Bailey Teas
WL 1 First and Second Paragraphs
In Siddhartha by Herman Hesse and The Odyssey by Homer, the authors show a conflict for the search for unity. Siddhartha seeks to find OM, signifying the unity of one’s self and all things. To find this he has to abandon Brahmin beliefs. In Homer’s text, Odysseus is physically lost and determined to return home despite his captivity by Calypso. In both texts the conflict of unity can be compared and contrasted on the basis of its physical, emotional and metaphysical.
The first major conflicts for the search of unity both novels hold revolve around the main characters and unity between themselves and their family’s beliefs. In Siddhartha, Siddhartha has realized that he has absorbed all the Brahmins beliefs and values that he’s teachers can teach him. However, he has to physically leave and abandon the Brahmins beliefs and set out to become a Samana. Moreover, Siddhartha states he is ready to leave the Brahmins and his father. “Tomorrow morning, my friend, Siddhartha is going to join the Samana’s. He is going to become a Samana.” (9) However, Siddhartha does not realize the physical barriers that this discussion has made him. In Homer’s text, Odysseus main conflict is to escape from the Island of Ogygia where the Goddess Calypso has held him captive. With the longing to return home like the others that had survived from the Trojan War, Odysseus states “[Odysseus] was alone, longing to get home from his wife.” (11) He has come to realize the struggles that he will have to endure to return to his homeland. In addition to these similarities, both main characters undergo different kinds of conflict with their families. In Siddhartha the emptiness feeling Siddhartha experiences is emotional and physical, but his ultimate goal is to become "Subservient" (49), which involves his emotional standing. In contrast, Odysseus struggles also include physical. Both characters' conflicts revolve around themselves.
Regardless of...