Amongst the People: Why did Siddhartha not become attached to his work?
During Amongst the People Siddhartha gets a job as a merchant working under the old, but wise Kamaswami. He begins his work, and he is very proficient. Even though he becomes a good merchant, something in his practices is lacking. He is not very passionate about his work, which causes him to lose money sometimes. Trivial matters such as going out and meeting the people cause him to tarry duing long business trips. Once after a long business trip Kamaswami asks him why he had taken so long and lost so much money and he replies, "Do not scold, my dear friend. Nothing was ever achieved by scolding. If a loss has been sustained, I will bear the loss. I am very satisfied with this journey. I have become friendly with a Brahmin, children have sat on my knee, farmers have showed me their fields. Nobody took me for a merchant" (Hesse 68). Since he has lived without possesions for so long losing money does not bother him. He is more concerned about making friends so that next time he goes there they will be more inclined to buy from him. In addition to the fact that Siddhartha does not mind losing something as trivial as material possessions, he has also found love in the form of Kamala. Ever since he first sees her he knows she has to be with him. In the beginning when he asks for her friendship she is an avaricous being that ostrasizes him for not bringing her fancy gifts or wearing fancy clothes. Because of this, Siddhartha takes the job to give her these things. Once he becomes rich, their relationship starts to take off and they begin to see each other more and more. They start to make love and are infatuated with one another. The best way to describe how Siddhartha feels about the whole situation is, "Here with Kamala lay the value and meaning of his present life, not in Kamaswami's business," (Hesse 66).
posted by snorlax @ 5:04 AM
2 Comments
2 Comments:
I completely agree with Snorlax's post. Siddhartha has been a free man who has never been attached to trivial items such as money. Money has never had a meaning in Siddhartha's life. The only reason why Siddhartha continued to work for Kamaswami was for the sake of working to earn Kamala's heart. Upon Kamaswami sending Siddhartha on trips to trade, Siddhartha had no worries whether he lost or gained money. He made the best of every situation and tried to become friends with everyone. He would much rather have a welcoming benediction in a foreign town than be hated for how he trades and hussles. His work is always put last in regards to importance in his life. Siddhartha quickly gained the money he needed and his relationship with Kamala became invaluable.
It is true Siddhartha did not indulge himself in his job as a merchant. He was often too caught up in making acquaintances then profits. Even when Siddhartha was interested in making money, it was more over to please Kamala with rich gifts and his expensive clothing. Siddhartha's subservient behavior does injustice to Kamaswami and himself for Kamala is the lone reason for Siddhartha's avarious actions. I agree with Snorlax in that the ardent Siddhartha quickly fulfilled Kamala's required physical possessions, which led to an infatuation between one another. This infatuation that kept him from becoming attached to his job and doing diligent work as a merchant. Though Siddhartha did tarry in areas of his work, this was after he had gained a relationship with Kamala and had no need for a large sum of money in a short amount of time. It was so extremely difficult for Siddhartha to become attached to his work because of his infatuation with Kamala. Had he not had such a desire for her, he may not have indulged himself with her wants of rich possessions and concentrated more on being a merchant.
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