Emil's Maturity

The book Demian and Demian the character seems to suggest that experiencing the Dark World makes us mature and over all a better person because of it. This, at face value, is true. Our interaction with the things outside of our safe haven makes us capable and adapts us to the real world, because reality is not the light world either. This suggests that yes, the Gray that Demian dwells in and talks about is real. I disagree with that, because I believe that the the very Light and Dark world do not exist as Hesse has it wirtten. There is of course evil and darkness. It is not, however what Hesse painted. There is sin nature and sin all around us in the 'dark.' But that is not what Hesse shows us. He notes that it is wrong and (at least at first) it felt wrong and he regretted it. Emil demonstrates remoarse. The light world is all innocence. It is the safe place at home, your warm and comfortable bed with the smiles of your family. The worlds that Hesse creates are very rigid though, and that is where I find fault. It was probably in Hesse's upbringing that he was taught that it was rigid. That does not feel right. It does not feel like a truth. If it doesn't feel like a truth, then it is a lie. This creates the Gray that Hesse talks about, everything else that is not rigid. Hesse also believes that there is good in everybody (as Mr.Peach pointed out) that is not true because we are rotten to the core. As Christians we are not denying our sin nature, rather calling upon the Holy Spirit to attempt to at least not mingle in the sin nature. The Holy Spirit in us is good, thus your body is a temple and that temple is in the middle of a filthy city. We are flickers of light living in the dark, I do not think that there is the hard split between where we are. We all are in the dark at all times.
Now yes, knowing what else is out there, outside of the doors of this school will help us mature and grow as people. Life away from our parents, and so forth. This would be a truth had Hesse not made Emil's parents as a symbol. They are a direct representation of God, as is all of authority such as his sunday school teacher. Therefore, this "maturing" is rebellion against and outside of God. How, as a Christian, can I agree with that message being put out to me? To go further, he relates it to thinking for himself. That, too is a good thing when you hear it. But in context with the book, it is like he is saying that the authority is pushing us down, cramming our minds with their own thoughts and God is not only just one of their beliefs they force upon us, but he is also an authority himself. What is sin but our seperation from God? Emil went in the exact opposite direction as God and the Christian's in his life would want him but eventually through Demien he embraced it. This is supposedly a higher way of thinking. He is brilliant because he thinks different. Yet in the book, Emil regrets it and changes his ways more than once (as a child and later as a drunkard teen.) Instead of reacting to this, again a bad feeling Emil ignores, he goes farther away from God. This, is also while I feel I cannot ignore the strong feelings that come about while I read Demien. I would be committing the same offense. It is an interesting fact that Emil ran into these feelings while being an immature character, letting readers feel that these are immature thoughts. That is my thoughts so far

Eastern philosophy much?

~ The first chapter of Demian describes two worlds that can both be appreciated. One world is created with rules and guidelines by those in authority over young Emil Sinclair. It is the world in which everyone older and wiser wishes him to dwell. The essence of this world is light; simplicity. The other world is referred to as the dark world. It is a world that someone explores on purpose. Although Emil was secure within the shelter his parents had set over him, he pursued the dark world. The dark side appealed to him because of the sense of adventure he experienced. The dark side does not represent sin; it represents maturity, and exploring who you are, completely. We know that there is good in us, and common sense, and logic. However, there are also flaws, and things out of the ordinary. When Demian began to explore the dark side, he became less dependent on those authority figures in his life, and began to develop character. The light side is like the Shire. Bilbo would have been fine if he had stayed in his hobbit hole, and not explored the "outside world". Life would have gone on the same, just as it had previously. However, he had a desire for adventure. He explored, and found that there was so much more to learn and appreciate. The rest of the hobbits are ignorant and stupid, and much easier to deceive if they were ever to wander outside of the light. As the book goes on, Emil is unfortunately misleaded. The character Demian is clever and confident, but immature. His warped logic and perspective on the Bible was probably derived from his disheveled home life. Demian instills a thought process into Emil that is frightfully similar to Eastern philosophy. We see it first in the second chapter. Demian introduces mind reading. This idea is too bizarre to be scary. However, in the next chapter, Demian withdraws into himself in a meditative state, an Eastern religious practice. Meditation is reflecting on one's inner Self, to understand the ultimate Self, which is Brahma. In chapter 4, after Emil leaves his home, he says, 'I was only concerned with listening to myself, with hearing the streams, the forbidden, dark streams that resounded within me beneath the surface'. This is the opposite of Christ likeness, where we are to love others and become selfless. Also, after painting the picture of Demian, he says, 'I felt recognition, rediscovery, knowledge, growing nearer and nearer in me'. His thought process has mutated drastically throughout the book already, toward Eastern philosophy. Despite the fact that Demian is intelligent, handsome, and confident, I blame him for perverting the sweet and innocent Emil Sinclair. The same thing happened to the poor boy in 'The Reader'.

~This is Emil Sinclair

Amanda's Observations

I believe the dark side represents Emil's perception of adulthood which brings along with it burdensome knowledge (such as sex which he refered to as something horrible and disgusting as a child) and complicated emotions that contradict the rules set by society (ex. his emotional confrontation with his father). Emil also notes the "light" side which could be his perception of childhood ( represents innocence and rules) which he resided in for the most part until he first encountered Kromer (who first introduced Emil to the "dark" side and essentially embodied the "dark" side) and then Demian (who offered an alternative, and proposed an adulthood that wasn't "light" or "dark" entirely--something that Emil hadn't yet seen).
A possible reason why Emil was so comfortable, or accepting, of the "dark" side might be because a) it brought no accountability or responsibility, and b) it came naturally and it confirmed what Emil feared most about himself--that he was like Kromer.This fact is what made him being in the "dark" side so painful for him. I believe that the only reason that he resided in the "dark" side at all was because of this secret belief and he felt that that is where he belonged.
Don't many people feel the same?

i found this one site that has a few discussion questions we could discuss here or in class or to just think about while you read.
http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides_d/demian1.asp

Adding on to what Cameron said, i agree. Demian reminds me of the whole angel on one shoulder, the devil on the other shoulder kinda thing. But not really that evil, just decieving. I've been trying to read charecter analysis but they dont go really deep. They all basically say that Demian guides Sinclair and helps him out. But i really think Demian isnt human, but Emils sub concience.

Who/What is Demian (Cameron)

I am tossing around the idea of it being Hesse's idealogy and Emil's subconcious. I feel that it could be Hesse's ideas and reasoning being placed in the character of Emil, because he is connecting to the character himself. Emil is a reflection of Hesse, and Demian shows up at crucial times in Emil's life. This came to me to represent how and when Hesse began to think and pick up the philosophies that he has today. In which case, it could also be then logical to say that Demian's mother is where Hesse's idealogy had truly begun, with other philosophers. He read up on Plato and Nizchete (spell check Mr.Peach?). The idea that they pitched could be shared with Emil then. Ideas of just cause and balance are pitched in the 2nd chapter. Demian appears to always sit in the gray rather than the light and dark worlds. Even more interesting, Emil admires that and the book is almost written for us to assume that Demian is more mature or a great being for doing so. Really not soludified on all of these ideas yet, just thoughts

Rachel's Observations

First off the first two pages before chapter one really interested me how he compares himself to other authors. He makes the allusion that authors potray God while writing or write about someone else acting as God. He states that his story is really unique because he wrote it and everyone else has a story to tell, a story to live. And when you tell someone about it its special to you, so it may have an affect on someone like this book had on me. On page two the last line it says “we can understand one another, but each of us can only interpret himself” and this could refer to the dark side that has been explained in chapter one because once in everyones life, you fall into the darkside because it gives you life lessons and ways to find out who you are, even when others don’t realize. The dark side is when we let Satan corrupt us, just like the beginning. Basically the world and how messed up it is is the dark side. The violence, the lies, the backstabbing, the gossip, ghost stories, falling into temptation, and basically anything that man developed that is wrong in Gods eyes.
After Emil goes into the darkness, he kinda controdicts himself and wants to go back to his protection, the light world. He feels scared and vonerable, and he even says hes ashamed and isnt apart of the family. I personally think the dark side represents all three. It can represent out sin because it’s basically Satan tempting you and you fall for it and submit to your sinful nature. Which our sinful nature is our natural human nature. We chose from the beginning the dark side, our sinful human nature. And it is also “the dark side” of our personalities because we all have our flaws, whether if its pride, bad temper or anything, and usually we need to regonize our flaws. We all have a dark side in our personalities, we all gossip, we all lie, its just our sinful nature. I think Emil is in between being confortable and unconfortable at the dark side because he says hes scared, but then he says he loves the thrill, or at least implies it. And plus with him swearing on God he probably feels like he cant go back, that God will never forgive him for his wrongs. And plus he’s bonded there because of Franz, and I think when Franz started saying hes gonna turn him in was all a lie. Because later on he kinda hints that he knows Emil lied and hes just messing with him.
Emil is too young to understand, to understand that he can go back to the light world but mostly he veiws it as boring. He wants thrill, but he finds it in the wrong places. In the beginning of Chapter 1, Emil describes himself as having a huge conscience, he feels guilty about everything he does. Guilty about turning all his little sisters gamse into violence so he feels like he has to say sorry. He feels like everything is his fault. That’s kinda how I am usually. And yea ive been kinda to the dark side for alittle, but I didn’t feel comfortable. I felt like I was nothing to the world, nothing to God. Anger always built up in me until I hated everyone. But now im kinda realizing that its just the world and yea its screwed up, but you cant change anything about it. You just need to realize the true beauty God created before it was ruined. I think the dark side is the world and the light side is heaven. And that’s maybe what Hermann Hesse is stating in Chapter 1.

Cameron's Observations

The first chapter is really a starting point for the book. The ideas of the "Bright" and "Dark" Worlds begin here but there is a different reaction to it in this chapter than the rest of the book. After this chapter, Emil progresses farther and farther into the 'dark world' but after this it is barely even referred to as the dark world, but simply the gray. Another noticeable change is his reference to his parents. Mother and father are captilized in the beginning, but when he enters the "dark" world they are just mother and father. This is in direct relation to the segment on page 11 where he says he feels he is above his father. Emil has decieved his father and feels superior because of it. This trend continues to the point that by chapter 3 his parents aren't mentioned. In his chapter however, Emil wants to cling to the things of the bright world and home. His mother and father's coats and parcells are mentioned. He feels guilty and that he does not feel fit in this bright world anymore, he is not innocent. Again, just as he felt superior to his father, he takes comfort in the dark world as well and becomes more and more comfortable with it.
In this chapter it makes him sick, this changes. It is important to note that as of this chapter he paints Emil as an ignorant and formerly innocent child. This is a grab at the reader. This allows readers to relate to him. "Yes, I have been in such positions as a child." This is dangerous! It is to let down the shields that protect what enters your mind. It opens you up to his ideas, views and values.
I strongly suggest that you pray while reading this, because it is very easy to be decieved. There is a subtle sales pitch contained in this writing and it becomes heavier as you delve deeper into the book. It is informative to how he thinks though, readers just make heed in the reading and take careful consideration to how that relates to you and how you feel about it. The first chapter is subtle, attention grabbing, and manipulates the reader for what is to come in the rest of the book.