Archetypes

The main character Emil Sinclair begins as an innocent embarking on a journey. He is helped along by a friend/sage, Max Demian. Sinclair could also sort of be an orphan, at a young age he is sent to a boarding school and from then on fends and learns for himself with out a parental guidance. He ends up meeting a couple other friend/sages who also show him the way on his journey (Pistorious, and Knauer). Towards the end Frau Eva (Demian's mom) becomes sort of a caregiver/sage/lover. Sinclair could also be seen as a seeker, cause he leaves on purpose in order to find himself. The archetypal setting is at first the contrast of the light world and dark world, the bad and good. Once these worlds start clashing and he moves on into boarding school for a while the setting is him sort of wandering from bar to bar. After that he becomes a bit of a hermit, and still after that he travels. Towards the end he comes to Demians house and here is sort of like a safe place. Here he feels safe, happy, and untouchable. Then in the end he goes to war, which is almost complete contrast of Demians house.

Conflict and Resolution

This book is about a boy named Sinclair. The conflict arises early when he starts to lose the reality he knew as a child, and could so easily define as good and bad. This comes about with the help of a boy named Demian. Sinclair starts to realize that there is not just good and evil, light and dark. Also if that's all there was he doesn't know which he belongs to. This shatters his world and he is left struggling to find his personal reality and self. In resolution he eventually, after years of turmoil, begins to find himself and how he feels about the world. With the help of Demian and his mother he eventually realizes and comes to peace with himself and the world around him.

Recomendation

I would recommend this book to anyone willing to put a lot of thought into it. It isn't a light book you can just skim through to get its meaning. I reread about every other paragraph so that I could take from it at least a bit of the meaning. It shows different views that very religious people might find offending. It is a good read and you can take a lot from it. I wouldn't recommend it to very young kids. I think if I read it a couple years ago I would have been quite lost, and I bet if I read it again when I am older I will have a different perspective. It is sort of about growing up though and going through the "crisis" of being a teenager. So I think if you are willing to really get into it its a good book for people my age.

Favorite and Least Favorite Parts

Favorite:
My favorite part would have to be the ending after all his struggling and suffering he discovers himself. I also like that the ending reveals the things he loved most (Demian and his mother) actually turned out to be a part of himself. It gives you a good feeling that maybe the most inspiring people in your life may actually be reflections of yourself.

Least Favorite:
My least favorite would have to be around the middle. Though all the characters ultimately lead to Sinclairs self, I feel like there were almost too many times he came to some profound realization. Coming to so many made each one seem less special. It also seems like some of the ideas were contradictory to themselves, and though very enlightening to me sometimes it seemed to be stretching ideas a bit far. It also made a lot of references to the bible, which isnt necessarily a bad thing, but for me it makes it harder to understand. I realy dont know any of the bible stories so this made it a little confusing for me to always get the point.

Character Development and end thought

Sinclair starts as a small child sheltered by his parents. He realizes within himself that there are two world, Dark and Light. Light belonging to his parents, law, and good. The Dark being things "sinful" and bad. He becomes involved in the dark world briefly at a young age. From then he begins a journey to find himself. He has various teachers and masters that help him along the way, but none so prominent and Demian and eventually Demians mother. Through this journey Sinclair goes through harsh realizations that bring him closer and closer to finding self. One including the uniting of the Dark and Light world. At first he feels one should live in one or the other, but he realizes later it is quite opposite and one cant live without the other. You need each in order to fully know yourself and know the earth and mankind. In the end he becomes independent of the teachers and what not and finds himself.

I feel that the ending could be interpreted different ways. The way I like to see it is that all his teachers and masters where really just perspectives of himself. Demian helped him so greatly understand himself because in reality he was Demian. The same with Frau Eva. Frau Eva knew him so well, and he was so knowledgeable about her before their meeting because she had actually been there all along just waiting for her time to come forth and teach. Ultimately he is left alone, but you do not feel he is alone because all these people and teachers are still there within him. He is just now aware that they are his true self.

Last Summary

Sinclair and Pistorius become friends. Pistorius is sort of a teacher/master to Sinclair and he learns a lot from him and comes to many new realizations. They study mostly Abraxas as "god" but also sort of meditate and become more one with nature. Sinclair feels that he is coming even more in tuned to his true inner self. He then develops a new relationship with a boy named Knauer. At first Sinclair feels that he has no advice for Knauer, who is asking him bizarre questions about things like white magic and spirits. Knauer also asks him how he can become abstinent even in dreams and subconsciously. Knauer is sort of put of by Sinclairs lack of helpfulness and leaves. Later Sinclair finds himself being inexplicably drawn to a church, inside he finds Knauer and immediately realizes that he was about to commit suicide. After that Knauer sort of follows Sinclair everywhere, asking him all sorts of questions and seeing him as a sort of master. Then eventually Knauer slips out of Sinclairs life more or less unnoticed, though later he does realize knauer was a teacher to him as well. The ties between Sinclair and Pistorius are also severed around this time, but in a different way. Sinclair starts to feel as though he has grown more into himself than Pistorius could further teach him. He does not really like this feeling but does feel like he no longer needs Pistorius, he is even beginning to resist him. At one point he blows up and sort of implies that Pistorius is a bit of a fake. This wounds him very deeply, but he accepts it saying that Sinclair is right. Though they remain friends of sorts, it isn't the same teacher student bond that they had previously. Though him and Pistorius have one more enlightening talk. After this talk Sinclair comes to a realization that life is not finding what you are supposed to do or be, like a poet artist writer etc. Life is just a journey to find yourself. After this he once again spirals downward until he hits another low. At this point he writes a message to Demian saying, A leader has left me. I am enveloped in darkness. I cannot take another step alone. Help me. He does not however send it. At this point he leaves school and his father suggests that he travel for a while then go to university. During his vacation he goes to Demians old house. The present owner doesn't know Demians whereabouts but she shows Sinclair pictures of Demian and his mother. When Sinclair sees the pictures he recognizes the godlike masculine women in all his haunting dreams and paintings. His Daemon, and she is Demians mother.
On this trip before university Sinclair sort of wanders blindly searching for this woman. He sometimes feels like he glimpses her, but never actually meets her. Then he goes to the University. After a while there he one night recognizes Demians voice. They talk and are immediately bonded once again and talk with each other about everything and all the new realizations towards finding themselves. Sinclair walks Demian home. When Demian leaves he says that Sinclair will have to come visit him and his mother sometime as they have been waiting for him for so long. Sinclair gets a giddy anxious but childish feeling when he hears he will soon see the woman. The day he goes everything is brighter and the world for the first time in a long time seems happy and not some rotten outside. When he goes into the house one of the first things he realizes is his painting of the bird hanging in the house. He then meets Frau Eva (Demian's mother). She seems to know him exactly and all his feelings. He can see the mark of Cain on her, as it is on Demian, and on himself. He begins to visit the house more and more. They become a sort of group. Sinclair, Frau Eva, Demian, and many others who are journeying to find themselves. They share and all seems to understand each other well. Sinclair falls more and more deeply in love with Frau Eva. Some days he isn't sure whether he loves her for what she represents in himself, then other days he loves solely her passionately. He feels somehow still restrained by his love, held back like it is not really right. He explains this and everything to Frau Eva and she seems to understand, but tells him that until he can fully love her with no regret or doubt it will not be so. So Sinclair enters a melancholy beautiful time in his life, but both he and Demian sense there is a time coming where their kind will be called on. The feeling worsens and worsens and one day they get the news that war will start. Demian is a lieutenant and Sinclair is drafted. After being at war for a while Sinclair gets injured. I think it is a bomb, but when it goes off he describes it more in the shape of the tall Strong figure of Frau Eva. He pulls through and on the night when he finally becomes fully conscious again he finds Demian sitting over him. Demian tells him that though Sinclair may need him again he will no longer be able to come by him in crude form. He says that Sinclair must find Demian inside himself. Then he says that Frau Eva asked Demian should anything go wrong to kiss him, so he does. Sinclair goes back to sleep and in the morning Demian is no longer there.

Link: Quotes

I chose this link because it tells about Hermann Hesse and also shows quotes from some of his books. Demian has a lot of quotes I like and most of them are included on this page. It also shows some from his other books; Siddartha, Steppenwolf, Narcissa and Golmund, and The Glass Bead Game.

Link: Abraxas

I chose the link to Abraxas because eventually Sinclair gets the idea that this is the only god that really makes sense to him. Everything thing he has always thought about the "two worlds" (light and dark), and being able to fit them together and his ideas of good and evil, god and devil fit together in Abraxas.

Through Page 100

After Demian inexplicably saves Sinclair from Kromer, the two part ways. Kromer does not bug him again, and Sinclair returns to the safety of his good "light" world. He does not thank Demian, and rather tries to forget the whole situation. He immerses himself completely in the world of Light. Meaning he does not associate himself with Kromer, and though Demian was good to him he is still a link to the "Dark" world which he is trying to free himself of.
Years later Sinclair begins his confirmation classes, though Demian is older he ends up being in the same class with Sinclair. At first they don't talk much until one day the teacher brings up the story of Cain and Able. When Demian and Sinclair first met Demian had shown Sinclair a new light on the story, glorifying Cain over Able. After a meaningful glance Sinclair begins to notice Demian again with the same curious respectful obsession. At first Demian is moved to sit right in front of him, then later he sits back right beside Sinclair. They begin to sort of communicate in the class, though its not disruptive or rude. Demian will draw Sinclair's attention to some interesting story in the class, then later explaining a new view which Sinclair had never seen before. Demian also begins to point a student out before class, then during the class he will make a gesture and the person will scratch his head, cough, or something like that. By this time Sinclair is completely enthralled with Demian. He describes him as young and old at the same time. Not so much as years, but something about Demian seems timeless and wise. Like he has been around forever, yet he seems young and curious at the same time. Demian would study the other students closely and could seemingly persuade them to do what he wanted. Sinclair notices that Demian also seems to have this power on him. Eventually Demian explains that it is not "thought reading" or anything magical as Sinclair suspects but a matter of will. He explains that if one imagines something with all his being, something attainable and necessary to its life, then he will achieve it. Also that if you study a person close enough and you will know more about him than he does himself.
Sinclair begins to get a completely new mind set, cracks appear in his religious faith mostly influenced by Demian. Once again Demian sheds new light on one of Sinclairs most personally influential bible stories, Golgotha, or the story of the Crucifixion. This discussion brings them to the beginning of an idea that is brought up repeatedly thereafter. Sinclair gets the idea that in order to be religious then everything should be sacred not just a half that is supposed to belong to god and cleanliness, but that if everything were sacred this would also include evil and the devil. So you should have a service for god and also a service for the devil, or a god that includes the devil also. This idea goes straight to Sinclair because in a way it clears up his ideas of the Dark world and the Light world and how they conflict. Their talk turns to this and they begin to dive deeper within this problem. One day in class Sinclair gets the idea he is seeing the real Demian. After an argument Demian sits through the class completely still. His eyes seem unfocused and the first thing that he thinks is Dead. Sinclair described him as a primeval, animal, marble, beautiful, cold, dead yet secretly filled with fabulous life.
After confirmation it is decided that Sinclair will be sent to boarding school, he leaves without having the chance to really say goodbye to Demian. He goes off to school and is filled with a sense of loneliness. He cannot relate with the others and becomes more and more secluded. One day while walking by himself he meets up with an older boy from school named Alfons Beck. He finds himself sharing stories and talking with him a lot. They go to a pub and begin to drink. This starts a sort of downward spiral for Sinclair. He starts to drink almost constantly. He feels as if his childhood has been officially stomped out. He goes from a "bloody beginner" to a sort of leader of a group of rowdy drinkers. He feels more and more sick with himself, even like his own conscience is weighing him down. The school and his father threaten expulsion, but he does not care. The only things he does not partake in with his drinking "friends" is their sexual excursions. He feels lonely, but does steer clear of this part of the "dark world".
One day while in the park he sees a girl. He becomes sort of infatuated with her. Though they never speak, and he never finds out her real name, he names her Beatrice. He begins painting, trying to capture Beatrices face. Beatrice brings him out of his dark realm and hurtling back towards the light. He says it was the "cult of Beatrice" that changed his life. Before a cynic, now trying to become a saint. He paints and paints the face of this girl and eventually it just becomes a face not so much the girl. Finally ends up with an image. He finds the image as a kind of God. Neither man nor woman, ageless, purposeful, and secretly alive. After it begins to sort of haunt him in his dreams as well he realizes that the face belongs to Demian. After further criticism he realises that the face is also himself. Not as in a direct portrait, but a sort of daemon. Soon after while visiting home he meets Demian. The meeting was brief, and put out Sinclairs feelings even more. Demian sort of assumes he is a drunk and doesn't take well with that.
Things sort of go back to normal. But Sinclair begins to dream about the old coat of arms painted over his doorway at home (which Demian had taken a special interest in). He paints this bird in his dream sort of hatching from the world. Then he sends it to Demians old address not really knowing how to get it to him. Then a while later he finds a note in one of his class books that is obviously from Demian. It says "The bird fights its way out of the egg. The egg is the world. Who would be born must first destroy a world. the bird flies to God. That God's name is Abraxas." Then that day in class the teacher talks about this God named Abraxas. Saying that he is the godhead whose task is the uniting of godly and devilish elements. This sort of haunts him, but really starts to help him reason with how he feels about good and evil. He later dreams that he goes back to his home and the coat of arms overhead is glowing. At first what looks like his mother approaches him, but then it sort of resembles Max Demian in the painting, but more feminine. The figure embraces him and it gives him a sort of ecstasy or mortal fear, and he wakes with a racked conscience. He gets a sort of sexual drive and obsession to find his "beloved". While fighting through inner turmoil he begins to make friend with an organist, who he goes to listen to at a church. The first time they actually talk Sinclair brings up Abraxas. The man is taken aback at first but says he knows of Abraxas and will tell Sinclair. At their first meeting however all they do is stare into a fire and sort of meditate for an hour or so. The organist, Pistorious, becomes a sort of teacher to Sinclair.

Reading History

Before I could read very well my parents read to me, then once I picked it up I have pretty much continually read one or two books at a time. Sometimes when I'm really busy I don't read for a week or two, but even then I am usually in the middle of a book or two. I like to read series or trilogies a lot, and also if I find a author I like I usually end up reading all their books. I have read all the Harry Potter books, all the Narnia, the Twilight series (and Host), everything by Nancy Farmer (House of the Scorpion, The Ear the Eye the Arm, Troll Sea, etc.) everything by Ellen Hopkins ( Burned, Glass, Crank, etc.) everything by Sharon Creech (Chasing Redbird, Wanderer, Bloomability, etc.). Also the Abarat series, Green Angel, Lord of the Rings, Merlin series, The Uglies series, To Kill a Mockingbird, All Quiet on the Western Front, Last Chance Texaco, The Night I Disapeared, Wuthering Heights, Steppenwolf, David By Night, Ella
Enchanted, The Wish, and a lot more. I usually like fiction, and have really only read a few non fiction books. My favorite books would have to be the Ellen Hopkins books, and the twilight series. I couldnt put them down. I am also a big Harry Potter fan. I am now in the process of reading them all through once again.

Probably my least favorite book would be The Old Man and the Sea. It just seemed silly and not very exciting to me. The fish isnt THAT big of a deal to write a whole book about it. I know its not really about the fish, but more of a metaphor. I still dont like it. It just seems like "macho man" ish, which really isnt my style of book. I read alot at home, and when im travelling. Usually before bed or in the car/ airplane. If a book is really good though sometimes I end up taking it everywhere and reading it every chance I get.

First 50 Pages

In the first fifty pages of demian we are introduced to the main character Sinclair beginning his story at a young age. He talks about the different worlds he starts out a part of. First there is his home world. This is the world with his parents, rules, cleanliness, prayer, and so on. He calls this the light world. The other, though close in physical distance was much different. It includes kids from public school, the maids and workers at his house, drunkards next door. This is the dark world. The dirty, illegal, immoral, godless world. One day he and his friends hang out with a boy from public school, and finds him self on a downward spiral into the dark world he doesn't completely understand. This happens starting with a lie. While trying to impress his friends he makes up a heroic story of stealing apples from a nearby orchard. Then walking home he is joined by Frans Kromer, the boy from public school. Frans says he knew apples were stole from that orchard and that the owner is willing to pay a reward of two marks for someone who turns in the thief. So in this way Kromer black mails him into gradually stealing two marks and paying him back so that he will not tell. As he is slowly slipping into this world he discovers a new friend of sorts, Demian. Demian is just a little older in age, but years older in personality. Whenever he talks with Demian he finds himself entranced and thoughtful. He finds himself looking at things from a perspective that before had never even occurred to him. As Kromer continues to torture him Demian shows him new light on the situation and his life in general. Then at one point Kromer completely stops, and a few days later Demian says he wont bug Sinclair anymore, though he is very vague about it. He wonders at this but is made so uncomfortable by the situation he never asks.

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Demian by: Hermann Hesse
1925