Maddie
Something I found surprising in Demian came on page 48. Demian and Sinclair were discussing the Passion of Christ, the crucifixion of Jesus, and Demian begins to speak about the flaws of religion. He believes that God, or what Christians have made God, isn’t all it’s supposed to be, that the world is other things, so God should be to. Demian says,
“But I think we should honor everything, and worship everything– the whole world is sacred, not just this artificially partitioned official half! We need not only a church service, but a devil’s service. That’s what I think. Or else we need to create a god who includes the devil too” (48).
For most people, this concept would be surprising. Demian is right that religion, especially Christianity have such a clear divide between good and evil, and there is logic to his thought process (even though it’s not one I would entirely agree with). The “good” world is often corrupt and evil in itself, and the bad world is more natural, so why not worship it all in its entirety?
Melanie
A moment that I found surprising while reading Hermann Hesse’s Demian for the first time was the entire character of Beatrice and her role in the overall novel. Beatrice was first introduced in chapter 4 as a girl that Sinclair sees in a park and becomes very interested in but has very little contact with besides looking at her from a distance. Sinclair describes the interaction as,
“I never said a single word to Beatrice. And yet, she had the deepest possible influence on me at this time. She held up an image before my eyes, showed me something sacred, turned me into a worshipper in a temple.” (63)
When I first read this I was caught off guard because the idea of having a person that was so influential to you, but having no real contact with them challenged my idea of what being influential meant. I ignored the true meaning of what Hesse was trying to say, which was the simple act of Sinclair “having an ideal” was enough for him to find the best path for himself, despite what his peers say.
Jesse
I found it very interesting that the character of Sinclair always wanted the approval of those older than him, even when you don’t notice it. Whenever he narrates about something giving him a compliment or telling him something he likes Sinclair lights up or gets cocky and is happy. He strives for acceptance with everyone he meets and I saw this as his own guilt gnawing him him as he goes deeper in the dark realm. I did not notice this until the second time I schemed through the book to get a better understanding and that’s when I noticed it and was amazed by this deep character trait. First time he does this is with Kromer and then Demian. Later example would be in chapter 4 when Beck says “When he called me a damned clever little bastard, the words ran like sweet wine into my soul.”
Liam
I found it surprising that in Chapter 4 after Sinclair’s night drinking with Alfons Beck, his subsequent hangover does so little to steer him away from continued alcohol use. Sinclair wakes, instantly disgusted with himself. He envisions his home life of purity and godliness, convinced that something had changed permanently over the course of the night. His guilt does not force him to repent and return to the comfort of his “pure” world, as he did earlier in the book on page 35 after his troubles with Kromer had ceased. Rather than returning as a “prodigal son” Sinclair turns his rage inward, dramatically lamenting his now-permanent residence in the “other world”. Sinclair goes as far as to embrace and even relish his own self-hatred, claiming that it felt
“almost pleasurable to suffer these torments” (p.59).
Despite his obvious yearning to be a part of the lighter world, and Demian’s prior advice to follow his inner desires, Sinclair begins to willingly walk down the darker path while hating himself for doing so.
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