Siddhartha's first encounter with the ferryman, Vasudeva, foreshadows his own future as a ferryman. Siddhartha meets Vasudeva after spending a few years with the Samanas, and Vasudeva's first words to him in Chapter 5 are as follows:
“Yes,” said the ferryman, “a very beautiful river. I love it more than anything else. I often listen to it, I often look into its eyes, I have always learned from it. One can learn a lot from a river.”
This early moment foreshadows everything Siddhartha will gain from observing the river. At first glance, Siddhartha doubts the river's power to reveal significant knowledge. But as Vasudeva says, if one is willing to "listen to it" and "look into its eyes," then the river becomes a sort of teacher. Though Siddhartha initially strives to learn from extreme experiences with the ascetic Samanas and the indulgent Child People, he later learns that knowledge and enlightenment can spring from something as simple as a river.
Much later, in Chapter 12, Vasudeva's words echo in Siddhartha's vision of the river and confirm the powerful foreshadowing of their first meeting:
He noticed that the river’s voice spoke to him; he learned from its voice, it raised him and taught him. The river seemed like a god to him. For many years he did not know that every wind, every cloud, every bird, every bug is just as godly and knows and can teach just as much as the venerated river.
Here Siddhartha learns that bugs are "just as godly" as the gods themselves and that the river is just as valuable a source of knowledge as any other teacher. His becoming the ferryman confirms that he has reached a breakthrough in his journey: Vasudeva goes "into the oneness" of the world, and Siddhartha remains at his post with the essential knowledge of the unity of the universe. The transition between ferrymen also implies that Siddhartha himself will one day go into the oneness just like his predecessor. When Siddhartha completes his journey, the reader might recall the foreshadowing of his initial meeting with Vasudeva as a device that creates a circular structure in the story and suggests the cyclical nature of life (as Vasudeva passes, and Siddhartha takes his place). This circularity also creates a sense of unity and wholeness in the novel itself.
Siddhartha's first encounter with the ferryman, Vasudeva, foreshadows his own future as a ferryman. Siddhartha meets Vasudeva after spending a few years with the Samanas, and Vasudeva's first words to him in Chapter 5 are as follows:
“Yes,” said the ferryman, “a very beautiful river. I love it more than anything else. I often listen to it, I often look into its eyes, I have always learned from it. One can learn a lot from a river.”
This early moment foreshadows everything Siddhartha will gain from observing the river. At first glance, Siddhartha doubts the river's power to reveal significant knowledge. But as Vasudeva says, if one is willing to "listen to it" and "look into its eyes," then the river becomes a sort of teacher. Though Siddhartha initially strives to learn from extreme experiences with the ascetic Samanas and the indulgent Child People, he later learns that knowledge and enlightenment can spring from something as simple as a river.
Much later, in Chapter 12, Vasudeva's words echo in Siddhartha's vision of the river and confirm the powerful foreshadowing of their first meeting:
He noticed that the river’s voice spoke to him; he learned from its voice, it raised him and taught him. The river seemed like a god to him. For many years he did not know that every wind, every cloud, every bird, every bug is just as godly and knows and can teach just as much as the venerated river.
Here Siddhartha learns that bugs are "just as godly" as the gods themselves and that the river is just as valuable a source of knowledge as any other teacher. His becoming the ferryman confirms that he has reached a breakthrough in his journey: Vasudeva goes "into the oneness" of the world, and Siddhartha remains at his post with the essential knowledge of the unity of the universe. The transition between ferrymen also implies that Siddhartha himself will one day go into the oneness just like his predecessor. When Siddhartha completes his journey, the reader might recall the foreshadowing of his initial meeting with Vasudeva as a device that creates a circular structure in the story and suggests the cyclical nature of life (as Vasudeva passes, and Siddhartha takes his place). This circularity also creates a sense of unity and wholeness in the novel itself.
