The Siddhartha Unit

The Plot and Themes of Siddhartha

The Genesis of Siddartha

• Herman Hesse grows up in a religious Catholic family, but learns to reject everything he has been taught in the past.

• In 1911 has an opportunity to visit India.

• Finds that he shares with Siddartha Guatama (the man who would become the Buddha’s) love of learning by experience.

Siddartha – the plot

• A young Indian prince rejects his wealth and lives the life of a peasant to experience the pain of life.

• He is joined by his friend Govinda who accepts what is given to him in life.

• Siddartha, on the other hand, always questions what he is taught.

• He eventually searches for the “Buddha” to learn how to reach “enlightenment.”

Themes in the novel

• The Path to Enlightenment: Can Siddhartha find harmony in the world and within himself?

• Classroom vs. Experience: Does one learn by being told of by doing?

• The pursuit of life: Can one find one’s path or will the path find him?

As we read the novel Siddhartha please consider the following

essential questions:• What is the difference between learning in

school and learning in life?

• What does it mean to be an adult?

• How does one form one’s identity?

• What constitutes one’s belief?

Goals

• The Goal: To learning reading and writing to help you to prepare for the WASL.

• The Challenge is: Taking that new knowledge and writing an in-class write and an essay about your personal beliefs.

• Obstacles to overcome: To stay organized to complete all assignments.

1. Frayer Models (50 pts)2. Vocab Quizzes (20 pts)3. Reading Quiz (50 pts)4. In-Class Write (100 pts)5. Socratic Seminars (30 pts)6. 1-Pager (50 pts each).7. Learning Log (120 pts)

Product, Performance, and Purpose

A note about Sparknotes

• You will be required to read 30+ pages a night.

• I realize there are websites like Sparknotes that summarize the book, please use this as a resource. To pass you must read the book!!!

Please Stand for Think on your Feet