Morgan Simmons and Patricia Munoz

Hero Cycle Notes - Siddhartha and Life is Beautiful

Call to Adventure
In the book Siddhartha, the main character Siddhartha feels he is missing something in his life.
He begins to believe that to be happy, he must search the world to find what will satisfy him
(Hesse 5). In this section, there is repetitive syntax and word choice. This helps the reader to
confirm that he is unhappy with his life and is seeking more.

A second call to adventure comes after Siddhartha is meditating with his friend Govinda under a
banyan tree. He has been feeling confused and lost because he’s unable to find spiritual truth.
While sitting under the tree, he thinks of the Samanas who have come to the village and suddenly
decides that he will join them. Imagery is a key literary device in this section. Hesse describes
the soul as an arrow pointed towards truth, and the “Om” as the bow, while Siddhartha is
described as “sitting with his eyes closed as if focused on a target” (Hesse 8). This shows us that
he is looking for the truth.

Refusal of the call

Siddhartha's father is the one who refuses the call. He tells him he can’t go to the forest to
become a Samana. His father is full of rage and tells his son that it is improper for someone of
their social standing to become a Samana, saying, “It is not seemly for brahmins to utter forceful
and angry words, but there is displeasure in my heart. I should not like to hear you make this
request a second time” (Hesse 10). One of the key literary devices in this scene is irony.
Siddhartha’s father is saying that it’s not seemly for him to be angry, so he won’t say angry
words, but clearly, he feels angry and expresses his anger with Siddhartha by saying he feels
disappointed, and tells him not to bring up the topic again.

Supernatural Aid
Siddhartha is leaving his hometown in the early morning when Govinda appears and tells him he
will be joining him on his journey. Throughout the book, Govinda will become Siddhartha’s
faithful companion, helping him on his quest for spiritual discovery and always staying close by
his side to assist him and support him. A metaphor is a key literary device in this section.
Govinda is described as “A crouching shadow” (Hesse 1). This is important because it tells us
that he will always be at his side, following behind him just as his shadow is always with him
wherever he goes.

Crossing the Threshold
Siddhartha crosses the threshold of his old life when he decides that he must leave Gotama and
his followers behind and discover his own truth. “A man only looks and walks like that when he
has conquered his Self. I also will conquer my Self” (Hesse 35). He has a conversation with
Gotama where he asks him many spiritual questions (a kind of trial) and discovers that he must
move forward on his own to find enlightenment. When he makes this decision he crosses over
into a new way of being. Dialogue is an important literary device in this scene because it is the
conversation with Gotama that helps Siddhartha make up his mind about what to do. Hesse uses
dialogue to let each character share their point of view and express their own ideas about
spiritual life. This gives the reader an inside look as to how Siddartha thinks.

Belly of the Whale

Siddhartha experiences rebirth when he has his spiritual awakening after leaving Gotama and his
followers behind. He realizes that he has been looking to other people for answers about the
meaning of life all at once when he should have been looking within himself to find his own
truth. “The reason why I do not know anything about myself, the reason why Siddhartha has
remained alien and unknown to myself is due to one thing, to one single thing - I was afraid of
myself, I was fleeing from myself. I was seeking brahmin, Atman… but by doing so, I lost
myself along the way.” (Hesse 38) As soon as he realizes this the world seems very beautiful and
he says he feels reborn.
In this section, Siddhartha realizes the truth, so Hesse uses a lot of sensory description and
imagery to show how beautiful the world seems to him at that moment. This is because he wants
the reader to understand how Siddhartha is feeling in this moment and sympathize with him by
seeing the world through his eyes.

Road of Trials
Siddhartha experiments with different things to figure out what satisfies him the most. He learns
more about himself and gains knowledge with each thing he tries. His first trial is to cross the
river with the boatman after leaving his friend behind. For the first time in his life, he is all alone,
with no money and no one to support or protect him. The boatman carries him across the river
for free and promises to be his friend as he begins his journey looking for spiritual truth within
himself, and faces the many more trials to come. Hesse uses foreshadowing in this passage when
the boatman tells him he will come back, saying “Everything comes back; you too, Samana, will
come back” (Hesse 48). This gives us a hint that Siddhartha will be coming back to the river and
helps us guess that he will return home at the end of his journey.

Meeting with the Goddess
Siddhartha meets the goddess when he encounters the beautiful woman in the grove. Although
he’s supposed to be ascetic and not spend time with women, he is overcome with her beauty and
follows her into the groove to get a better look at her. He admires her and is intrigued by her, so
much so that he forgets his spiritual quest and follows her into the groove. A simile is a key
literary device in this passage. When looking at the beautiful woman, Siddhartha thinks that she
has “a bright red mouth like a freshly cut fig” (Hesse 51). This line is important because it shows
us her tie to the physical world. Just as someone might be tempted to eat a sweet fruit, he is
tempted to spend time with her instead of continuing his quest.

The Temptress
After crossing the river, Siddhartha meets a beautiful young woman washing in the river. She
flirts with him and asks him if it’s true that Samanas are forbidden from touching women.
“Looking up he saw her face smiling, full of desire and her half-closed eyes pleading with
longing” (Hesse 50). Siddhartha feels tempted and wants to stay with her, but just as he reaches
out for her a voice within him says “No!” telling him to stop and save him from temptation.
Symbolism is one of the most important literary devices in this passage because the woman is
associated with an image of a beautiful grove where Siddhartha wants to spend time. This shows
that she represents the earth and the physical world that tempts and distracts him from following
a higher spiritual truth and continuing his journey.

Apotheosis
Once Siddhartha escaped from the temptress, he runs to the river and contemplates committing
suicide. “There was nothing left in the world that could attract him, that could give him pleasure
and solace.” (Hesse 87). However, he continues his rituals of meditation and says om, which
calms him down and suddenly feels much happier. The act of meditation and the little bits of
diction in this scene are able to calm him down.
The Ultimate Boon
Siddhartha was able to find what he always wanted; peace and perfection. He was able to find
this by the river with their ferryman. He reached his final goal of enlightenment by developing a
deeper understanding of unity and wisdom. When describing his experience, he discovers
“everything that exists is good--death as well as life, sin as well as holiness” (Hesse 144). A
major literary device that was used in this section of the text is detail because it describes
Siddhartha's thoughts and his true feelings. He was finally able to find what he had always been
on the hunt for.

The Magic Flight

After achieving the goal of his journey, Siddhartha is finally ready to go home. Siddhartha’s
elixir was enlightenment, and he was able to learn that from the river. He now also had the ability
to teach his friend Govinda the secret to reaching enlightenment. “But this is one thought that
impressed me, Govinda. Wisdom is not communicable. The wisdom which a wise man tries to
communicate always sounds foolish.” (Hesse 142). This achievement of enlightenment can be
considered a motif because it was a reocurring topic and Siddhartha was finally able to get to
what he was searching for throughout his entire quest.

Freedom to Live
Siddhartha watched the river and tried to understand its secrets. “But today, he only saw one of
the river’s secrets, one that gripped his soul. He saw that the water continually flowed and yet it
was always there; it was always the same and yet every moment it was new.” (Hesse 102).
Siddhartha learned from the river that unlike most things, the river never stopped. It always
flowed regardless of what else in the world was going on. He compared this to his life. Even
though Siddhartha was finally able to find enlightenment, his journey wasn’t over. The
comparison from the river to Siddhartha’s life can be considered a metaphor because like the
river, his journey would keep going on.
Call to Adventure
In the movie Life is Beautiful, there are two major calls to adventure. First, Guido Orefice meets
Dora when she falls out of a window. He keeps running into her and begins to fall in love, so he
decides to take her away from her fiance and marry her (00:04:10). The main character Guido
Orefice uses detail to his advantage because he wants to become closer to Dora, so he makes
himself look like a genius, but really, his timing is perfect.

The second call is when Guido Orefice and his son Joshua are taken by the Nazis against their
will (00:56:07). This scene has numerous allusions to WWII. Words like Nazis or the Holocaust
were never explicitly stated, but the reality is obvious to the viewer.

Refusal of the Call

Dora sees that Guido Orefice and her son were taken by the Nazis, so she rushes to go join them
on the train. Even when a Nazi tell her to go home, she says no, and gets on the train for a hope
that she can stay with her family (00:59:06). The short, choppy diction conveys a sense of
urgency and is very direct. It makes the viewer know that Dora is very concerned and wants to
stay with her family no matter what.

Crossing the Threshold

Guido Orefice and family ride on the train to the concentration camp. Guido stays positive and
keeps his son happy by convincing him they are going to be the players in a very high stake
game and the prize is a tank, which Joshua desperately wants (01:01:37). The mood keeps the
audience upbeat through humor and jokes made by the main character and hero, Guido. Even
though there is a large chance they will all die, he manages to keep him and his son positive.

Road to Trials
Every time a new obstacle comes up in the camp, Guido comes up with a new lie to tell his son.
This helps distract his son from the terror he is experiencing. Each time that he has to lie, the
story becomes more and more detailed (01:05:54). Detail plays an important role in these scenes
because without the specific things he is describing to his son, there wouldn’t be a compelling
reason for his son, or him, to continue on their journey of living at the concentration camp.
The Temptress
Throughout Guidos time at the camp, the thing that keeps him going is that he knows Dora is
still alive somewhere. He and Joshua sneak to the intercom room and send a message that also
lets Dora know they are alive. They were tempted to inform her in this very risky way
(01:19:00). The mood in this scene is danger and risking it all. Guido and Joshua are sneaking
around, but they don’t seem concerned that they might die, they just want to let Dora know they
are alive.

Apotheosis
Guido Orefice gets asked by the Doctor to wait at a party he is hosting. Joshua is content because
he is granted a spot at the kid's table by mistake (but he doesn't know that). At this party, Guido
and Joshua aren’t in constant fear of immediate death (01:30:14). The diction in this scene is all
in German. If Guido or Joshua speak in Italian, their covers could be blown and they could die
(or, from Joshua's perspective, they could “lose points”).

The Ultimate Boon

After the Nazis leave the concentration camp, Joshua slowly and calmly leaves the little box he
was hiding in. In this scene, the war is over. He has reached his final goal, survival. But, he still
thinks that the prize is a tank (01:49:01). The mood in this scene is depressing and there is a
gloomy tone. Although the war is over and Joshua has reached his goal or “Ultimate Boon,” he
has yet to find his family and some questions are left unanswered.

Refusal of the Return

Guido sacrifices his life for his son, Joshua. This is the refusal of his return. Although his path as
a hero ends here, he passes his perseverance on to his son who made it out alive (01:45:52). The
point of view shifts in this scene from being all about Guido Orefice to being about Joshua. This
is a significant turning point of the movie and causes the whole plot to change.
Rescue from Without
As Joshua is standing in the open area, turning in awe at the emptiness that is before him, a tank
rounds the corner. This is a symbol of an outside force stepping in. This is a literal outside force
because it was an American tank that stepped in to help end the war (01:50:15). The diction in
this scene shows how language barriers play a role in the Holocaust. As the American tank pulls
up to Joshua and the American soldier talks to Joshua, he says “You don’t understand what I'm
saying do you?” Joshua shakes his head and climbs onto the tank for rescue.

The Magic Flight

The American tank comes and takes Joshua away from the concentration camp. This can be
counted as the magic flight until Joshua sees his mother and once again is overjoyed (01:51:34).
The mood in this part of the movie is joy. Joshua is so happy to see the tank and is even happier
when he is able to reconnect with his mom.

Crossing the Return Threshold

Like many other steps of the cycle, this step happens when Joshua is on the tank with the
American soldier. He believes he has “won,” the tank, but in reality, now he will continue to live
his life, but now without his father (01:51:34). There is a mood of happiness when Joshua is on
the tank. He has survived and is so happy to be achieving his goal.

Freedom to Live
Joshua is riding the tank with the American soldier when suddenly he shouts for his mother. The
tank stops and Joshua climbs down to the arms of his overjoyed mother (01:52:21). The mood of
this final scene is pure gratefulness and joy. At that moment, Joshua is so happy to have ridden
on the tank and to see his mother once again.