Siddhartha: Childlike

    Siddhartha starts out as a very childish character, and even though he seems to be in the middle of an enlightening and inspirational journey, so far his actions and statements remind me of a spoiled adolescent.  

    There is a lot of focus put on the idea of love within the beginning of the novel, and Siddhartha’s reactions pertaining to deep emotions reflect that of a child.  The village is full of people who love Siddhartha yet his view is quickly explained.

“He had started feeling that his father’s love, and his mother’s love, and also his friend Govinda’s love would not make him happy forever and always, not please him, gratify him, satisfy him” (5).

    This notion of lacking fulfillment is not absurd, but the following action of defying his father and announcing his departure was a bit dramatic. Siddhartha uses his father’s emotions against him “anger…apprehension…fear… sorrow” (10).  The silent treatment came across as an act of an angry teenager, and not one of a man who is ready to make his own way in the world.

    This act of defiance is similar to what Siddhartha used against the samanas.

“he caught the old man’s gaze with his own eyes…made him mute, made him will-less, subdued him to his will” (22)

    While Govinda believes that this means Siddhartha has reached a high level of spirituality the mood of the scene still does not sit well with me. He comes off as arrogant, another type of childish behavior, as he whispers Govinda to watch him as he muted the man. Soon after while Govinda is praising him, Govinda shrugs him off and calls what the samanas do mere “tricks” (23).

    The relationship between Siddhartha and Govinda is a much more complex one, even though it is laid out in simple terms within the very start. Govinda loves his friend deeply and will do anything for him. He is called his shadow and it seems that Siddhartha sees him as a constant in his life, which turns out to be an incorrect assumption. Despite the fact that Siddhartha is able to leave his parents and the samana without a second thought, when Govinda decides to stay to learn the Teaching he is lectured in what can be seen as a slightly demeaning manner.

   Such reactions to love and compassion show the childlike nature of Siddhartha, for he is unable to deal with them properly.  Despite this, I cannot discredit the character completely. There are questions asked by Siddhartha that show his thirst for knowledge, I do understand that he is struggling to discover the truth, and that he is going on a journey that I suspect will completely change him. Yet for what I have read, the quote “Beware of too much cleverness!” (34) for now at least, fits quite well.