Writing Assignment over Demian by Hermann Hesse
Demian, written by Hermann Hesse and first published in 1919, is, at its heart, a novel of self-discovery and self-actualization. The novel itself, an "autobiographical" novel that was "written" by Emil Sinclair, the focus of the story, is meant to show an old man, whose voyage of self-discovery is coming to a close, and his recollections of past events and their ability to shape his current world-view. Central to the novel is this relationship between the current incarnation of one's own personality and the past events which have gradually made such introspective aspects of oneself to emerge and take shape. While at many times asserting clearly and poignantly that the past is something which must be let go by an individual in order to carry on down the path that leads to one's true self, hidden within the novel is the assertion that the past forms us and shapes us and should never be let go of fully, but, instead, should always be kept as an afterimage of what once was. It is only then that we can begin to find our own road of self-actualization. This does not seem to be done by accident, as, in other cases of other such themes in Demian, Hesse cleverly uses the duality of nature approach. He constantly sees the world as a
Demian was a figure that first appeared when Sinclair was in the depths of his childhood. Franz Kromer, a bully and extortionist, had Sinclair in his clutches. Demian served as Sinclair's salvation when he frightened Kromer away from Sinclair for good. Ever since that point, Demian played a major and minor role in Sinclair's growth. Demian was the nudge that Sinclair always needed whenever at a standstill in his life. It was this constant presence that allowed Sinclair to grow into his current self. This, whether Sinclair admits it or not, is his glimpse into his own past. Demian is seen as the bridge between Sinclair's past and his eventual fate. At the end of the story, Demian, in a sense, says goodbye to Sinclair. Does he mention in his goodbye a glimpse into Sinclair's future? No. He mentions aspects of the past which they have shared together. He asks "can you remember Franz Kromer?" (Demian 144). In this final gesture back to recesses of Sinclair's memory, we, as readers, can see Hesse's attempt to reach his protagonist to reason with him, to get Sinclair to accept to duality of time as easily as he accepts the duality of the world. In the end, it works, as Sinclair realizes that to access his inmost past in Demian, all he needs to do his look to the future and he will see the past. This seems to be the only view represented in the novel towards the effect of the past on the present, but it truly is not Sinclair who is writing the full story, but Hesse who plays God over the fate of his characters. Sinclair, like Hesse, believes in the duality of the world. There were "realms of day and night, two different worlds coming from two opposite poles (Demian 3)" which pervaded Sinclair's life.
Some common words found in the essay are:
Demian Hesse, Kromer Demian, Emil Sinclair, Sinclair Demian, Sinclair Hesse, Hermann Hesse, Franz Kromer, Demian Demian, , demian 14, one's true self, one's true, dark mirror, world-view central, one's own, true self, franz kromer, sinclair's world-view, sinclair's life, past demian,
Approximate Word count = 1161
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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