Siddhartha Blog # 4

Please Finish the Novel

Due Dates:

A4 – Due Thursday, 12/16 (Before Class)

B1/B2 – Due Wednesday, 12/15 (Before Class)

Please respond to the prompts below.  Each response should be between 3-5 sentences unless otherwise noted.  Also, make sure to include a quote if required.

1.            Argue why you agree, or don’t agree, with the quote below.  Be specific in your response.  One word that catches my attention is “again.”  Does this imply that even after becoming “a Buddha” you can emerge as a sinner again?

"Listen, my friend! I am a sinner and you are a sinner, but someday the sinner will be Brahma again, will someday attain Nirvana, will someday become a Buddha” (Hesse)

2.            Take a closer look at the river.  How might it be symbolic?  Use a quote as support.

3.            Some believe that the river symbolically separates the mind and body.  If this is true, what does this say about Siddhartha’s role as a ferryman? 

4.            To me, this book is all about personal exploration, self-education, and self-actualization.  Having read it, what have you taken away?  Please write two paragraphs, explaining two specific points. 

The Fall Blog # 4 AP Literature

Please read from page 42-70 by Tuesday, 12/14

Well, it's your lucky day kiddos...I thought my book was at home, and it isn't...so no worries on the blog.  Just be prepared to discuss 42-70 on Tuesday after school.  Have an enjoyable Sunday!

Siddhartha Blog # 3

Read "The Ferryman" and "The Son."

Please respond to the following prompts with paragraphs that are 4-6 sentences in length.

Due Dates:
A4 - Friday, 12/10
B1/B2 - Monday, 12/13

The Ferryman
1.  Siddhartha finds peace with the Ferryman and his simple ways.  However, in today's world non-professional occupations are typically looked down upon as being inferior.  How does this chapter confront that stereotype and applaud the working man?  Lastly, can you think of a contemporary film or TV series that celebrates blue collar workers?

2.  The Ferryman says that his life "was also a river," how dos this metaphor make any sense(Hesse 107)?

3.  Kamala was on a "pilgrimage to Gotama," but she finds Siddhartha (113).  However, she feels meeting him was "just as good as if she had seen the other" (113).  Does this equate Siddhartha with Gotama and therefore Buddha?   Also, what do you think drove her to go on this pilgrimage?

The Son
4.  How did Siddhartha's son bridge the gap between Siddhartha and "ordinary people"(122)?  What was the emotion Siddhartha had never felt up to that point in his life?

5.  Seeing as how Siddhartha ultimately sought salvation or enlightenment on his own, without the help of others, how does he apply this philosophy to his relationship with his son?  In light of why does he ultimately leave his son in the town?

6.  Some have argued that these two chapters are slightly too coincidental and are something you might find in a soap opera, rather than a respected novel.  What do you think about this?

New Website!

Please check the new class website to see what it has to offer and to give me any feedback.  If you have any comments, please post them here.  Also, please use it to keep up with our class!

https://sites.google.com/site/seniorhighliterature/

The Fall Blog # 3 / AP Literature

Due before the AP Meeting on Thursday, 12/9

I don't have my book with me, but please read to the end of that section of text - I believe it is page 41.

Referring to what we talked about on Thursday, please find 3 typically held views of society or justice, and explain how our narrator twists those accepted norms into new, and frequently, antithetical concepts.

The example we talked about on Thursday was when he states that not all orphans and widows are innocent.  He makes us realize that there are certainly frightening orphans and demented widows.

Please include the quotes and then explain the quotations.

Siddhartha Blog # 2

Due Dates: A Block: Monday, 12/6
                   B Block: Tuesday, 12/7

Please read to the END of "By the River" and respond to the prompts below by the dates written above.  Your responses must incorporate quotes and be between 3-5 sentences in length.   Any responses with incomplete sentences will be counted as incorrect.



1.  On the opening page of this section Siddhartha knows that he cannot "go back" to the town and his previous life (87).  What specific aspects of his life do you believe he cannot go back to?

2.  Why did he contemplate suicide and which word brought him back from such contemplation?

3.  Why was Govinda shocked about Siddhartha's appearance?

4.  Reflecting on his life in the town, Siddhartha thinks that he had changed "from a man to a child" (96). Explain his thinking.

5.  Explain the irony in the river in respect to Siddhartha's contemplated suicide and eventual rebirth.