Teaching Siddhartha

Instructions for You

Objective: Siddhartha spends a lifetime trying to be happy only to truly be happy very late in life. Bros reunite, his main squeeze expires, his boss ends up probably being God (who saw that one coming?), all on his quest for the "path of paths." Almost everyone he meets is also on their own quest for enlightenment, but is there really just one "path of paths" or does everyone have to find their own way?

In this activity, students will analyze each character's development by charting their paths to enlightenment. This is a great activity to tackle in groups or jigsaw-style, and you should plan on about two class periods.

Materials Needed: 

• Copy of Siddhartha
• Poster board and markers

Step 1: Let's start with a quick character recap. In Ancient India there were many schools of thought running around that sought to alleviate the emptiness of the human condition by achieving some form of enlightenment/fulfillment. As a class, create a list of the main characters on the board along with their major beliefs and practices concerning enlightenment and how to get there.

Step 2: Life moves fast and so do we (don't we sound enlightened?), so after a quick review, put students into groups of three to five and bestow upon each group a poster board and some markers. On said poster board, students will draw a map of the literal and figurative "path" each character takes to enlightenment. The path should represent the characters' physical movements, and when characters meet, their paths should literally intersect on the poster. This will take some planning, so encourage the use of pencils and scrap paper before they uncap those markers.

Students should label important locations and events on each character's path, but they should also include notes and text evidence to track the characters' spiritual journeys. For example, when Siddhartha is physically with the Samanas, where is he spiritually? What does he believe at that point? What is he wrestling with? To make these posters both clearer and prettier, Shmoop encourages color-coding and illustration. Who are we kidding? We pretty much always encourage color-coding and illustration.

Step 3: Once students have enlightened (Ha! See what we did there?) themselves about these characters, have the groups present their posters to the class. As each group presents, use the posters as a springboard for some in-depth theme and character development discussion:

• How are the characters' paths similar? How are they different?
• Who has the longest path to enlightenment? Why is that?
• What events or people have the biggest influence on each character?
• What qualities or practices seem to be necessary to achieve enlightenment?
• Is time a necessary factor? Is it possible to achieve enlightenment quickly? Why or why not?
• What role does community play in enlightenment? Can you achieve enlightenment in isolation? Why or why not?
• What role does the natural world play in enlightenment?
• What do you think is the novel's overall message or claim about enlightenment/fulfillment?

Psst! Check out our themes page for more discussion fodder.

Instructions for Your Students

Siddhartha spends a lifetime trying to be happy only to truly be happy very late in life. Bros reunite, his main squeeze expires, his boss ends up probably being God (who saw that one coming?), all on his quest for the "path of paths." Almost everyone he meets is also on their own quest for enlightenment, but is there really just one "path of paths" or does everyone have to find their own way?

Step 1: Let's start with a quick character recap. In Ancient India there were many schools of thought running around that sought to alleviate the emptiness of the human condition by achieving some form of enlightenment/fulfillment. Who are our main characters? What are their major beliefs and practices concerning enlightenment and how to get there?

Step 2: Life moves fast and so do we (don't we sound enlightened?), so get into groups and grab a poster board and some markers. On said poster board, you will draw a map of the literal and figurative "path" each character takes to enlightenment. The path should represent the characters' physical movements, and when characters meet, their paths should literally intersect on the poster. This will take some planning, so we encourage the use of pencils and scrap paper before you uncap those markers.

You will label important locations and events on each character's path, but you should also include notes and text evidence to track the characters' spiritual journeys. For example, when Siddhartha is physically with the Samanas, where is he spiritually? What does he believe at that point? What is he wrestling with? To make these posters both clearer and prettier, Shmoop encourages color-coding and illustration. Who are we kidding? We pretty much always encourage color-coding and illustration.

Step 3: Once you have enlightened (Ha! See what we did there?) yourselves about these characters, you will present your posters to the class. As each group presents, we'll get some in-depth theme and character development discussion going:

• How are the characters' paths similar? How are they different?
• Who has the longest path to enlightenment? Why is that?
• What events or people have the biggest influence on each character?
• What qualities or practices seem to be necessary to achieve enlightenment?
• Is time a necessary factor? Is it possible to achieve enlightenment quickly? Why or why not?
• What role does community play in enlightenment? Can you achieve enlightenment in isolation? Why or why not?
• What role does the natural world play in enlightenment?
• What do you think is the novel's overall message or claim about enlightenment/fulfillment?