will he be able to
understand his physical self this way?
What does Siddhartha’s dream in “Kamala” represent? (pg. 48)
When Siddhartha says “People like us cannot love” (p. 72) what does he mean? Do
you agree?
What value statement does “Samsara” make about physical pleasures?
What does the river symbolize?
Siddhartha realizes he loved Govinda – how does this fit with his realization about
Kamala?
What is Siddhartha learning from the river?
What did Siddhartha learn from his son? How did this knowledge have an impact on
his life?
Was Siddhartha right in trying to reach his son with kindness?
Siddhartha says “Knowledge can be communicated, but not wisdom” (p. 142). Do
you agree?
What is the difference between the seeking and finding? (p. 140)
Siddhartha believes that words are bad because they only define half a truth. (p. 143)
What does he mean?
What is the connection between time and the dichotomous nature of the world? (p.
143-145) In other words, how does our concept of time help us to divide the world,
and not see it as a unified whole?
What does Govinda see in Siddhartha’s face? (p. 150)
Did Siddhartha ever fully deny his Self? Or did he embrace it and understand it?
Can you seek truth and still find peace?
Subjects for possible themes from the book
 The inward journey, or searching for inner direction
 The duality of flesh and spirit in humanity
 Friends as opposites
 Finding a code of values
 Rejecting established thought to discover things on your own
 Physical pleasure vs. mental purity
 The concept of time in conflict with reality
Glossary of terms used in Siddhartha
Hindu, Sanskrit, Buddhist, and German.
Advaita: non duality, identity of the spirit and matter - essentially are all 'one'. The philosophical
belief that underlies the teaching in the Bhagavad Gita and Upanishads. There is only one
Consciousness, one Supreme Spirit, despite multiplicity; this is the 'ultimate truth' in the text known
to Vasudeva and Buddha.
Atman: breath, principle of life, the individual soul; in the grammar of Sanskrit it is also used as the
reflexive pronoun: oneself
Bhagavad Gita: A series of discourses between Lord Krishna and the warrior prince Arjuna from
which flow the essential teachings of Indian philosophy, equivalent to the New Testament. It forms
one episode in India's Great Epic, the Mahabharata, written later than the 'classical' Upanishads.
Brahman: from root 'bhri' to grow, expand, increase. Hence the 'swelling of soul' that leads to the
meaning of the self existent, impersonal Spirit, the Absolute, the Eternal, the Universal essence from
which all created things emanate or with which they are identified and to which they return; not
generally an object of worship, but rather of meditation and knowledge.
Brahmin: not to be confused with Brahman (see above). The priestly class, highest of the four
division in ancient Hindu society; strictly speaking, one who knows and repeats Vedas, e.g.
Siddhartha and his family.
Buddha: from the Sanskrit root ' budh' 'to wake up', hence, The Awakened or Enlightened One.
Hence Buddha is not a proper name but a title.
Chandogya Upanishad: see under Upanishads.
Cycle of rebirth: reincarnation is an essential belied in the East, not only in India. When we become
one with out Creator (the heaven of Christianity) the chains of rebirth are broken for ever. For many,
to achieve such a state (bliss) is the sole goal of human existence.
Doppelganger: literally 'double', a common device in modern novels in which the author and the
main character are generally one and the same person; a favorite method of writing of Hesse's.
Gotama: Buddha's family name in the last of his earthly incarnations in the sixth century BC.
Govinda: literally ' cowman'; one who looks after cows; Govinda is one of the thousand names of
Krishna; another Govinda was the teacher of Shankara, founder of the monastic order in India; his
commentaries on the Bhagavad Gita and Upanishads are accepted masterpieces.
Grenzsituation: literally a 'borderline situation', 'crisis point', with necessitates and results in some
action or change in events.
Guru: a Sanskrit term having multiple meanings, the basic one being 'heavy or weighty', also meant
a spiritual parent or preceptor from whom a youth receives instruction, prayer, the 'sastras' (rules
sacred teachings). Hence the modern usage.
Karma: literally 'action, works'. How is one to become free from the bonds of work and therefore
from rebirth? This is a vast topic and linked to the belief in reincarnation; put simply, karma is one's
individual fate (as the certain consequences of actions done in previous lives); what happens to us in
this life is the direct result of actions performed in other incarnations. Hence the importance of
'action under knowledge', a key theme in the Bhagavad Gita and Upanishads.
Kamala: literally 'a lotus flower', 'rose coloured or pale red', no doubt a reference to her lips. Her
name is derived from Kama, the Hindu god of desire, sexual love, e.g. Kama Sutra.
Kamaswami: a name made from Kama (see above) and swami meaning 'master', owner, but more
usually as a title to a monk or ascetic. The compound name in the context of the book 'a master of
desire', the role of Kamaswami in this book.
Krishna: Krishna and Rama are the two most famous earthly incarnations of Vishnu. Many legends
surround the figure of Krishna as a great hero and teacher. In more recent legends he is often
represented as a young and amorous flute playing shepherd, the eighth son of Vasudeva.
Lakshmi: Goddess of beauty, prosperity and good luck. In later mythology often regarded as the
wife of Vishnu or Narayana. Like Venus, she was born from the ocean's foam.
Magadha: In ancient India this was a kingdom near the present day state of Bihar.
Mara: from the root 'mri', meaning killing or destroying (cf. English 'murder'). Hence the Evil One,
the Destroyer, who tempts men to indulge their passions and is seen as the great enemy of Buddha
and of his religion.
Maya: a Sanskrit term denoting illusion, the physical world of appearances that surrounds us,
blinding us to the reality behind it. Maya is that power in Nature that creates this illusion. The work
of spiritual aspirants is to seek and experience the unity behind apparent multiplicity.
Nirvana: from the root 'nirva', to blow out, extinguish. Hence, when all desires and passions are
extinguished the highest bliss or beatitude, reunion with the Supreme Spirit, may be experienced.
Om: pronounced (Aum); whole texts have been written on this sound. Simply; it appears in the
Upanishads as a mystic monosyllable, the object of this profound religious meditation. Later it came
to represent the Hindu triad, Vishnu, Siva, Brahma. Om often begins and ends prayers, chants and
meditations.
Prajapati: from Sanskrit prefix 'pra' plus root 'jan', to be born, produce, create and 'pati', father lord,
etc. Hence the meaning 'Father of creation, Protector of Life'.
Rig Veda: the oldest of the Vedas (see Veda).
Sakyamuni: compound of 'sakya', the Buddha's family name and 'muni', sage, seer, saint. In the
book the term is rendered as 'the wise man from the race of Sakya'.
Sansara: a Sanskrit term meaning 'circuit of mundane existence', the existence within worldly
illusion. What befalls Siddhartha when he leaves the Samanas and joins the world of Kamaswami
and Kamala aptly describes, in this context, what Hesse intends to convey by using the term.
Samana: a variant of the Sanskrit 'sramana', to exert oneself, become weary, hence the meaning of
performing 'acts of austerity', etc. Its opposite is 'ashram', a place to rest, retreat from the toils of this
life and world.
Satyam: Sanskrit for 'true, real, pure', that which abides and exists beyond 'maya', illusion.
Savathi: at the time of Buddha the capital of Kosala, the present day province of Oudh.
Self: one's innermost being, the 'embodied or individual self', as opposed to the small self or ego. As
such the embodied self is a minute part of God Himself: it is this truth which is realized in selfrealization / enlightenment, in the experience of unity. This is what both Govinda and Siddhartha
seek.
Siddhartha: In Sanskrit a compound of 'siddha', acquired, accomplished, fulfilled, gained and of
'artha', aim use, purpose, wealth, opulence; hence literally 'the wealth accrued to one who has fulfilled
his aim'. The greatest wealth being self-realization / enlightenment.
Sutra: Sanskrit for 'thread', from 'siv', to sew; see French 'suture'. Also 'that which runs through and
holds things together'. Hence aphorisms, manuals, treatises, e.g. Dharma-sutras.
Sva-tantra: Sanskrit, literally meaning 'self or own' - 'system or model, class', etc. hence that which
has the system within itself. Compare with , 'the kingdom of Heaven is within us'.
The Eight Fold Path: Following on from the Buddha's famous Four noble Truths, a) that life is
suffering b) suffering results in desires c) to stop suffering, stop desiring, d) to stop desiring there is
the eight fold path. This path consists of 1) right views, 2) right livelihood, 3) right speech, 4) right
action, 5) right livelihood, 6) right effort, 7) right awareness, 8) right concentration.
The Potter's Wheel: A very common image in Sanskrit texts, despite the diverse forms created by
the potter, the tool (the wheel) is the same. There is the tool then and the energy which is placed into
is by the potter. Man (the tool) and God the potter, and life the various creations resulting.
Ubermensch: Literally 'over - or superman', both of which hardly do justice to the meaning implied
by Nietzsche and therefore best left as it is. In context of Siddhartha, however, and as a guide, the
sense is closer to out notion of 'hero'.
Upanishads: According to some 'the sitting down at the feet of another to listen to his words',
acquiring profound secretive knowledge in this manner. But native authorities claim that the term
means 'setting at rest ignorance by revealing the knowledge of the supreme spirit'. In the Upanishads
nothing is spoken of as a means to the attainment of the highest end of man (enlightenment) of the
self and Brahman; texts such as Isha, Kena, Brihadaranyaka are well worth our study. The novel
mentions others.
Vasudeva: Name of the father of Krishna; the root 'vas' means to dwell or to shine' hence we may
interpret the name as 'one in whom all things dwell or 'who dwells/shines in all things'.
Veda: from the root 'vid', to know; that body of sacred knowledge which constitutes the basis of the
first period of the Hindu religion. Major texts are the Rig, Yajur and Sama Vedas.
Vedanta: An amalgamation of Veda, to know, and 'anta' means end, hence Vedanta either means the
'complete knowledge of the Vedas', or that which comes as the end of such writings, which are the
UPanishads. The chief doctrine of Vedanta, as expounded by Shankara, is 'Advaita', the view that
nothing really exits but the One Self or Supreme Soul, Brahman.
Vishnu: The preserver as the second Godhead in the Hindu trinity. His name stems from the root
'vish', all pervader. In many places today he is the most popular deity in Hindu worship.
Yoga-Veda: This does not exist as such. Hesse probably extrapolated with the word Yoga-sutra. In
the novel he employs the term, however, with its original meaning of 'knowledge about the practices
of yoga'.
Yoga: In Sanskrit, the root verb 'yuj' meaning to join, yoke, unite, connect etc. has a plethora of uses.
In Siddhartha it's concerned with the 'integration' which the practices of yoga bring about. These are
the disciplines of the four paths of traditional yoga: bhakti (devotion), karma (action), jnana
(knowledge), raja (meditation); strictly speaking, the purpose of all yogic practice is to concentrate
the mind to obtain union with the Universal Spirit; hence those who think that yoga means 'asanas'
(postures) and nothing else are mistaken. Yoga has eight limbs or aspects.
Rubric for Presentations
7 = superior
6 = above average
5 = meets expectations
4 = meets most requirements
3 = does not meet most requirements
2-1 = makes reference to (but does not address) requirements
The Brahmin’s Son
Thesis
Names
Depth of Analysis
Equal
Responsibilities
With the Samanas
Thesis
Thesis
Depth of Analysis
Thesis
Depth of Analysis
Thesis
Depth of Analysis
Thesis
Equal
Responsibilities
Poster
Presentation Style
A 35-32
B 31-28
C 27-25
D 24-21
TOTAL
Poster
Presentation Style
A 35-32
B 31-28
C 27-25
D 24-21
TOTAL
Poster
Presentation Style
A 35-32
B 31-28
C 27-25
D 24-21
TOTAL
Poster
Presentation Style
A 35-32
B 31-28
C 27-25
D 24-21
TOTAL
Poster
Presentation Style
A 35-32
B 31-28
C 27-25
D 24-21
TOTAL
Names
Depth of Analysis
Equal
Responsibilities
Amongst the People
TOTAL
Names
Equal
Responsibilities
Kamala
A 35-32
B 31-28
C 27-25
D 24-21
Names
Equal
Responsibilities
Awakening
Presentation Style
Names
Equal
Responsibilities
Gotama
Poster
Names
Depth of Analysis
Samsara
Thesis
Names
Depth of Analysis
Equal
Responsibilities
By the River
Thesis
Thesis
Depth of Analysis
Thesis
Depth of Analysis
TOTAL
Poster
Presentation Style
A 35-32
B 31-28
C 27-25
D 24-21
TOTAL
Poster
Presentation Style
A 35-32
B 31-28
C 27-25
D 24-21
TOTAL
Poster
Presentation Style
A 35-32
B 31-28
C 27-25
D 24-21
TOTAL
Poster
Presentation Style
A 35-32
B 31-28
C 27-25
D 24-21
TOTAL
Poster
Presentation Style
A 35-32
B 31-28
C 27-25
D 24-21
TOTAL
Names
Depth of Analysis
Equal
Responsibilities
Om
A 35-32
B 31-28
C 27-25
D 24-21
Names
Equal
Responsibilities
The Son
Presentation Style
Names
Equal
Responsibilities
The Ferryman
Poster
Names
Thesis
Depth of Analysis
Equal
Responsibilities
Govinda
Thesis
Equal
Responsibilities
Names
Depth of Analysis