In this paper, I choose to speak about the theme of Identity or The Self occurring in Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha and Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis. Hermann Hesse was a german poet, novelist and painter. He was born in 1877 at Cawl, Germany. In most of his works he explores an individual’s search for authenticity, self-knowledge and spirituality. Franz Kafka was a German-language writer of novels and short stories. He was born in 1883 at Prague, Czech Republic. Kafka strongly influenced genres such as existentialism.
When we talk about The Self, the question of Identity automatically comes up. In my opinion, The Self is something that can only be felt, something that is not physical; it is an essence that can only be felt. The book Siddhartha deals with the search of this Self.
“And where was Atman to be found, where did He dwell, where did His eternal heart beat, if not within the Self, in the innermost, in the eternal which each person carried within him? But where was this Self, this innermost?”
In the beginning of the novel, in the first chapter itself the author describes that how Siddhartha realizes that “the love of his father and mother, and also the love of his friend Govinda, would not always make him happy, give him peace, satisfy and suffice him”. Hence, Siddhartha had known that the Self was more demanding. He wanted to find his real Being, which he believed he would, by finding the Self. So we can say that he equates his identity with the Self.
In Kafka’s Metamorphosis, the book begins by the author describing, “One morning, as Gregor Samsa was waking up from anxious dreams, he discovered that in bed he had been changed into a monstrous verminous bug”. It is the body, the form that has transformed and no...
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...I should not feel bound by anyone or anything and do what my inner voice tells me to or else it would be too late for me to be who I want to be, like Gregor, who failed to realize that he had his own identity and was free to leave and live his own life. But the question still stands, can one ever assert his own true self in a society? Well, humanity might just accept individual identities but, societal institutions? I think not. We will always face this inner conflict of asserting our own identity or being identified by the society.
Works Cited
Hesse, Hermann, Siddhartha, New Delhi: Rupa Publications, 2003 Franz Kafka, Metamorphosis, Project Gutenberg, http://www.gutenberg.org/files/5200/5200-h/5200-h.htm, Accessed 23 March 2016.
The central difference between John Gardener's Grendel and Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha, both stories of spiritual growth and development, is not thematic. Instead, vast differences in tone and language make the self-deprecating monster easy to empathize with and the soul-searching wanderer simple and detached. Despite their stylistic differences, both works stand alone as examples of philosophical and spiritual evolution.
Hesse, Hermann. Siddhartha. Ed. George Stade. Trans. Rika Lesser. 1922. N.p.: Fine Creative Media, 2007. Print.
The Question of Identity: This is believed everything is spiritual and is different in life. Man has to enter a state of Nirvana so there soul will have enteral peace. In (Weider & Gutierrez Consider. Pg67) text Hinduism teaches about reincarnation and an individual’s future state is based on the good and bad that they have done in their present life.
14. Walter, Soreil. Hermann Hesse The Man Who Sought and Found Himself. London: Oswald Wolff, 1974.
Kafka, Franz."The Metamorphosis." The Longman Anthology of World Literature. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2009. 253-284. Print.Works Cited
In the novel Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka and Barbara Gowdy’s short story “Flesh of My Flesh” a metamorphosis occurs where Sam, in Gowdy’s story, was born in the wrong body just as Gregor, in Metamorphosis, wakes up in the wrong body. However, the perception of the theme of harmony between the body and identity are distinguishable between the two stories. They differentiate between who establishes the separation between the body and identity, the evolution of the perception of the separation of identity and body and how the character that establishes the separation comes to accept the division.
Kafka, Franz. The Metamorphosis. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama and Writing. Ed. X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 7th Compact Ed. New York: Longman, 2013. 268-98. Print.
Dash, Rajendra Kumar. "ALCHEMY OF THE SOUL: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF HERMANN HESSE’S SIDDHARTHA AND PAULO COELHO’S THE ALCHEMIST." From The Editor’s Desk...: 17.
...t the novel imparts a systematic, methodical tone to Siddhartha, and together with the consciously created form unifies the experiences of Siddhartha, permitting a feeling of closure and meditation on the thoughts and ideas presented therein. There is certainly a unique rhythm to Siddhartha which is skillfully communicated both consciously and subconsciously. One can appreciate the conscious craftmanship" of the novel's structure and style, while at the same time allowing the rhythm, feelings, and experiences to sift into one's mind on a deeper, more subconscious level.
Kafka, Franz. The Metamorphosis and Other Stories. 1st ed. Translated by Stanley Appelbaum. New York: Dover Publications, 1996.
Siddhartha is a much respected son of a Brahmin who lives with his father in ancient India. Everyone in their town expects Siddhartha to act like his father and become successful. Although he lives a very high quality life, Siddhartha is dissatisfied and along with his best friend Govinda- wants nothing more than to join the group of wandering ascetics called Samana’s. This group starves themselves, travels almost naked and must beg for the food they survive on. This group of people believes that to achieve enlightenment and self-actualization: body image, health, physical and material desires must be thrown away. Although this is the life Siddhartha wished for himself, he soon discovers that it is not the right choice for him. Near desolation, Siddhartha happens upon a river where he hears a strange sound. This sound signifies the beginning of the life he was born to live – the beginning of his true self. Hesse uses many literary devices to assure Siddhartha’s goal of self-actualization and creates a proper path for that success.
Ziolkowski, Theodore. The Novels of Herman Hesse: A Study in Theme and Structure. New Jersey: Princeton, 1965.
The Metamorphosis is said to be one of Franz Kafka's best works of literature. It shows the difficulties of living in a modern society and the struggle for acceptance of others when in a time of need. In this novel Kafka directly reflects upon many of the negative aspects of his personal life, both mentally and physically. The relationship between Gregor and his father is in many ways similar to Franz and his father Herrman. The Metamorphosis also shows resemblance to some of Kafka's diary entries that depict him imagining his own extinction by dozens of elaborated methods. This paper will look into the text to show how this is a story about the author's personal life portrayed through his dream-like fantasies.
Updike, John. Kafka and the Metamorphosis. Literature and Its Writers: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 2nd ed. Ed. Ann Charters and Samuel Charters. Boston: Bedford, 2001 545-548.
The novel Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse is a timeless story about one man’s journey of finding peace in his way of life and thoughts. Siddharta is a young Brahmin’s son, who is dissatisfied with his worship and in turn sets out to find the lifestyle that is right for him. Siddhartha is faced with many external, physical conflicts, yet that is not the most prominent type of conflict in the story. Hesse builds excitement and suspense through Siddhartha’s internal journey to create an emotional response usually associated with external conflict.