A Knowledgable Motif

Multiple motifs occur throughout the novel Siddhartha. One major motif that comes up is a thirst for knowledge. The first example of this motif occurs just 5 pages into the first chapter, and comes up again and again for the rest of the novel. On page 5, Siddhartha feels that,"his worthy father and his other teachers, the wise Brahmin's, had already passed on to him the bulk and best of his wisdom" (Hesse 5). Siddhartha has remained with the Brahmin's for a time, but he feels he has exhausted all of their knowledge. So, he goes off with the Samanas to continue his thirst for knowledge, a major motif. Another example of the thirst for kinowledge is when Siddhartha states to Govinda, "Soon, Govinda, your friemd will leave the path of the Samanas along which he has travelled with you for so long. I suffer thirst, Govinda, and on this long Samana path my thirst has not grown less" (Hesse 18). He goes on to talk about how his thirst is not for something material, it is his thirst for knowledge, proving this motif to be correct. One last example of the motif is when he first meets Kamala. he tells Kamala that he wants to learn the art of love from her. He doesn't just want to love her, he wants to learn from it. This proves that the thirst for knowledge is a major motif in Siddhartha.