Siddhartha's Journey

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To achieve the good life one must endure a journey that is filled with learning and rewarding experiences, such as the two journeys traveled by Martin Luther King and Siddhartha. Attaining a set goal is ideal for most individuals, but sometimes the journey is too difficult and creates a question in peoples' motives to continue. Siddhartha and King demonstrate that even when faced with many obstacles, they persevere through the journey and find it just as fulfilling as the goal. There is no set path to reach a goal, and Siddhartha demonstrates this throughout his journey in his attempt to reach enlightenment. He dedicated a large portion of his life to trying to achieve nirvana, and his journey was not an easy one. Hesse exemplifies this with…show more content…
King and Siddhartha are alike in the way that they both do what they feel is right for themselves. Even though their end goals differ, the way they fight against authority to achieve them is the same. For example, Dr. King distinguishes between just and unjust laws in his letter, saying that an individual has both a right and a responsibility to break unjust laws. He defines just laws as those that uphold human dignity, and unjust laws as those that "degrade human personality." (King). This quote means that King believes that to attain his goal of equality he must do what he thinks is right and override authority. The same event happens in Siddhartha. Siddhartha was determined to find enlightenment, and was certain he would not find it following his father and the Brahmins. Hesse writes, "Siddhartha," he said, "why are you waiting?" "You know why." "Will you go on standing and waiting until it is day, noon, evening?" "I will stand and wait." "You will grow tired, Siddhartha." "I will grow tired." "You will fall asleep, Siddhartha." "I will not fall asleep." "You will die, Siddhartha." "I will die." This conversation between Siddhartha and his father explains what depths Siddhartha would go to to start his journey to enlightenment and happiness. Doing what he thought would be best for him, Siddhartha stood up against his father to pursue his goal. Both of these examples demonstrate that the journey may be difficult at times, and the consequences may be challenging at first, but the goal is worth the

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