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Jessica McLean
Dr. Hobbs
ENG 122 CA17 Academic Writing II
March 30, 2009
Abandonment of Family in Siddhartha and An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge
In both Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha and Ambrose Bierce’s An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, the main characters leave their families to go on a personal journey. Peyton Farquhar from An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge goes on his journey for a completely different reason than Siddhartha. They both have good intentions, but the outcome for each character is not the same.
In An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, Peyton Farquhar leaves his wife and young children to go sabotage the Federal Bridge. Farquhar, however, gets caught and his punishment is to be hanged. At this point in the story, he is regretting his decision to abandon his family in an attempt to be a Southern patriot. While waiting on the plank for his punishment to be carried out, “he closed his eyes in order to fix his thoughts upon his wife and children” (Bierce 200). The whole time all he can do is think about how selfish he was for leaving his family and what a poor decision he made.
Siddhartha’s journey was one of a spiritual nature through which he wanted to find enlightenment. He leaves his parents at a young age to go live with Samanas in a forest and takes his best friend with him. Then he decides to continue his journey and leaves his friend behind as well. Siddhartha does not regret his decision to leave and throughout the story he doesn’t reminisce about the past or even think about returning home. Siddhartha was selfish and didn’t think about the people he affected by leaving his home.
In conclusion, Peyton Farquhar and Siddhartha were both selfish in their reasons for leaving their families. In contrast however, Farquhar’s journey was one of loyalty to the South and Siddhartha’s was a personal journey of enlightenment. Farquhar also regretted his decision of leaving, and Siddhartha did not. In the end, it is easy to see how these characters are both like and unlike each other.
 
Works Cited
Bierce, Ambrose. “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.” Edgar V. Roberts. Writing About Literature. Brief
11th ed. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2006. 199-204.
Hesse, Hermann. “Siddhartha.” New York: Modern Library, 2006.

Josh Green
Dr. Hobbs
Eng 122 CA17
3/30/09
Siddhartha vs. The Chrysanthemums
The Journey of Men
John Steinbeck and Hermann Hesse have very contrasting writing styles and portray different traits and values in their characters. I chose to compare and contrast the lives of the old wandering man in “The Chrysanthemums” and the soul searching monk in “Siddhartha”. The two men journey their whole lives in search of aspirations and lifestyles they wish to lead. In a way the two men are both solitary creatures and with no real interest in others. The men are driven by their own personal goals and their need for fulfillment. The characters may have the traveling spirit but the two men embody very different values.
Siddhartha goes from one lifestyle to the next in search of deeper meaning in his life. He travels the world with hopes of one day achieving inner peace and the holiest of enlightenment. Along the way Siddhartha adapts to all his surroundings and masters them with the help of friends. The old man on the other hand travels to make a living cleaning “Pots, pans, knives, scissors, lawn mores, Fixed.” (Steinbeck 26) He takes the same route every six months from Seattle to San Diego every year and like Siddhartha, he does this alone, but Siddhartha’s path is always a mystery while the old man’s has no deviations. “Takes all my time, about six months each way.” (Steinbeck 27) The old man lives out of his wagon with all his belongings but the monk Siddhartha cares not for material possessions and his only shelter comes from those he meets in his travels.
Siddhartha once had a home and a life filled with everything he needed but he refused to settle with such a life. “Siddhartha had begun to harbor discontent.” (Hesse 5) Thus he began to travel in search of something greater in his life, not for money or possessions, but for value in life. The old man had no choice for his life. He was possibly left all by himself and was forced to journey for a living. Either way the two men have very little in common but they do share the need to travel and although Siddhartha finds what he’s been searching for in his life, the old man remains the mystery.
 
Works Cited
Steinbeck, John. “The Chrysanthemums.” Writing about Literature by Edgar V. Roberts. Brief 11th ed. Upper Saddle River. NJ: Pearson, 2006. 242- 245.
Roberts, Edgar V. “Writing about Literature” Brief 11th ed. Upper Saddle River. NJ: Pearson, 2006.

Sasha-ann Jarrett
Dr. Hobbs
English 122-CA17
March 24, 2009
Trapped Within a Clique
The novel “Siddhartha” written by Herman Hesse and the short story entitled “The Story of an Hour” are based on characters whose lives are trapped as they live the lives of others. There are other comparisons within the story, such as the tone, and the setting, but the most significant is that of the characters experiencing a feeling of being trapped.
The novel Siddhartha is set in India in the B.C. era, and the description allows the reader to immediately identify with the setting. Siddhartha is a member of a religious sect called the “Brahmins”, and was always told what to do. He became frustrated with being constantly led so he went on a journey, a physical journey as well as a journey into his inner being. He had hoped that this journey would provide some incite into helping him to position himself in life and some self-direction. Unfortunately, this did not happen as fast as he thought it would and thus he remained a follower.
According to research, Indians “just can’t say no”, whether it is verbal or non-verbal. Rather than disappoint, they will give the response that they know you wish to hear. Siddhartha, being an “Indian”, follows this custom, as he tries to please everyone who he comes in contact with. The reason Siddhartha gives everyone the answer they want could be attributed to his culture, and it is exactly this that he is trying to free himself from. His dilemma is his eagerness to continuously please everyone that surrounds him, while he fails to please himself. However, one has to be cautious in characterizing Siddhartha as this behavior is really not to be considered dishonest, but as an integral part of the Indian tradition. Within the story, Siddhartha goes against his beliefs when he tells his father that he is leaving, which is in contrast to what his father wants to hear, yet in return, Siddhartha’s father agrees with Siddhartha’s departure, as the father knows that this is the answer that his son wishes to hear, and remains true to his custom.
Similarly, the same cultural belief theme could be applied to the short story “The Story of an Hour”. Although this piece of literature is written several years later, it is also in a similar setting in the earlier period. “The Story of an Hour” is very similar and several other comparisons with the novel, Siddhartha can be drawn. The main character of “The Story of an Hour” is Louise, who is trapped within the stereotypical role of women in her society and is “ruled” by her husband. She is just as obedient as Siddhartha because she goes along with everything that her husband says. Also, as a consequence, of how women are treated during that era, Louise is unable to do the things she dreams about and her actions are limited to societal norms. The depth to this short story is a woman not being able to make her own choices due to the demands of society. She continues to hope that one day she will be rid of it all; similarly Siddhartha hopes to find his place in life, and end his journey as a follower.
The characters are in the same position in each of the stories, as they both try to please the people they care about. One is more like a prisoner trapped in her own home and society while the other is a victim of his culture and tradition. They both try to please those who are close to them, yet they remain unfulfilled. A void that can only be blamed on their passion to conform and their zest to find something better before it is too late.


Works Cited
• Chopin, Kate. “The Story of an Hour” A Prentice Hall Pocket Reader. Pearson Education Inc., 2005
• “Siddhartha” by Herman Hesse
• http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/india-country-profile.html

Katie Ganning
Dr. Hobbs
ENG122 CA 17: Academic Writing II
31 March 2009
Compare/Contrast Between Siddhartha and Ms. Brill: The Unattached World
To be in love with the world is a difficult affair. You cannot see the feelings only the reaction of the people living in the world with you. In the comparison of Katherine Mansfield’s, Ms. Brill and Herman Hesse’s Siddhartha, two main characters one who enjoys her Sunday routine spending it in the park while Siddhartha has already lived 2 different lives and has chosen to live amongst the child people. In Hesse’s Siddhartha, he has become consumed by the world possessions and observing people which is a life he as never wanted and in comparison to Ms. Brill, who loves the townspeople and what the world has to offer.
While Siddhartha has aged and has lived with the child people for quite sometime, he starts to learn and enjoy the luxuries of possessing nice things and gambling. In his previous life, one would never think to live like this, consuming all the food possible and continue to learn to art of samara. However, once he almost finally realized that this was the true way to find happiness in the world, he realized “The people of the world, the ordinary people, were still alien to him, just as he was apart from them” (Hesse 75). After living this life for so long, it really didn’t give a meaning to finding truth. All the people surrounding him were living a complete life of “pleasure and follies (78) and really didn’t have an understanding of who Siddhartha really was. As much as he lived his life with the child people, he was still all alone and that “he could play no longer (84). Realizing his un-attachment to the town, he leaves to continue his journey that he started many years ago.
During Ms. Brill’s typical Sunday afternoon walk in the park, she believes her life is so perfect just like in a play performance. She amusingly watched the action surrounding her, “How she loved sitting here, watching it all” (Mansfield 232). While the band continued to play, a younger couple sat near Ms Brill to listen to the performance. Ms. Brill, being the gleeful observer that she was, watched the couple and heard to her surprise what they had to say. Thinking she was having a wonderful afternoon, the couple acknowledged her awkwardness and of the townspeople disliking of her presence, “Why does she come here at all- who wants her? Why doesn’t she keep her silly old mug at home?” (233). This moment brought pain to Ms. Brill, as much as she loved this town and the people in it so much, she realized they did not feel the same about her. She was involved as much as she was uninvolved. Even though this came to realization for Ms. Brill, she did not leave the town she loved so much but continued to live there and stay unattached.
As much as both Ms. Brill and Siddhartha lived in their towns amongst the people, in reality they both were really uninvolved at all. For years, they both lived life thinking they had complete happiness, that these towns are what made them truly happy. The people that lived in each town were friends and acquaintances to their knowledge, but really meant nothing to them both all along. Although Ms. Brill and Siddhartha lived in two different cultures and different times, the socialization of people is similar in all different cultures.
 
Works Cited
Roberts, Edgar V. Writing About Literature. Brief 11th ed. Upper Saddle Brook: Prentice Hall, 2006. 144-154.
Mansfield, Katherine. “Ms. Brill”. Writing About Literature. Brief 11th ed. Upper Saddle Brook: Prentice Hall, 2006.
Hesse, Herman. Siddhartha. New York, NY: New Directions Publishing Corporation, 1951.