"He wished passionately for oblivion, to be at rest, to be dead. If only a flash of lightning would strike him! If only a tiger would come and eat him! If only there were only some wine, some poison, that would give him oblivion, that would make him forget, that would make him sleep and never awaken!...Was it then still possible to live? Was it possible to take in breath again and again, to breathe out, to feel hunger, to eat again, to sleep again, to lie with women again? Was this cycle not exhausted and finished for him?"
Page 71
In my last entry I saw signs that Siddhartha was no longer happy with his life as a merchant. He has now left the town where he grew affluent, leaving behind his lover and riches. He is travelling but without a destination, as he had as a Samana. What's different now is that he feels as if the spiraling path he once accepted is coming to an end. He sees no hope for the future. He feels as if he has made such a huge mistake in living a life of material and sense that he has lost himself for good.
I mostly chose this quote because oblivion is one of my favorite words. One of my favorite authors, John Green, used fear and acceptance of oblivion as major themes in The Fault In Our Stars, his newest book.
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