Idea Book 5: Hero Cycle
Due: SUN 11/22 to turnitin.com by 12 p.m.
In class, we discussed Joseph Campbell’s “Hero Cycle,” or “Hero’s Journey.” Refer to your notes and the
novel to help you write this essay.
Before you write the essay: identify 3 steps of the hero cycle in Siddhartha. Find quotes from the text to
use in your essay.
Then, in your essay:
1. In your introduction, explain: what is the hero cycle?
2. In your body paragraphs, discuss three steps of the Hero Cycle. Support each with a quote from
Siddhartha, and discuss how that quote is an example of that step and why it is an important
step in Siddhartha’s journey.
3. In your conclusion, answer one of these questions:
a. In your opinion, is Siddhartha a “hero”? If so, explain why he is. If not, explain why he is
not. Then go deeper – what lesson do we learn from his journey, whether he is a hero
or not? How is that lesson similar to or different from what we learn from other heroes?
b. Compare Siddhartha to another hero whose story follows the Hero Cycle (we discussed
a number of examples in class). How are they similar? How are they different? What
different lessons do we learn from each?
c. Siddhartha’s story is very similar to the story of important religious figures, particularly
Siddhartha Gotama (the Buddha). Compare their two stories. How are they similar? How
are they different? What different lessons do we learn from each?
FYI: Siddhartha was published in 1922 and Campbell’s book was published in 1949, so Hesse did not
intentionally follow Campbell’s theory, although he certainly may have been influenced by the stories of
“heroes” and religious figures.