NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY ODISHA

Law and Language Project

“Book Review: SIDDHARTHA”

Semester I
BBA LLB
2021-2026

Submitted to: Submitted by:

Ms. Garima Mahar Ishant S Joshi (21bba018)

 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

In the accomplishment of this project successfully, first, I would like to thank the almighty

whose blessings helped me to complete this project. 

Secondly, I would like to express special gratitude to my subject teacher Ms. Garima

Mahar, for her constant online support and guidance. 

I would also like to thank the administration for the provision of the best facilities in terms of

databases without which the completion of this project would not have been possible.

Last but not the least, I would like to acknowledge our seniors for sparing their valuable time

in providing us with suggestions and guidance with various phases of project completion. 
 SIDDHARTHA

Author: Hermann Hesse

Publishers: FingerPrint

Year Of Publication: 1922

Introducing the author first, Hermann Hesse is a German novelist and poet who was

awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1946. Hesse grew up in Basel, Switzerland. He was

unable to adapt to the conventional way of life, an experience that he will showcase in his

novels. He is well known for writing novels and poets that talks about searching our identity

and spirituality by breaking established modes of civilization and opportunities that it

provided. In other words, Hermann Hesse is well-known for his work on self-discovery. His

well-known work includes Gertrud, Rosshealde, Beneath the Wheel and Demian. His visit to

India inspired him to write perhaps his most famous book, Siddhartha that was published in

1922, upon which I will give my book review.

The story of the novel ‘Siddhartha’ revolves around a boy named Siddhartha who goes on a

journey to try and fill the void in his life. This journey of self-discovery takes Siddhartha on a

path of experiencing different aspects of life and through a path that is going to test

Siddhartha and his resolve. In this book, the author tries, and answer questions posed by

seekers of the truth, of the beyond and those who want to experience eternal blissfulness. The

protagonist will become a son, a Brahman, a friend, an ascetic, a lover, a father and a

ferryman in trying to answer those questions.

The geographical and the historical setting of the novel is well suited to the theme of the

novel. The context of the book takes place in ancient India, during the time of the Buddha.
The protagonist, who travels from his village to the wilderness to a city to a river in an India

who is breathing air of spirituality coming from Buddha’s teaching is analogous to how

protagonist spirals around his own self and spirituality in his mind, struggling to fill the void

that he fills.

THEME

The main theme of the book revolves around self-discovery and spirituality. Through the

main protagonist and through his life, the author tries to delve into spirituality. From the first

chapter itself, we can see that the protagonist is on a journey to fill a void in his life, a void

which has no name.

CHARACTERS

Though there is one singular important character in the book, that is Siddhartha who is the

main protagonist on a path of self-discovery, there are other characters as well who in their

own way also pose and as well answer to questions that seekers of spirituality will have.

Siddhartha is a Brahman boy born to a cleric priest in a village. His journey takes him on a

path of self-discovery that is going to fill him with different experience with which he tries

and answer those questions that cannot be worded. All other characters are supportive in

nature and revolve around Siddhartha. Siddhartha’ childhood friend Govinda is a sweet and

loving boy who accompanies Siddhartha in his first chapter of his life. Siddhartha then goes

on to meet the enlightened Gautama Buddha after which he decides to try out a different path

towards spirituality. A courtesan enters the story named Kamala who teaches Siddhartha the

non-spiritual aspect of life where he also meets Kamaswami who teaches him materialistic
aspects of life like merchant, businesses and wealth. In the final stage of this spiritual path, he

meets a ferryman named Vasudeva in whom Siddhartha finds refuge.

All side characters resemble a role like a friend and a lover, and all play an important role in

the protagonist’s life in one way or other in the protagonist’s attempt to fill his void.

NARRATIVE

The author is an excellent observer of human life and human behavior. He brilliant

showcases this through his depiction of Siddhartha and how he goes about his journey.

Through this book, the author gives a picture of how he looks at Indian spirituality. This can

be clearly seen as how he criticized the Brahman view of spirituality and worldview. This can

be seen in the beginning as Siddhartha left his Brahman household because the Brahminic

rituals did not fullfill his void. After leaving his home behind, Siddhartha takes the life of an

ascetic which he also leaves behind and finally he becomes an ordinary human being by

becoming a businessman, a lover, a gambler and a ‘childlike person’. The end of the book is

where many readers will sit and ponder over because in essence it is the central message of

the book. The end showcases a clash between mysticism, spirituality and enlightenment with

human tendency of expectation, desires and materialisms. The book tries to resolve this clash

by inherently talking about Buddha’s four noble truth, which is not prima facie visible.

The book talks about the first noble truth that addresses the nature of suffering and how

human life is always experiencing suffering and how “happiness is temporary no matter how

hard we try to make it permanent.”

The second noble truth talks about the cause of suffering, that is attachment, expectation and

ignorance. “These three things will grow into many branches of suffering if left unchecked.”
The third noble truth says we can “overcome suffering by eliminating any desires or

expectation” that we have for ourselves and from others as well.

The fourth noble truth in the book gives us the tool to achieve this eternal state of

blissfulness and in essence the entire book is based on this fourth noble truth. The book does

not give any spiritual instruction, but it is a guide as to how a common man can achieve

wisdom and enlightenment.

Siddhartha travels across the Indian landscape which resembles the soul’s need to discover

itself. The different phases of life through which the author travels are also analogous to how

the author perceives human life to be, that is full of contradictions and at the end of the book.

When we look at the story as a whole, the reader will recognize that how easy and difficult

the path to self-discovery is because of how dynamic human life is. This can be observed in

the book as how Siddhartha had to migrate from one life stage to another life stage and every

time he did, he came across new life experiences and obstacles which is also a message for

the reader that life will have obstacles that is to overcome to achieve blissfulness.

All in all. The book encompasses a brilliant narrative of a boy whose self-discovering journey

is so beautiful that the reader will sit and ask questions to themselves about their own self-

discovery and whether or not they want to fill that void that essentially all humans’

experiences.

Though I have tried to summarize the main aspects of the book without divulging

any extra information, there is so much that I haven’t talked about. The book also resembles

the vicious karmic circle of life, the eastern mysticism-western individualism juxtaposition

and the different human relationships that any human experiences in is self-discovery path.
Siddhartha is a timeless beautiful story that will attract all, irrespective of their age. It is so

deep that the reader will have to read few chapters again and again. For Indians, the book

gives a different take on the idea of spirituality and self-discovery.

The book is a time-memorial book and a classic that has survived the test of time. It is a

beautifully written story about the human psyche, and I highly recommend this book to

everyone for this book should be read at least once in our lifetime.