Logan Pearsall Smith said, " It is not what an author says, but what he or she whispers, that is important." What this means is that little things count not just the big things. I agree with this quote. There are lots of motifs in Hermann Hesse's novel Siddhartha  that add the characterization of Siddhartha as a person who questions life and wants to figure out who he is.

A motif that adds to characterization is the word light. In the beginning of the book, Siddhartha is characterized by having a glow inside of him even though his world is dark. Siddhartha has a good personality. In the middle of the book, we see Siddhartha giving money to the poor and helping out. Towards the end of the book, he is worldly. He gambles, is rich, and learned the art of love, but these things left him in the dark and depressed. He sits in the shadow of the mango tree and wants to kill himself. Sidddhartha is in a mentally dark place. he starts to question if he made the right choice in leaving his family and  Govinda. He realizes that none of the worldly pleasures makes him happy.

Another motif is the recurrence of the symbolic river. The river symbolizes learning to Siddhartha. He learns how to listen and not to judge from the river. It also symbolizes everything returning. When Siddhartha first got on the ferry, Vasudeva told Siddhartha that everything returns. When, Vasudeva said those words that was at before Siddhartha became worldly. After he became worldly, Siddhartha returns to the river and wants to kill himself. Then, Siddhartha again was at the river when he saw the Ferryman again. Finally, towards the end of the story, Kamala returns to the river and meets up with Siddhartha. The river brings out Siddhartha's thirst for being taught something.

The motifs of light and the river characterized Siddhartha. The light shows that Siddhartha has a happy positive side and wants to help others. The river symbolizes Siddhartha returning to the river and his thirst for being taught. Hermann Hesse's novel Siddhartha relates to Logan Pearsall Smith who said, " it is not what an author says, but what he or she whispers, that is important."

Brittany Hauser