A review of demian by herman hesse

By the end of the novel I remember sitting there practically rethinking my entire existence. I think that the best person to study for that question would be Hermann Hesse. Demian is a beautifully written narrative that takes into account what exactly is life. That is why so many people live such an unreal life.

I wanted to feel as if my isolation and third-rate social skills had meaning and set me apart with a purpose I couldn't comprehend. In his brief preface, Hesse argues that the slaughter of human beings in war arises out of our failure to appreciate the unique value of every human being.

Demian is intrinsic to my narrative vocabulary and always will be.

How do Demian and Eva embody the values of the new religion that Hesse suggests in the novel? Through my late teens and early twenties I searched out every Hesse book I could find, including the rarities, journals, letters, etc. A few weeks back I spotted a decent Demian edition, with the Thomas Mann introduction, for a couple bucks at a Borders closing sale.

The organization of Demian resembles that of an autobiography in a sense that it is chronological and recounts the life of the author, written by Hermann Hesse himself, with much added insight.