History Literature / Siddhartha

* BookEnds: Part 2 opens and closes with Siddhartha meeting Vasudeva the ferryman, who on both occasions proves the first step to a new stage in Siddhartha's life.

* HelpingWouldBeKillstealing: A key point of Theravada Buddhism is that each person must find enlightenment by themselves, and there is only so much that others can do to help. In this novel, the Buddha, in a way perhaps meant to reflect early, pre-Theravada Buddhism, teaches a one-size-fits-all philosophy of controlling desire and working towards enlightenment. However, when Siddhartha tells him that this does not satisfy him, he is content to let Siddhartha follow his own path with just a warning against being too clever.

* NonActionGuy: Siddhartha himself, unusually for a main protagonist. His entire narrative passes without a single act of violence on his part, and his lifelong quest is much more about the spirit than finding or defeating anything.

* NonActionGuy: Siddhartha himself, unusually for a main protagonist. His entire narrative passes without a single act of violence on his part, and his lifelong quest is much more about the spirit than finding or doing anything.

Among western literature, the novel is notable for its [[BeigeProse simple (but meaningful) prose]] and deeply philosophical tone -- there is almost no violence, and the narrative is more focused on what the protagonist thinks or feels than on what he does.

* NonActionGuy: Siddhartha himself, unusually for a main protagonist. Not only does he not perpetrate a single act of violence in his entire story, most of the book's narrative focuses on what Siddhartha thinks or feels rather than anything he's actually ''doing''.

Among western literature, the novel is notable for its [[BeigeProse simple (but meaningful) prose]] and deeply philosophical tone -- there is almost no violence, and the narrative is more focused on what the protagonist thinks or feels than on what he actually ''does''.

Among western literature, the novel is notable for its simple (but meaningful) prose and deeply philosophical tone -- there is almost no violence, and the narrative is more focused on what the protagonist thinks or feels than on what he actually ''does''.

* ButNowIMustGo: After Siddhartha experiences his final moment of illumination and perceives the unity of all things, [[EccentricMentor Vasudeva]] states that his work is done and departs into the woods, never to be seen again.

''Siddhartha'' is a 1922 German novel by Creator/HermannHesse, about a young man's search for enlightenment. Heavily inspired by UsefulNotes/{{Buddhism}} and UsefulNotes/{{Hinduism}}, it is set in and near Kapilavastu, along the UsefulNotes/{{India}}[=-=]UsefulNotes/{{Nepal}} border. Among western literature, the novel is notable for its simple (but meaningful) prose and deeply philosophical tone -- there is almost no violence, and the narrative is more focused on what the protagonist thinks or feels than on what he actually ''does''.

* HelpingWouldBeKillstealing: A key point of Theravada Buddhism is that each person must find enlightenment by themselves, and there is only so much that others can do to help. The Buddha, in a way perhaps meant to reflect early, pre-Theravada Buddhism, teaches a one-size-fits-all philosophy of controlling desire and working towards enlightenment. However, when Siddhartha tells him that this does not satisfy him, he is content to let Siddhartha follow his own path with just a warning against being too clever.

* HistoricalDomainCharacter: Gotama, the Buddha. Curiously, in real life the Buddha's first name was Siddhartha too, yet it is oddly never mentioned in the book.

'''Siddhartha''' is a 1922 German novel by Creator/HermannHesse, about a young man's search for enlightenment. Heavily inspired by UsefulNotes/{{Buddhism}} and UsefulNotes/{{Hinduism}}, it is set in and near Kapilavastu, along the UsefulNotes/{{India}}[=-=]UsefulNotes/{{Nepal}} border. Among western literature, the novel is notable for its simple (but meaningful) prose and deeply philosophical tone -- there is almost no violence, and the narrative is more focused on what the protagonist thinks or feels than on what he actually ''does''.

'''Siddhartha''' is a 1922 German novel by Creator/HermannHesse, about a young man's search for enlightenment. Heavily inspired by UsefulNotes/{{Buddhism}} and UsefulNotes/{{Hinduism}}, it is set in and near Kapilavastu, along the UsefulNotes/{{India}}-UsefulNotes/{{Nepal}} border. Among western literature, the novel is notable for its simple (but meaningful) prose and deeply philosophical tone -- there is almost no violence, and the narrative is more focused on what the protagonist thinks or feels than on what he actually ''does''.

'''Siddhartha''' is a 1922 German novel by Creator/HermannHesse, about a young man's search for enlightenment. Heavily inspired by UsefulNotes/{{Buddhism}} and UsefulNotes/{{Hinduism}}, it is set in and near Kapilavastu, along the UsefulNotes/{{India}} - UsefulNotes/{{Nepal}} border. Among western literature, the novel is notable for its simple (but meaningful) prose and deeply philosophical tone - there is almost no violence, and the narrative is more focused on what the protagonist thinks or feels than on what he actually ''does''.

!! Tropes featured:-
* AllForNothing: Ultimately defied. Again and again, we see Siddhartha abandon everything he has worked for to seek a new path to enlightenment. His promising childhood with the Brahmin, his years as a poor Samana, his life of wealth and decadence - none of it seemed to be the path to his ultimate goal. In the end, however, Siddhartha realizes that all of these experiences ''together'' did help him find enlightenment.

* ParentalHypocrisy: Somewhat justified - while Siddhartha leaves home against the wishes of his father to seek enlightenment, he is heartbroken when his own son leaves him to follow ''his'' own path.
* TheLancer: Govinda. Doubles up as TheWatson.
* TheNeedless: The Samanas (and, while he is with them, Siddhartha) ''aspire'' to this, fasting and exposing themselves to the elements in pursuit of enlightenment. Gotama's followers also touch on this, as Gotama himself is described as being able to function despite eating less than a ''bird''.
* YoureNotMyFather: Siddhartha's son takes this stance towards him, and he ''never'' lets up.

* ParentalHypocrisy: Somewhat justified - while Siddhartha leaves home against the wishes of his father to seek enlightenment, he is heartbroken when his own son leaves him to follow ''his'' own path. He later realizes.

* HelpingWouldBeKillstealing: A key point of Theravada Buddhism is that each person must find enlightenment by themselves, and there is only so much that others can do to help. The Buddha, in a way perhaps meant to be pre-Theravada, teaches a one-size-fits-all philosophy of controlling desire and working towards enlightenment. However, when Siddhartha tells him that this does not satisfy him, he is content to let Siddhartha follow his own path with just a warning against being too clever.

* MeaningfulName: Siddhartha means 'he who has found what he searched for' or 'he who has achieved his goal'. It is also the birth name of the Buddha, and Siddhartha's life mirrors that of the Buddha in many ways.

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: While the novel is primarily influenced by (Theravada) Buddhism and Hinduism, Siddhartha's musings on the opposite of a truth also being true, along with his statement that every entity carries within it the seed of its inversion, echo [[UsefulNotes/{{Taoism}} another school of philosophy]].

* HelpingWouldBeKillstealing: A key point of Theravada Buddhism is that each person must find enlightenment by themselves, and there is only so much that others can do to help. The Buddha teaches a one-size-fits-all philosophy of controlling desire and working towards enlightenment. However, when Siddhartha tells him that this does not satisfy him, he is content to let Siddhartha follow his own path (with a warning against being too clever).

* HistoricalDomainCharacter: The Buddha. Curiously so, as historically the Buddha's real name was Siddhartha, yet in this book's narrative, the Buddha and Siddhartha are two different characters.

* ParentalHypocrisy: Somewhat justified - while Siddhartha leaves home against the wishes of his father to seek enlightenment, he is heartbroken when his own son leaves him to follow ''his'' own path.

* EnlightenmentSuperpowers: Touched on when Siddhartha and Govinda abandon the Samanas. The elder Samana is unhappy as their desertion, but Siddhartha manages to hypnotize him into letting them go. On their way out, an impressed Govinda jokes that had he remained with the Samanas, Siddhartha would have soon learned to walk upon water.

** Much later, Siddhartha becomes a ferryman alongside Vasudeva, living with him and eventually becoming so like him that other people, when seeing the two of them together, start mistaking them for brothers.

* HeterosexualLifePartners: In Siddhartha's early life, Govinda is his companion and best friend, and the two of them are almost always together.

* ButNowIMustGo: After Siddhartha experiences his final moment of illumination and perceives the unity of all things, [[TricksterMentor Vasudeva]] states that his work is done and departs into the woods, never to be seen again.

* EnlightenmentSuperpowers: Touched on when Siddhartha and Govinda abandon the Samanas. The elder Samana is unhappy with this, but Siddhartha manages to hypnotize him into letting them go. On their way out, an impressed Govinda jokes that had he remained with the Samanas, Siddhartha would have soon learned to walk upon water.

'''Siddhartha''' is a 1922 German novel by Creator/HermannHesse, about a young man's search for enlightenment. Heavily inspired by UsefulNotes/{{Buddhism}} and UsefulNotes/{{Hinduism}}, it is set in and near Kapilavastu, along the UsefulNotes/{{India}} - UsefulNotes/{{Nepal}} border.

* ChildProdigy: Siddhartha as a child, as he is handsome, intelligent, talented, and otherwise TheAce. The only one who ''isn't'' happy with Siddhartha was Siddhartha himself.

* HelpingWouldBeKillstealing: A key point of Theravada Buddhism is that each person must find enlightenment by themself, and there is only so much that others can do to help. The Buddha teaches a one-size-fits-all philosophy of controlling desire and working towards enlightenment. However, when Siddhartha tells him that this does not satisfy him, he lets Siddhartha follow his own path (with a few warnings).

* TheNeedless: The Samanas (and, while he is with them, Siddhartha) ''aspire'' to this, fasting and exposing themselves to the elements in pursuit of enlightenment. Gotama's followers also touch on this, as Gotama himself is described as being able to function despite eating less than a ''bird''.

* TheLancer: Govinda. Doubles up as TheWatson.

!! It has examples of:-
* ChildProdigy: Siddhartha as a child, as he was handsome, intelligent, talented, and otherwise TheAce. The only one who ''wasn't'' happy with Siddhartha was Siddhartha himself.

* FigureItOutYourself: The novel ends with Siddhartha telling his friend Govinda that he cannot teach him enlightenment - Govinda has to figure it out himself.

* HistoricalDomainCharacter: The Buddha
* MeaningfulName: Siddhartha means 'he who has found what he searched for'. It is also the birth name of the Buddha, and Siddhartha's life mirrors that of the Buddha in many ways.

* ChildProdigy: Siddhartha as a child.
* DefectorFromDecadence: Played with - Siddhartha defects from the austere Samanas to the Buddhists, then leaves them to find enlightenment by himself, and even defects ''to'' decadence for a while.

* EccentricMentor: Both Gotama (the Buddha) and Vasudeva. Their eccentricity is seen as a sign of enlightenment - [[spoiler:they realise that they cannot force wisdom into Siddhartha, and that he must attain enlightenment on his own.]]

* ParentalHypocrisy: Somewhat justified - while Siddhartha leaves home against the wishes of his family to seek enlightenment, he is heartbroken when his own son leaves him to follow ''his'' own path.

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: While the novel is primarily influenced by (Theravada) Buddhism and Hinduism, Siddhartha's musings that the opposite of a truth is also true, along with his statement that every entity carries within it the seed of its inversion, echo [[UsefulNotes/{{Taoism}} another school of philosophy]].

* TheLancer: Govinda. Doubles up as TheWatson.
* TheSacredDarkness: Siddhartha

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: While the novel is primarily influenced by (Theravada) Buddhism and Hinduism, Siddhartha's musings that the opposite of a truth is also true, along with his statement that every entity carries within it the seed of its inversion, echo [[UsefulNotes/{{Taoism}} another famous religion / philosophy]].
* EccentricMentor: Both the Buddha and Vasudeva. Their eccentricity is seen as a sign of enlightenment - [[spoiler:they realise that they cannot force wisdom into Siddhartha, and that he must attain enlightenment on his own.]]

* TheLancer: Gotama. Doubles up as TheWatson.

'''Siddhartha''' is a 1922 German novel by Creator/HermannHesse, about a young man's search for enlightenment. Heavily inspired by UsefulNotes/Buddhism and UsefulNotes/Hinduism, it is set in and near Kapilavastu, along the UsefulNotes/India - UsefulNotes/Nepal border.