A Philosophical, introspective pyscho-drama.

[Hatelijk_en_bloeden]

I refer to "Steppenwolf" by Hermann Hesse. If you have not read it, go HERE.
Please discuss how Harry's various musings on life in general change as the story progresses, and what he knew (or thought he knew) about life and himself is turned upside down and back.  

[bluecherry]

Edit: Ok, I've gotten to reading the summary now. 3nodding
From the start, he's a guy who clearly has problems. I think the suicide contemplation alone cold make that clear. He seems to have problems with the idea of people living for the sake of the achievement of their own happiness as it states he finds humanity "charming" but "futile." To what or who does he expect humans to be working for if they are not enough to be ends of their own, eh? I'm not surprised he has a hard time dealing with life as he's not a whole integrated person even to himself, feeling "half human" and "half beast" with the two of course conflicting. As for once he starts getting into the change, it seems that while he starts to accept as good physical pleasure, ( at least from as much as the summary tells me) he still finds the mental and physical to be absolutely separate things as opposed to connected and working together. Toward the very last, I have to wonder why (again, it wasn't explained in much detail) why he would stab the woman he loved or even promise to in the first place. It doesn't give any reason for why he'd be compelled to do so other then the promise he made to he, and it doesn't say why she'd ask for something like that. And for the very ending, it seems to be implying laughter is a solution to problems though it really is more just a coping mechanism I'd say. Again, I may be better able to tell had I read the actual book.

 

[static-vision]

it sounds like a really good book from that summary... i think i am going to go out and buy it soon as i get the chance. xd