Ms. Hume - 10th English
Unit Two: The Quest for Human Happiness
Reading Assignments & Study Guide Questions:
For each of the following readings, answer the following study guide questions in your journal
notebook.
“Modern Society and the Quest for Human Happiness”, pgs. 3 – 17 by the Dalai Lama
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What is the basic human need we all share?
What paradox does the Dalai Lama refer to when addressing happiness? p. 7
Describe some of the universal ambitions or effects of modern living in first world nations. pgs.
7-9.
What are the results of relying too much on the external achievements of science? p. 10
What compromise does the Dalai Lama suggest needs to happen for both urban and rural
communities to live contentedly? p. 14-17.
Siddhartha by Herman Hesse
Part One: Pages 1-34
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From “Brahmin's Son” to the end of “Awakening” chapters
Note the narrator's description of the Brahamans. What is the meaning of the word
“avaricious” in the narrator's description of the Brahamans? p. 2
Describe Siddhartha's state of mind at the beginning of his journey. How does he feel about his
life? Is he content? Why or why not? Explain. p. 3
Describe Govinda and what he is looking for. p. 2
Describe Siddhartha's “call to adventure”, p. 5-7 What is the greatest challenge he faces in this
adventure?
Explain or paraphrase this quote: “Then the father realized that Siddhartha could no longer
remain with him at home – that he had already left him.” p. 9
What became Siddhartha's single goal? p. 11
Describe Siddhartha's reaction to his time with the Samanas. What does he mean when he says
“It is a temporary palliative against the pain and folly of life. p. 13
Explain Siddhartha's distinction between learning and knowledge in the following statement on
p. 15. “There is..something that we cannot call learning. There is, my friend, only a
knowledge – that is everywhere, that is Atman...”
Summarize the description of the Buddha on p. 22. What details stand out?
At the end of part one, describe the path Govinda takes? Why? p. 26
Describe the path Siddhartha takes? Why? What does he fear will happen if he stays with
Gotama? p. 28
What does Gotama, the Buddha, say he teaches? p. 27
What reason does Siddhartha give for not knowing anything about himself? p. 31
Part Two: Pages 37-81
From “Kamala” to the end of “By the River” Chapters
1.
Siddhartha states “He would strive after whatever the 'inward voice' commanded him. What
would you call this voice? p. 39
2.
What becomes Siddhartha's new goal? How has this new goal changed Siddhartha? p. 43
3.
What does Siddhartha tell Kamala he can do? What are his talents? p. 46-48
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What does Siddhartha mean when he tells Kamala the following analogy about his love for her?
“When you throw a stone into the water, it finds the quickest way to the bottom of the water.” p.
50
What attitude did Siddhartha maintain with the merchant Kamaswami? Why? p. 53
What is the secret the merchant says Siddhartha possesses? p. 54
What separated Siddhartha from the people in the village? p. 57
What did Siddhartha say was a similarity between him and Kamala? p. 58-59
Do you see Siddhartha and Kamala as similar or different? If different, what sets Siddhartha
apart from Kamala?
What was the one thing that Siddhartha lacked but that he envied in the people of the world?
p. 62
What is the “soul-sickness of the rich” that crept over Siddhartha? p. 63
What is the significance of Siddhartha's dream about Kamala and the bird? p. 66
What is the game called Samsara? Explain the significance of this game. p. 68
Describe Siddhartha's transformation in the chapter “By The River”, pgs. 70-81
Part Three: Pages 82-122 From “The Ferryman” to the end of the book.
1.
Describe the river's secret that Siddhartha realizes. P. 83 What is the significance of this
secret?
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What is Vasudeva's, the ferryman's, greatest virtue? p. 85
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What is Siddhartha's new calling? p. 86-87
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What did Siddhartha learn from the river? pgs. 87-88
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Siddhartha seems to feel that the words he once uttered to Gotama had been arrogant and
precocious. p. 90 What is Siddhartha implying about his past attitude towards Gotama?
6.
What is the significance with Kamala's death? What does it foreshadow?
7.
What similarities do you see between the young Siddhartha and father Siddhartha? p. 98
8.
What has father Siddhartha realized about his ability to love? p. 99-100
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Describe the wound father Siddhartha suffers from. Pgs. 103-104
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Siddhartha sees his reflection in the water. Who does his reflection look like to him? What
realization does he come to here? p. 107
11.
What realization does Siddhartha come to from listening to the river? p. 111
12.
What effect does Siddhartha say “seeking” has on one's perception? p. 113-114 How does
having goals affect your perception?
13.
What insight does Siddhartha share with Govinda about wisdom and knowledge? p. 115 Do
you agree with this summation?
14.
Explain “in every truth, the opposite is equally true.” p. 115
15.
What are Siddhartha's view of deeds/actions verses thought/words, pgs. 118-120
16.
What does Govinda realize when he kisses Siddhartha's forehead?
Short Stories (handout)
“The Laugher” by Boll, p. A-10 to A-11
1.
What is the narrator's profession? How does he feel about his profession?
2.
What impact has his profession had on his private life?
3.
What meaning is implied by the word “taciturn” in the following quote: “People who do not
know me think I am taciturn. Perhaps I am, because I have to open my mouth so often to
laugh.”
4.
Discuss the significance of the final line “So I laugh in many different ways, but my own
laughter is never heard.” What is he saying about his own sense of happiness?
5.
Is it possible to receive pleasure from one's duties? Or, is true happiness separate from one's
professional duties?
“The Grass Eaters” by Varma, pgs. A-12 to A-14
1.
What does Ajit Babu do for a living?
2.
Describe their previous living quarters.
3.
Describe their current living situation.
4.
Explain the verbal irony in the following phrase on p. A-14: “We live very quietly, content
to look at the passing scene: a tram building, a man stabbing another man, a woman dropping
her baby in a garbage bin.”
5.
Is it possible to experience contentment in the midst of hardship? Explain.
“The Blue Jar” by Isak Dinesen, Page A-15 to A-16
1.
What happens to Lady Helena in this beginning of the story?
2.
Why does Lady Helena search after blue china?
3.
What instructions does she give when she finds the very old blue jar? Explain the significance
of her actions here.
4.
Was Lady Helena's obsession to find the blue china a good thing or not? What are some of the
impacts of focusing all your attention and energy on one particular goal?
5.
Explain Lady Helena's final words: “Is it not a sweet thing to think that if only you have
patience, all that has ever been will come back to you.”