Your final paper assignment is intended to help you wrap it all up and tie it all together. You must write

a detailed essay of 6-8 double-spaced pages, one that synthesizes some major ideas and themes of what

you have learned from this course, particularly in light of your Week 6 readings on Existentialism,

psychology, and individuality.

Please read all of the following two pages of instructions very carefully. Part of your grade will be based

on how well you have followed the instructions. Another part of your grade will be based on how

thoughtfully you responded to the assignment and demonstrated your reflection on the Week 6 course

materials as well as Hesses novel Siddhartha. Finally, careful writing and proofreading count significantly as

part of your grade.

In sum, use this paper assignment to express the most important insights you have gained along the

pathway of the course, but with a special focus on the Week 6 online lesson and your earlier lessons on the

Romanticist emphasis on Nature. The unifying point of departure for this paper is Hermann Hesses

profound short novel Siddhartha. While the book cannot be categorized by any one philosophy or school of

thought, it is as much Romantic as it is Existential and psychological and spiritual. And as you have

seen from our course, all of those terms are closely related to one another when it comes to the

Romanticist worldview.

Your basic assignment is to connect at least four major Romantic (or Romanticism-inspired) ideas and

themes with at least four specific scenes from the novel (and not merely scenes from the first few

chapters). To earn an above average to superior grade on the paper, and apart from careful writing and

proof-reading, you need to discuss at least four Romantic ideas/themes AND at least four important

scenes that can be found throughout the novel.

You are free to choose whichever scenes help to illustrate the following Romantic ideas/themes that we

have discussed in the course (see the list below). (Examples of specific scenes: Siddharthas discussion with

his friend Govinda about life with the Samanas, his conversation with Gotama the Buddha, one of his

conversations with Kamala, one of his conversations with Vasudeva, his time spent raising his young son,

the mystical vision at the end of the novel when he is reunited with his old friend Govinda, etc.). For each

different Romantic idea/theme, choose a unique scene from the novel and do not use one or two scenes

for the entire paper.

In your paper, discuss at least four of the following ideas/themes and, for each, explain how a specific

scene from the novel helps to illustrate that idea/theme.

1. The Romantic view of Nature

2. The Romantic individual/hero

3. Kierkegaards view of religion/spirituality

4. The distinction between Nietzsches and Schopenhauers views on our proper attitude toward life

5. The Existentialist theme of the absurd

6. Freuds emphasis on dreams and the id

7. Freuds distinction between the Eros and Thanatos instincts

8. Jungs idea of individuation

9. Jungs idea of the Collective Unconscious

At the end of your paper, include a brief bibliography listing the specific translation/edition of the book that you used (including the translators name, the publishing company, and the date of publication).

If you happen to provide a brief quote, be sure to include the page number in an MLA-style citation

(parenthetical insertion at the end of the quote or sentence). But quotes are not required for this paper

and if you do choose to use any quotes, please be selective and use only a few very brief ones (no block

quotes permitted).

You do not need to cite any of the online course materials and you do not need to include any of the online

lectures in your bibliography.

Finally, before beginning this final course assignment, be sure to consult the document entitled

Characteristics of a Well-Written Paper. You will find here an articulation of the general criteria and

expectations that will be used in the grading of written assignments.

With all of that said, good luck on your final paper assignment!