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.