1) What does Siddhartha mean when he refers to the "path of paths" that must be found? (p. 17) Why is he so certain that neither the Brahmans nor the Samanas have found it?
ANS: Brahmans is a member of the highest Hindu social class. Although i am not fully able to state the answer to this question, using context clues i have come up with the understanding that Siddhartha has taken the initiative to separate from the "path" of what he is expected to do. He is isolating himself, going against the crowd, in order to find his "own" path of self discovery or enlightenment different than those around him.
2) Does Gautama adequately answer Siddhartha's contention that "no one is granted deliverance through a teaching"? (p. 32) Why doesn't Siddhartha become one of Gautama's followers?
ANS: Although i offer no real answer to this question connected with the plot, I am able to make an inference that this line is important to the story. The use of "deliverance" is very exact in it's meaning of not actually being delivered but rather being "set free". This question is basically stating that being told a lesson or teaching, doesn't mean you will apply it, and it certainly doesn't guarantee that it will work or fix you're problems. This concept brings me to religion is a prime example. Just because your taught not to lie doesn't mean you will always tell the truth, and it doesn't mean your automatically condemned a good person and erases all your other sins.
3) What is the connection between Siddhartha losing his friend Govinda to Gautama and Siddhartha's "awakening"? What does it mean that "the awakening man was on the way to himself"? (p. 37)
ANS: I do not know the circumstances of the loss of Siddhartha's friend, but i do know that mourning the loss of a loved one can open ourselves to being vulnerable and seeing the world without an optimistic lens. Negative things that happen to us are often the best and ultimate form of learning. We learn more about ourselves in the bad times than we ever could in the good. You gain a new appreciation for the things around you, and you being to learn that nothing is eternal, and in a split instance you are able to lose your child-like ignorance and realize there is, are, and always will be bad in the world. I think the "awakening" in this question is referring to that moment when an individual overcomes that initial struggle of pushing past a bad experience. In this case, i think Siddhartha awakened the moment he realized his worth, and accepted who he was as a person, and reveled in it.
4) After waking up by the river, why does Siddhartha say, "I have nothing, I know nothing, I can do nothing, I have learned nothing. How wondrous this is!"? (p. 84)
ANS: I think Siddhartha abandoned beliefs that people around him hold so dearly to be true, and breaking away from normal customs is unheard of within his culture. Sidhartha is searching for something. Im not sure what, but he has broke away from the norm to find it. When he says he has, does, and learned nothing, this wasn't meant literal. He means he has a clean slate, a blank start, to start a new foundation of the life he wants to live and he's going to start by filling it his own thoughts, feelings, and beliefs. It's "wondrous" because it's something he never thought possible until he took the chance to embrace change.
5) How can we know who is the right teacher for us? Can wisdom be taught?
What is the relation of words to wisdom? Do words tend to enhance or limit wisdom?
ANS: This particular question i think exploits certain themes and other central messages of the story and is asking to draw parallels from the story that apply to your own life. This would serve as a good essay question.
More Prep: To master the AP exam, I feel I must prepare more on literary devices. Im nervous for the Essay portion and I want to be able to pull out all my "tricks" to apply to it by studying up on devices, vocabulary, and my overall writing style. Also, i think another problem is that i don't have a broad enough variety of literature under my belt which I'm hoping to fix this semester as well. Lastly, the multiple choice specifically i struggled with last year, not so much the question, but time was the issue! In short, I want to be more sophist acted with my writing and work in this course so i am able to apply that to the AP Exam.
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