AP Prep Post 1: Siddhartha

A)
1.Siddhartha features substantial activity and narrative action. At the same time, it is about one man’s largely internal spiritual quest. What is the relationship between the internal and exterior worlds of Siddhartha? How does Siddhartha negotiate these worlds?
2. Discuss the ways Siddhartha attempts to attain spiritual enlightenment. Which approaches are successful? Which ones are not successful, and which ones have limited effectiveness? How does Siddhartha progress from one?
3.Consider Siddhartha’s relationship with Govinda. How are they similar, and how are they different? What are the narrative functions of Govinda’s reappearance throughout the novel? How does their relationship impact the novel’s ending?

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/siddhartha/study.html

4. How does his father show both patience and wisdom in dealing with his son?
5.Describe the Samanas that Govinda and Siddhartha meet close to the end of Chapter 1.

http://www.studymode.com/essays/Siddhartha-Reading-Questions-641015.html

B)
1.Siddhartha is driven to extremes by his desire for spiritual enlightenment and understanding. While he embraces the extremes of physicality in this novel, the initial spark of desire comes from within him. Siddhartha’s initial project is to negate the Self.
2.When Siddhartha leaves his boyhood village, he is armed only with the desire to understand himself and reach enlightenment. He has no concrete, long-term plan for himself other than to seek spiritual fulfillment, and he follows many different paths to reach his goal.
3.Govinda is Siddhartha’s childhood friend and becomes his partner as a spiritual pilgrim. He serves a variety of functions in the novel, both to further the plot and to reveal aspects of Siddhartha we might not otherwise see. Govinda often provides a sounding board for Siddhartha’s ideas
4.At first, Siddhartha’s father shows dissatisfaction and displeasure with his son’s desire to become a Samana. Despite his objection, Siddhartha waits in his room for his father’s approval. His father, although disagreeing, allows his son to leave. His patience and wisdom is tested by his son but even the father understands that his son is a grown man, capable of making wise decisions.
5.The Samanas are warriors who practice self-denial, the loss of need and desire, in order to live a perfect life. They teach Siddhartha about their exercises to extinguish thyself and give birth a new self, one who is connected to everything, nature and animals.

C)
These questions help me understand that the AP test involves a lot more than just comprehending the text. It involves a lot of outside thinking and interpreting themes and author's methods and ideas.