AP PREP POST 1: SIDDHARTHA

A.)  I was browsing Google and I found these five questions on Siddhartha:
1. Siddhartha features substantial activity and narrative action. At the same time, it is about one man’s largely internal spiritual quest. What is the relationship between the internal and exterior worlds of Siddhartha? How does Siddhartha negotiate these worlds?
2. Herman Hesse’s novels before Siddhartha focused on alienated young men who rejected the cultures of their upbringings. However, these other novels did not feature the spiritual elements of Siddhartha. How do the spiritual elements of Siddhartha make it different from any other story of an alienated youth?
3. Most literary scholars agree that Siddhartha was prompted by Herman Hesse’s fixation on Eastern spirituality. Is there a case to be made that Siddhartha is designed to celebrate Eastern religion? Is Hesse’s treatment of spirituality as relevant today as it was when he wrote the novel?
4. Siddhartha concerns the quest for spiritual enlightenment, and by the end of it four characters have achieved this goal: Govinda, Gotama, Vasudeva, and Siddhartha. Is the enlightenment achieved by each of these characters the same? Why or why not? What distinctions and similarities exist between the paths these characters use to reach their final goal?
5. Consider Siddhartha’s relationship with Govinda. How are they similar, and how are they different? What are the narrative functions of Govinda’s reappearance throughout the novel? How does their relationship impact the novel’s ending?

These questions tell me that the test is in depth and covers a wide range of topics and concepts. 

B.)  My answers:
1.  Siddhartha had always studied that everything is related when he was a Brahmin's son, but only until the end of his journey did he find the relationship between the exterior and interior worlds at the river.  In Siddhartha, the mind (interior world) is bound to the trials and tribulations of the past along with predictions and anxieties that lie ahead in the future (exterior world).  Siddhartha negotiated the two by employing years of experience both in the spiritual studies and worldly culture.
2.  The spiritualism make Siddhartha different, because enlightenment and holiness are nearly impossible quests.  Usually novels on alienated youths portray a child who grows and matures and accomplishes something while still remaining an imperfect human being.  Siddhartha, however, matured to find perfection and become perfect in every sense of the word.
3.  The novel isn't so much a celebration of Eastern religion as it is a journey that prompts the audience with various philosophical themes that rely on the self-improvement of mankind.  His treatment of spirituality is very close to the studies of Buddhism today and is quite relevant to Eastern religions.
4.  Vasudeva and Siddhartha both become enlightened through the river, but Govinda is much different.  Always being a scholar of Gotama, who had achieved his enlightenment much earlier on through unknown reasons, Govinda never employed the experiences and understandings of life as Vasudeva and Siddhartha had.  When Govinda and Siddhartha were reunited for the last time, Govinda finally touched Siddhartha on the head and felt the holy Om radiate from Siddhartha's self to his.  Each character found enlightenment differently, because, like all ordinary people, they chose their own paths to walk individually.
5.  Siddhartha and Govinda both desired Nirvana, but Govinda was always a follower whereas Siddhartha was more curious and wanted to learn through experience instead of teachings.  Govinda's reappearances throughout the novel functioned to show another aspect from a different character.  Instead of merely watching Siddhartha's growth into maturity, Govinda's growth could also be monitored.  In the end, their relationship impacted the end of the novel by displaying an everlasting friendship that could not be broken even through separate lifestyles and upbringings into enlightenment.

C.)  The AP Literature Exam wants students to display complex thoughts on ideas that peck at the surface of what they have read in the past.  When we read, we need to focus on big ideas like religion and themes while drawing relationships to the main characters as well as the other influencing characters within the novel.