Paraphrasing Siddhartha, Quoting Herman Hesse and Summarizing the Book

Was it really random how Govinda randomly appeared in Siddhartha's life right after he woke up from his re-birth? I dont think so. I think the universe, or whoever Siddhartha believes in did that on purpose. I think the universe was trying to show Siddhartha a little bit of his past and a little bit of the future he could have had. As the famous cliche says, everything happens for a reason I think Govinda reappeared for a reason. I think Govinda will change Siddhartha's prospective path or help him make the "right" decision.

Govinda appearing had a previous foreshadowing.  I think Siddhartha's dream about Govinda proved he was still an important part in Siddhartha's life and his ideas and love where important for Siddhartha. 

I think it shows how much Siddhartha has changed through the whole story when Govinda, his best friend from childhood didn't recognize him. When this happened it reminded me how much Siddhartha has travelled and the long trip his life has been. The Samnas, Buddha, Kamala and now finding his long lost friend. "he had been drowned and was reborn in another from" This shows how Siddhartha felt the change in his body. Not only physically but spiritually as well.

I think this was a chapter for reflection. Reflect how much Siddhartha has done by doing so little. How much he has travelled and learned and how much he can accomplish in the future. "Siddhartha now also realized why he had struggled in vain.." This shows how Siddhartha realized what he had been doing. As I previously said, this was a chapter for reflection.

Summarizing:
Involves putting the main idea into your own words, including only the main point. Once again, it is necessary to attribute summarized ideas to the original source. Summaries are significantly shorter than the original and take a broad overview of the source material.

Quotations: 
Must be identical to the original, using a narrow segment of the source. They must match the source document word for word and must be attributed to the original author.

Paraphrasing: 

Involves putting a passage from source material into your own words. A paraphrase must also be attributed to the original source. Paraphrased material is usually shorter than the original passage, taking a somewhat broader segment of the source and condensing it slightly.

Quote: 

“What could I say to you that would be of value, except that perhaps you seek too much, that as a result of your seeking you cannot find." Page 50

Paraphrasing:

What valuable things can I say to you? The only is perhaps you seek too much, as a result of your seeking you cannot find. Page 52

Summarizing:

Searching too much might make you not find anything at all.

A Hero Huhh..

Honestly I am not very educated in the whole hero department. I only know Spiderman and Batman but I've never seen any of their movies so I honestly don't know how to compare them to Siddhartha. I'm gonna go with Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games because honestly that is the only sort of "hero" I have actually seen a movie of and stayed awake through the whole thing.

Katniss and Siddhartha are similar and different in many ways. They're similar because both had a life and they changed that life completely. Katniss changed her life by volunteering as tribute and Siddhartha by wanting to find his Self. Another difference is Katniss lived in miserable conditions while Siddhartha lived a fairly comfortable life. After both leave their houses both are in contact with nature. Katniss is forced to kill her way back to freedom while Siddhartha can do whatever he wants to find himself. "I will remain by this river, thought Siddhartha" It shows how Siddhartha as well as Katniss stayed in nature and enjoyed being around it.

I realize Siddhartha and Katniss are more different than alike but the point I am trying to prove is both left their homes for a different life. Yes, Katniss was sort of forced and Siddhartha just left because he wanted but they have one more similarity. Both are kind of rebellious people. Siddhartha leaves his father and Katniss hunts when it is illegal. They both needed to be different and both needed to go out there to discover something else, to discover themselves.

Siddhartha Dreamed What?

I was reading Siddhartha and I got a little lost throughout the book. I was not sure exactly what happened in Siddharthas dream. What I understood is Govinda turned into a women and Siddhartha drank of his breast. I want to try to interpret Siddharthas dream because I really wasn't sure what it meant.

I decided to do some research and get different perspectives on the meaning of the dream. Some people thought it meant how much Siddhartha regretted leaving Govinda with Buddha. Other people thought it meant how much Siddhartha loved Govinda and that he turning into a women showed how he would have chosen him as his partner if he where to be a women. Others believe it means how he is leaving behind a chapter of his life and beginning a new one.

"Why hast thou forsaken me?" Those where the words Govinda asked Siddhartha as he turned into a women in Siddharthas dream. I think this part shows how Siddharha regrets leaving his friend and how he missed him. It shows how he feels remorse for the decision he made. 

I personally think that is what the dream is about: regret. I think he regrets leaving his friend as well as leaving the Buddha and his teachings. I think even though he might have regrets he is doing the right thing. I believe every time you make a big decision you are always going to imagine the future as it might have been. If Siddhartha hadn't left the Buddha nor Govinda he wouldn't become what he in known for.

Our Point of View and a Cameras Point of View

  Here is the link.

The Why's, Will's and Whats of Siddhartha

I wanted to do something different than what I've done in my previous blog posts. I want to ask questions to myself and see if I could answer them based on my previous knowledge and what I have read so far.

What will happen to Siddhartha after he leaves Buddha?
I think he will make some astonishing discoveries about life. I think he will try to be like Buddha in his own way. " A man only looks and walks life that when he has conquers his Self. I will also conquer my Self." Page 29.

Will the knowledge the Buddha give to Siddhartha be more important than Govinda?
Yes, I think it will. Not only Siddhartha says it himself but Govinda doesn't become an icon of a religion. ".. yet he has given me something of greater value. He has robbed me of my friend,". Page 29.

In page 30 Siddhartha feels that "Something was no longer in him". What do you think it means?
I think Siddhartha realized a lot of things after leaving the Buddha. I think the urge to find an answer or a person or religion who can answer that question is no longer with him. I think when he was with the Buddha he realized he did not need to find the answer to his question but rather create it.

Strange Vocabulary

As I was reading a little bit more of Siddhartha I realized it had some strange words I did not know the meaning too. It was strange how I could easily read the text without understanding some of the words it contained. Below are some words I found interesting and decided to look up their meaning.

Unfathomable: (Page 28) adjective

1.

not able to be fathomed, or completely understood; incomprehensible: heroism in the face of unfathomable conflict.

I chose a black hole because it is something humans have yet to understand, it is a concept that is almos impossible to grasp.

Equanimity: (Page 28) noun

1.     mental or emotional stability or composure, especially under tension or strain; calmness; equilibrium.

I chose this image because it is a women being calm under what seems to be a stressful situation.

The Illustrious One: (Page 26) adjective

1.

highly distinguished; renowned; famous: an illustrious leader.

I chose this image because it is a representation of Buddha, or the Illustrious One.

Yes, Depressed Bella is Similar to Lost Siddhartha

Siddhartha starts doing horrible things to himself such as standing in the sun without water or standing in a pricky bush. This specific part reminds me of Twilight. It might seem very weird to compare this two different stories. Twilight is considered horrible and stupid to some, while Siddharth is a very inspiring book lots of people read for inspiration. In the part where Siddhartha just stays outisde in the sun with no water, when he stands in the rain without an umbrella and when he starves himself when he is not fasting reminded me of when Bella does similar things to her because Edward left her.

Bella (supposedly) sits in the same chair for a really long time. Long enough for the seasons to change. As I was reading Siddhartha and I read that he stood in the freezing rain with no protection, the image of Bella in her chair looking out the window just popped up in my head. “Siddhartha had one single goal, to become empty, to become empty of thirst, desire, dreams, pleasure and sorrow-to let the Self die” (page ) I can perfectly imagine him inflicting pain on himself like Bella did. Wanting to find an answer. The reasons why they do this are very different, as well as they answers they wanted. Bella lost his boyfriend while Siddhartha was trying to find happiness and the meaning of life. "His intellect was not satisfied, his soul was not at peace, his heart was not still." (page 3). Siddhartha wanted to find out the way and Bella wanted to find out the why.

Siddhartha and Bella are both lost. They have lost the meaning of their life. They no longer know why to live. Bella had her boyfriend as a reason and Siddhartha had his life with family and friends. Although Bella lost her meaning for life and Siddhartha just realized he never had one, they are both lost. They both do crazy things to figure out the answer. Either they stand in the sun without water or they go ride a motorcycle with dangerous looking guys, they both have no meaning. They are both looking for a reason to live.