How does culture compare with the novel "Siddhartha" by Hermann Hesse?

Essay by lisag3434High School, 12th gradeA+, September 2006

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When one is born, rules, knowledge, and objects are set upon individuals to direct their lives. This development is a brief description of culture. When culture is placed into a person's mindset, they gradually learn to use and live by that culture. Culture is a broad perception regarding everything learned, and shared by a society. There are a mixture of similar, and different cultures around the world. Understanding of other culture's beside one's own, is an advantage to one's erudition. Culture is exposed in everyday life, and also discovered in many short stories, novels, and poems. One novel that culture is greatly revealed in is Siddhartha, published in 1922, by Hermann Hesse.

In this spiritual novel, the development of a boy named Siddhartha, is depicted. Siddhartha is the son of a Brahmin, who depends on his father in ancient India. Everyone living around him is a prosperous Brahmin, which influences him to practice this religion as well.

The rituals preformed by the Brahmin are said to bring peace, and enlightenment, but Siddhartha feels this is missing. He doesn't feel that this religion is for him, but since it is all that surrounds him, he has to at least attempt it. After realizing this wasn't the direction he wanted to follow, he searched for something more. When Samanas, a group of wondering ascetics passed through his town, he considered trying their method to reach enlightenment. The Samanas believed that a denunciation of the body, and physical desire will lead them to enlightenment. Siddhartha decided to follow this ascetics path, to search for some of the answers he was looking for. Initially, his father resists letting his son go to practice other religions, but eventually gives in to let his son search for the answers he needs, in the...