AP Prep Post 1: Siddhartha

1. The main purpose of the first-person point of view in the passage, “I am no longer what I was, I am no longer an ascetic, no longer a priest, no longer a Brahmin” is to make clear?
a. The change in Siddhartha’s physical lifestyle, in order to follow his spiritual one
b. Show Siddhartha’s anger at the corruption present in his father’s position
c. Reveal the frustration in Siddhartha’s journey toward enlightenment
d. The views and beliefs of his family and his religion
e. Draw attention toward the excitement that Siddhartha feels now that he has less responsibility
(http://snobles.grads.digitalodu.com/blog/groups/ap-english-2012-2013/forum/topic/siddhartha-multiple-choice-questions/)

I feel the main purpose of the first-person POV is to reveal Siddhartha's frustration. I feel that now that he isn't the things that he listed, he is able to figure out who he truly is, but in reality, trying to find yourself, trying to realize who you really are comes with a little frustration at times. 

2. Which word best describes the tone of the following sentence?
“But he, Siddhartha, where did he belong? Whose life would he share? Whose language would he speak?”
a. Steady
b. Tumultuous
c. Vacillating
d. Illustrious
(http://snobles.grads.digitalodu.com/blog/groups/ap-english-2012-2013/forum/topic/siddhartha-multiple-choice-questions/)

I feel the word that best describes the tone of the sentence is vacillating (indecisive, hesitating) because not being able to answer what kind of a life Siddhartha has shows indecisiveness and hesitation.

3. What does enlightenment look like in Siddhartha? Is it a feeling? An attitude?
(http://www.shmoop.com/siddhartha/questions.html)

In Siddhartha, enlightenment is both a feeling and an attitude because Siddhartha feels free. He feels that he is able to be his true self and not of someone who his culture tells him to be.

4. 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?

(http://danig14.blogspot.com/2013/01/1.html)

Siddhartha's internal and exterior worlds are connected in one way or another. In one way, the worlds could have been the result, the outcome of the other. Siddhartha negotiates these worlds by allowing himself to be free from both of them so that he could find his true world.

5. What purpose does self-denial serve in Siddhartha? What about self-indulgence?

(http://www.shmoop.com/siddhartha/questions.html)

In Siddhartha, he ends denying who he is because of how he is raised, because of how he was told of how he should live his life. I'm not quite sure how to answer the second question though, but I feel maybe the success from living a dictated life could result in self-indulging.

These questions made me realize that any text that I read, I need to look at the meaning that is deep, deep, deep in the words. Sometimes, the meaning could be in between every single letter. The author had to write with a purpose right? Well, now we need to find what the purpose was and what the purpose is that the text is trying to tell us.