Siddhartha Blog Assignment #4

By the end of the book Siddhartha, by Hermann Hesse, I think that Siddhartha reached his ultimate goal, Nirvana. I believe is true because he gave up almost everything in his life to reach the state of being peaceful and aiming to reach Nirvana. I believe that the theme of the book was Siddhartha trying to reach his goal of achieving Nirvana. After following Siddhartha on his journey, I think that he learned how to live with things that are only necessary, I think he learned this lesson best when he lived with the Samanas.

This theme is demonstrated throughout the book. It is demonstrated in a number of ways, but in the chapter titled "With The Samanas" there are a few quotes that stick out. On page thirteen it says, "Siddhartha gave his clothes to a poor Brahman on the road and only retained his loincloth and earth-colored unstitched cloak." Siddhartha gave away his clothes because he realized that the Brahmin needed them more than he did. On page thirteen it also says, "He only ate once a day and never cooked food. He fasted fourteen days. He fasted twenty-eight days. The flesh disappeared from his legs and cheeks". The Samanas lived by self-denial, so Siddhartha had to deny that he was hungry all the time. Siddhartha grew up in a life of luxury, and he constantley felt like he had more than everyone else, so he tried to make up for that by giving away his things to prove that he could live with nothing.

During the book, Siddhartha learned to only live with the necessities in life. He learned this lesson best when he was living with the Samanas. I think that Siddhartha must have reached Nirvana because he gave up a lot, and that's part what you do in order to reach Nirvana.