Nationality: Indian
Genre: novel
1. Siddhartha: protagonist, seeks enlightenment & inner peace & ultimately finds it through the river, has a son with Kamala, best friend of Govinda
2. Govinda: Siddhartha's best friend, a seeker, stays with Gotama when Siddhartha leaves
3. Kamala: beautiful, loves Siddhartha, bears his son, dies from snake bite
4. Vasudeva: ferryman, wise, advises Siddhartha, lives by river, goes into forest to die
Setting: various places in India including Siddhartha's home, in the desert with the Samanas,
following Gotama, Kamala's town, by the river
Themes: a)the search for enlightenment or inner peace
b) the circle of life
Internal conflict: a) Siddhartha & Govinda's continuing search for enlightenment,
b)Siddhartha's struggle to understand his son
c)when Siddhartha decides to leave Gotama & Govinda decides to stay
Dynamic character: Siddhartha changes throughout his journey; he goes from Brahmin to Samana
to a follower of Gotama, to a man of wealth, & finally to a simple ferryman who finds the
enlightenment he has searched for
Symbol: the river symbolizes the journey of life & the changes that come with that journey
Secondary characters: a) Gotama: known as a "buddha", he has found enlightenment; Siddhartha
& Govinda follow him, but Siddhartha eventually leaves
b) Kamaswami: wealthy merchant who teaches Siddhartha about money & business
c) little Siddhartha: son of Siddhartha & Kamala, rebellious brat, runs away
