Demian" by Herman Hesse, portrays the Nietzschean idea .Nietzsche argues that people should not consider the idea of good or evil when they are making decisions, but transcend other metric of evaluation. “We believe that morality in the sense it has had up to now (the morality of intentions) was a prejudice, a precipitousness, perhaps a preliminary, a thing on about the same level as astrology and alchemy, but in any case something that must be overcome” (§ 32). In the Demian, it is clear that the main character, Sinclair, grew up to confirm that it is right to practice things that other people in the society see as evil, or unacceptable. Eventually, Sinclair goes to the extent of worshipping the things from the darkness perspective, such as Abraxas who applied both evil and good. In the end, Sinclair admitted that people should not be committed to evaluating what is evil or good when they are making their decisions. Thus, the work of Nietzsche provides a strong basis under which the intellectual development of Sinclair is based on, i.e. embracing the things that the society would not accept at all.
Nietzsche suggests that people should not be influenced by the morality because it has the lowest value. Morality is common to everybody, hence little value. He argues, “And how could there ever be a “common good”! The term is self-contradictory: whatever can be common will never have much value” (§ 43) When morality is subjected to individual, it inhibits creativity and restricts individual from inventing new things. His argument was depicted on the Demian where Sinclair is driven by the urge to explore the world. As a young and innocent boy, Sinclair realizes that there is something great and needs to be explored rather than being content with what he was being taught in school and by the parents. As Nietzsche suggests, Sinclair foresaw the potential to identify some source of value and meaning in his life. He decides to abandon the idea of morality to broaden his perspective of seeing and absorbing new things.
However, Nietzsche stipulates that not every person can create values through exploration, interaction among other sources metric evaluation. He refers to people who rely on morality as weaker people because they cannot make judgment on their own; they have to conform to conventions and rules that define what is good or what is evil. For instance, in Demian, Sinclair is strong enough to live beyond the societal norms and values and to discover new and comfortable life. Through interaction with Demian, Sinclair is able to see beyond the conventions and rules set by the society. At his teenage, he was more focused on women rather than class participation. Although, this was against the strict rules in the society, Sinclair was comfortable with the situation.
It is evident that the concept of things being good or bad is restricted by the conception of the truth. Nietzsche argues that the right way of accepting a subject provides evidence that the individual has intellectual inflexibility. Therefore, it is wrong to say that good is good because that is the truth. A good thing should be good if there are other evidences rather than truth. When people are bounded with rules and regulations, they possess intellectual inflexibility, which prohibits them from understanding the value of life. A vigorous mind should be flexible enough so as to recognize the other different ways of seeing a subject. Sinclair believed that a single truth did not exist and was willing to learn about the multiple truths through interaction. As he says “I have been and still am a seeker, but I have ceased to question stars and books; I have begun to listen to the teaching my blood whispers to me.” For instance, he interacted with many people such as Pistorious, and he was able to discover himself. He develops self-confidence skill that helped him to be free.
"Demian" by Herman Hesse, portrays the Nietzschean idea that focuses on the importance and power of the will. Individuals who are in a position to transcend to the moral categories can express their wills successfully. The ability of people to express their wills is seen when Sinclair’s believes that he has the potential to aspire and grow. The will in "Demian" is also portrays in the dialogue between Sinclair and Knauer. In the discussion, Sinclair talks to a disturbed student telling him, “in order to be free he must pursue his soul's innermost desires.” In other words, Sinclair tells the troubled student to ensure that he exercises his will. Herman continues to show the power of will in a scenario where Frau Eva seduces Sinclair. Eva tells Sinclair that,” to win me you must truly want me.” She expects Sinclair will transcend the trifling moral qualms that he has reserved. If Sinclair puts all these into consideration, he will apprehend himself and will deserve Eva as his prize.
Nietzsche says, “the will to power is a psychological insight: our fundamental drive is for power as realized in independence and dominance.” (§§, 13, 259). The will expressed in this example is very strong than the will of martyrs to survive. When mishandled, the will to power as portrayed in "Beyond Good and Evil" by Fredrich Nietzsche can cause violence and physical dominance. Nietzsche thinks of the will that remains useful to individuals in guiding them to pursue self-mastery than that of others. The instance of Sinclair and the disturbed student relates to the instance of the Indian mystic in Nietzsche work. The Indian bows to all manners of physical deprivation gains in the will to practice self-control and spiritual depth. By this, the Indian attains the will of power that Sinclair wants the student to pursue in order to succeed in his endeavors. The power of will is a very important component in the way of life and assists an individual to attain the targets and goals in life.
The book "Demian" by Herman Hesse illustrates Nietzsche’s “active nihilism.” In the book, Hermann uses the mark of Cain to portray the extent in which he flattered with Nietzsche work. According to Demian, the allegory of Cain and Abel never talks about evil. He does not perceive Cain as a man who murders his brother, but a strong individual ready to conquer the weakness of others. Demian utters to Sinclair, “After being taught the biblical story as gospel in school, “They were afraid of Cain’s children.” The use of ‘they’ illustrates a mark of distinction. To him, he believes that Cain was courageous and unique from others. Demian argues that the mark of Cain is a metaphorical symbol that weak men used as an excuse to brand societal outsiders. In Demian, the “active nihilism” that he read from Nietzsche work is associated with the symbolic mark of the following characters, Demian, Klein, and Harry. The mark of Cain has been used to illustrate that the good and evil is a notion of the society but Demian suggest that it should not interfere with our way of doing things.
Nietzsche stresses, “People should not be so influenced by what society considers "good" and "evil" (§ 257). Herman duplicates this idea in emphasizing on the way of life of Sinclair. In the book, Sinclair aspires to “live in accord with the promptings" of his "true self," and this is a major stage towards his intellectual development. He ignores what the society thinks is good or evil and follows his natural instincts. As elucidated above, both literature works show the comparisons and try to express the idea of good and evil in the society. Herman reads Nietzsche literary pieces and replicates the ideas in his book. He is guided by the ideas of Nietzsche and this makes him compose a nice literature work.
Works Cited
Hesse, Hermann. Demian. London: Peter Owen, 2006. Print.
Loy, David. "Beyond Good and Evil? A Buddhist critique of Nietzsche." Asian Philosophy (1996): n. pag. Print.
