Chillingworth is actually a good dude.

Hi friends. I want to know what your guys think about my essay idea. I was thinking about writting about how Hawthrone makes you want to idolize the wrong people. For example he makes you want to hate Chillingworth, but in reality he is for the most part a respectable guy. Chillingworth is rich, has a hot wife and is a successful pychisan. I would be pretty mad to if my wife cheated on me. So why is Roger a bad guy? Hawthorne makes you sympathize for the wrong people. Thats my idea, so tell me what you think.

Death Of The Ego

Siddhartha's goal in life was to achieve enlightenment, and he could not do that as long as he had his ego. While he was a Shramana he realized that his ego was a problem and looked for ways to rid himself of it. Siddhartha thought to much about ridding himself of his ego at first, which didn't actually get rid of his ego. He had to much knowledge to get rid of his ego, there were too many rituals and too many sacred verses in his life. He then realized he had to get rid of the Shramana inside of him. The death of his ego is represented by the death of the song bird in the book. I think this is important because it shows us that we can't be to smart or we'll considered a know it all and that sometimes going through bad things is the only way to truly understand what life is.

Death of the Ego

Siddharta's main goal in life was to reach enlightenment. But there was one thing in the way, his ego. Ever since he became a Shramana his ego became a big problem and he kept on trying to figure out ways to destroy it. Siddharta thought that giving up all his desires would rid him from his ego. Siddharta thought too hard and focused too much about making ego go away, but nothing happened. Then he tried giving in to all his desires. By giving in to his desires, it only strengthened his ego. Now he has completely given up and was about to commit suicide. But at that moment he realizes that by letting go and not trying without so much effort to extinguish ego, he could follow a more path to actually get rid of his ego and that it would just come.

The Voices Of The River

There are thousands of voices in the river that speech to them. They don’t say anything other then the sacred words of OM. They are in peace with them selves and the earth. Every kind of living thing that you can think of lives in the river, there is a mother giving birth and a warrior and a king. Siddartha had stared to hear the voices speaking and asked Vasudeva if he to hears the voices. Vasudeav said yes and told him about the voices. This is important because it is talking about the voices that he hears and how their souls live on and will never end. I think this is a very good section in the book because it is saying how one will never truly leave, that they will always be there and you will always be there too.

Siddhartha's view on his life
Siddhartha talks about how he had been through many phases in his beliefs. When he was a boy he was into sacrifices and gods. Later on he was an ascetic and learned to fast and deal with the weather. After his brush with the shramanas he goes and learns from the great Buddha Gotama. With Kamala he learned about the joy of love and with Kamaswami he learned the ways of business. He thought he was stooping to a new level of ill minded thought when he wanted to go suicide in the river. When he heard the word om he felt like he has slept properly and awoken properly for the first time in one hundred years. But he also feels like he has come all this way only to become a child again. He feels like he has become a fool in thinking suicide is the way to enlightenment. I think he is trying to say that this is kind of like his second awakening and he feels reborn again.

Avery Valerio

Time and Voices According to the River

Time and Voices according to the river is when he is explaining how the ferryman is explaining what the river does and how the river acts. When he explains the river, the ferryman says the river is everywhere at once and that the river is the present and that there is no future. The ferryman also says the river has many voices such as the voices of a king, a warrior and a bull. I think that the time and voices according to the river is how the river acts and what the river brings through everyday. Such as logs and other items that can come through the river. I also think that it means what sounds the river make such as the flowing rapids and the pouring waterfalls. Also means that everything is separated by shadows.

The Ferryman's Virtue by Fletcher Reich

The ferryman’s virtue is listening. I think that he chose to only listen because you can learn much more from listening than you can when you are talking. It says he knows how to listen, he misses nothing and Siddhartha believes that happiness can come from opening oneself to such a man. The river spoke to Siddhartha just like it spoke to the ferryman. The ferryman tells Siddhartha that he cannot teach only listen, this might give the hint of him being awakened. When Siddhartha tells the ferryman he wants to learn from him, “You will learn that,” said Vasudeva, “but not from me. The river taught me how to listen; you will learn from the river too. The river knows everything; everything can be learned from it…You will learn the other thing from it to.”pg 82. I think that this quote means that Siddhartha will learn more from the river than he has from all his teachers. This is a big part of the book because Siddhartha is learning that listening is a big part in enlightened people. I think listening will help him reach enlightenment from this man because he will only need to say what is necessary.