Siddhartha and Kikuji

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The novellas, Siddhartha, by Herman Hesse and Thousand Cranes by Yasanari Kawabata both, have protagonists who set out on journeys. In Siddhartha, Siddhartha sets out on a journey to achieve nirvana, whereas, Kikuji in Thousand Cranes, sets out to distance himself from his late father and marry. The protagonists both encounter obstacles and the way they overcome them is different as well due to the way they were brought up and the time period. It is the methods they choose to overcome the obstacles of their paths and whether or not they decide to overcome it that decides if they succeed or fail in their journeys. Both Siddhartha, by Herman Hesse and Thousand Cranes by Yasanari Kawabata, portray the influence a bad father – son relationship has on the son: Kikuji’s careless attitude to woman, Siddhartha’s need to please and learn from Kamala, Siddhartha’s success, Kikuji’s failure in his path and them straying from the path paved by their parents, show the impact of a bad father son relationship.

Siddhartha and Kikuji have very distinct reactions and behaviors around women. Kikuji is careless to women and pretends like he could careless for their needs. On the other hand, Siddhartha, is desperate to learn from women at the glance of them. Kikuji, at one point said, “ It makes no difference to me. Of course if she wants to go…(15)”. Whereas, Siddhartha thought, “ He wanted beautiful Kamala regularly…giving and taking, becoming one”(58). In the above mentioned quote about Kikuji, it is understandable how much he cares for women, the dialogue was said to a woman in his house. Whereas, Siddhartha talks to himself about Kamala, a beautiful woman who is said to manipulate men’s hearts at sight. The quotes show that both ack...

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...nd, waited for years, nonchalantly and didn’t take the initiative till he was provoked by Fumiko.

These books show us the affects relationships have on people. Kikuji, who lived in Japan in a post war era is more easy to relate to because of the time period and the situation. Siddhartha is harder to understand, especially due to the fact he lived in India around two to three hundred years ago. This comparison is hard considering the journeys taken by the protagonists. Siddhartha set out to be a Samana whereas, Kikuji set out to distance himself from his father. These books show two sons and two fathers with different relations which causes the protagonists to have very different mindset, and situations. In the end it is the impacts of these relationships that cause the protagonists to succeed or fail on their journey.

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Siddhartha, Thousand Cranes

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