Romain Rolland Essays

  • Self-Discovery In Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha

    594 Words  | 2 Pages

    Siddhartha was Hesse’s ninth book. It was published in Germany in 1922 but then published in 1951 in the United States, but it didn’t really become popular and influential until the 1960s. Hesse dedicated the book to his wife Ninon, after her to Romain Rolland, and Wilhelm Gundert. The reason Hesse wrote Siddhartha was because

  • The Stages of Siddharta's Journey to Self Enlightenment

    1700 Words  | 4 Pages

    Readers have been fascinated with Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha for decades. Written in 1951, Hesse’s most famous novel provides the reader with a work of literature that, “presents a remarkable exploration of the deepest philosophical and spiritual dimensions of human existence” (Bennett n.p). Siddhartha takes place in India while the Buddha has first began his teachings. The book follows the life of a man by the name of Siddhartha, on his journey to reach enlightenment. The main theme in Siddhartha

  • Siddhartha Research Paper

    1068 Words  | 3 Pages

    Section A: Introduction The Nobel Prize winner, Herman Hesse was a successful man in literature and the author of the novel, Siddhartha. Hesse was born on July 2, 1877, in Calw, Germany to religious parents that expected him to follow the same route. He did not want this as he loved poetry from a young age. After finishing school in 1893, he found different jobs while attempting to publish his work. In 1904, Hesse released his first novel, Peter Camenzind, which brought plenty of praise. He continued

  • Rabindranath Tagore Analysis

    1093 Words  | 3 Pages

    English translation. Tagore certainly had strongly held religious beliefs (of an unusually nondenominational kind), but he was interested in a great many other things as well and had many different things to say about them. For Tagore it was of the most elevated significance that individuals have the capacity to live, and reason, in flexibility. His mentality to governmental issues and society, patriotism and internationalism, custom and advancement, can all be seen in the light of this belief. Nothing

  • Opposing Perspectives in Hesse’s Siddhartha and Camus’ The Stranger

    1014 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hermann Hesse and Albert Camus were both talented authors whose works have greatly influenced the world of literature. Hesse’s Siddhartha and Camus’ The Stranger have impacted readers for decades. These novels centralize around a common principle of finding inner truth. The main characters, Siddhartha and Meursault, have very different ideologies by which they live their lives. These opposing perspectives greatly influence their individual decisions and the people around them. The style in which

  • Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha: Enlightenment Can Not Exist Without Love

    909 Words  | 2 Pages

    Relationships are composed of multiple manipulating factors: trust, honesty, attraction, passion, compatibleness, and many other emotion rattling components. However, the fundamental ingredient that commences a healthy relationship is love. Love is comparable to the seeking for enlightenment. “Seeking means: to have a goal; but finding means: to be free, to be receptive, to have no goal” (113). Love is natural; it is not sought out or prospective. Love is not tangible. It brings a comfort, protectiveness

  • The Power of the River in Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha

    1359 Words  | 3 Pages

    'For ages, the river has been a sign of eternity and has served as a symbol of spiritual awareness to many people'(Rahula 39). The river in Siddhartha, by Hermann Hesse, is an important symbol. Hesse provides many references to the river throughout his novel, and it serves many purposes in his writing. Siddhartha who is the main character, grows up with his father and mother on a riverbank, in India. He decides to leave the world of the Brahmins to seek his own way. Govinda, Siddhartha's companion

  • Uniting Mind, Body, and Spirit in Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha

    764 Words  | 2 Pages

    Uniting Mind, Body, and Spirit in Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha Each of us has innate desire to understand the purpose of our existence.  As Hermann Hesse illustrates in his novel Siddhartha, the journey to wisdom may be difficult.  Organized religion helps many to find meaning in life but it does not substitute careful introspection. An important message of Siddhartha is that to achieve enlightenment one must unite the experiences of mind, body, and spirit. In the first part of the book, Siddhartha

  • Distinction Between Selfishness In Anthem And Siddhartha

    1581 Words  | 4 Pages

    Self-Worth v. Selfishness Main characters often struggle with finding their self-worth, but the distinction between self-worth and selfishness may often be unclear. The protagonists of both Anthem, by Ayn Rand, and Siddhartha, by Herman Hesse, fluctuate between being self-aware and being selfish. If Equality is an honest narrator, then to describe him as selfish would be an incorrect understanding, because the laws in place by Equality 7-2521’s community strips every one of their individuality and

  • Comparing the Journeys of Hesse's Siddhartha and Gandhi

    2051 Words  | 5 Pages

    Siddhartha and Gandhi strove for different goals during their lives. Siddhartha's goal was very personal, while Gandhi's goal encompassed the world. This was shown by their spiritual development throughout their journeys. Siddhartha evolved from an inexperienced spiritual being to a man, returned to spirituality, and ended with nirvana. Gandhi traveled a much straighter path, originally being a worldly man merely seeking his correct place in life, when his spiritual development unexpectedly produced

  • The Quest for Self Discovery in Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha

    776 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Quest for Self Discovery in Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha “Then he [Siddhartha] suddenly saw clearly that he was leading a strange life, that he was doing many things that were only a game, that he was quite cheerful and sometimes experienced pleasure, but that real life was flowing past him and did not touch him. Like a player who plays with his ball, he played with his business, with the people around him, watched them, derived amusement from them; but with his heart, with his real nature

  • discovering individuality

    2197 Words  | 5 Pages

    A journey is something that must be done in everyone‘s life. The journey starts when the person is born and ends when they die. People are all searching for their own things. Some search for things like: money, power, fame, knowledge, peace, understanding, and a sense of who they are. Some people do just for the thrill of adventure. Siddhartha wants to find his individual place in society through personal experience and follow no one else’s ideas but his own. Siddhartha’s journey takes him through

  • Main Character of Book Siddhartha

    1102 Words  | 3 Pages

    Herman Hesse's, Siddhartha, is a story any person of any era, age, sex, or religion can relate to in some respect. It is about a young man wanting more out of life than most are comfortable with. He wants to find himself, find meaning to life, find enlightenment. To achieve his goal, he exposes himself to the extremities of self-denial and self-indulgence, objecting himself to a great ordeal to become a well-rounded individual and find his true self. Siddhartha begins his journey leaving his father

  • Comparing Spiritual Growth in Gardener's Grendel and Hesse's Siddhartha

    1166 Words  | 3 Pages

    Spiritual Growth in Gardener's Grendel and Hesse's Siddhartha A mythical beast who finds meaning in killing and a questioning wanderer who cannot find meaning in being: both John Gardener's Grendel and Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha grow and develop spiritually, yet their authors use vastly different styles to convey these changes. John Gardner's revolutionary style is not encompassed by a single genre; instead, he mixes first-person narrative and several different literary styles to give

  • Rhetorical Devices In Siddhartha

    1299 Words  | 3 Pages

    Ryan McWeeney 5/12/15 Period G Siddhartha Essay Hermann Hesse’s novel “Siddhartha” is one of spiritual renewal and self discovery. The novel revolves around the life of one man named Siddhartha, who leaves his home and all earthly possessions in an attempt to find spiritual enlightenment. The novel contains many themes, including the relationship between wisdom and knowledge, spirituality, man’s relationship to the natural world, time, love, and satisfaction. To portray these themes, Hesse

  • How Did The River Influence Siddhartha

    862 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Siddhartha, Hermann Hesse wonderfully encapsulates the effort and determination put forth during the spiritual quest of a young man. At the beginning of the novel, Siddhartha yearns to reach nirvana and be at peace with himself as well as his soul. Siddhartha’s encounters with his mentors, Gotama Buddha and the river, ultimately lead to his final destination- enlightenment. Hermann Hesse illustrates the influence Siddhartha’s mentors had on his path to enlightenment through their teachings

  • Similarities Between Siddhartha And The Props Assist The House

    551 Words  | 2 Pages

    SIDDHARTHA AND THE HOUSE Herman Hesse’s novel Siddhartha and Emily Dickinson’s poem “The Props assist the House” share quite a few similarities between each other. In order to pick out the similar characteristics between the two, and how Siddhartha’s journey is related to the House’s, it is necessary for the poem to first be analyzed. Emily Dickinson’s “The Props assist the House” is a poem of the journey of a house being built and then slowly dying as time passes. The intro to the poem, “The Props

  • Siddhartha's Journey of Self-Actualization in Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha

    527 Words  | 2 Pages

    In “Siddhartha” by Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha is put to the test to find inner enlightenment while trying to discover himself. He must work through the hardships and overcome loosing himself along the way. Siddhartha began his adolescence with learning the ways of Brahman in hopes to find enlightenment by following the footsteps of his father. He lived along with his best friend Govinda but slowly grew discontent with his life. He felt empty and was hungry for something new. “that the wise Brahmans

  • Dualism In Siddhartha

    687 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nobel Prize-winning author Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha is a poetic tale of one man’s quest to find that intangible idea of enlightenment. Written over ninety years ago, this novel remains a powerful piece of fiction today. Hesse’s book follows a young Brahmin boy named Siddhartha on his journey to finding the true meaning of life and peace -- he is on a journey to find self-knowledge (quoted in the Translator’s Preface, New Directions publications 1951). Siddhartha is also symbolic of Hesse’s own

  • Critical Appreciation Of Beethoven Music

    722 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Beethoven 's music is an experience, an act of intellectual creation while released from the rigor of logical thought when the play unfolds its power. Romain Rolland, noted scholar and apologist of Beethoven, has said that in most of the German masters unconscious struggle of simultaneity, the subconscious and the will is given. All that is expressed musically is an interior movement. The psychic background permeates the way. "The best artists of our Latin race are usually equipped with plastic