AP PREP POST 1: SIDDHARTHA

a) AP level questions on Siddhartha and link to the source from which I got them

• If you were the river, would you be enlightenment or would you know enlightenment? In other words, whats up with the river? What is its relationship to enlightenment? 
• Analyze the novella as a bildungsroman and through Jungian/Archetypal critical lens.
• How does Hesse use figurative, poetic, structural and rhetoric devices to convey the effects of Siddhartha's experiences? 
• Discuss this quote: "Meaning and reality were not hidden somewhere behind things, they were in them, in all of them."
• What is the meaning of knowledge? How does it differ from wisdom?

b) attempted answers to questions 1-5

• I have not read enough of the book to know about a river and its significance. However I wrote this question down because it intrigued me. I have noticed that rivers are very often used in literature to represent everything from life to death.
• I am not familiar with the Jungian/Archetypal critical lens. This novella is a bildungsroman because it chronicles the journey of Siddhartha as he reaches new knowledge and realizations. In the passage we read it would be that he discovers how alone he really is and he finds this need within to reinvent himself as a result of his new-found wisdom. 
• In this particular section of the novella that we read there was a very interesting structural element that had a strong influence on telling the experiences and realizations that Siddhartha was coming to in a way that the reader was able to experience vividly. The narrator would give long explanations, followed by short and powerful sentences like "Nobody was as alone as he." The short and powerful sentences impacted the reader. Regarding figurative, poetic and rhetoric language, Hesse almost exclusively writes his book using either one of those three at any given time. The whole theme of the book is this journey and awakening, which is further emphasized by his use of inspiring figurative, poetic and rhetoric language. Essentially they help support the theme and structure that has has going on with the novella.
• This quote simply means that there is meaning behind everything and that things aren't hiding their meaning, they're simply waiting for someone to come along and discover it.
• Knowledge is skills and information we gather through experience or education.Wisdom is essentially the next step in knowledge. Wisdom refers to using the knowledge we gather in an intelligent way. In other words, you can have knowledge but not be wise because you're not using your knowledge in an effective way that benefits you and the world in a positive physical and spiritual way.

c) After answering those questions I realize that AP level questions are tough and they require more than being able to read a book. You need to have the ability to process what you read, analyze it and give it meaning that goes beyond the literal text. AP level questions also require you to have information apart from what is being asked so you can better answer the questions. Essentially we need to be intelligent critical thinkers to answer these AP questions effectively.