How Does Demian Influence The Development Of Civilization

Most people often believe that the chances of meeting someone who can change their life are slim. Especially someone who is present throughout their childhood and into their adulthood. It could be one person or multiple people that can have an impact on our lives. Though it may seem impossible to find those kind of people, they will eventually come into our lives, when we least expect them. Hermann Hesse’s Demian: The Story of Emil Sinclair’s Youth shows that people we meet can change us and mold us into a new individual. Emil Sinclair goes through the process of individualization through the influence of Demian, Pistorius, and Frau Eva.
Demian saves Emil Sinclair from the destruction of his own fears. “Such fear can destroy us completely.

Sinclair recognizes himself as being a part of the world of light since he is accustomed to his life at home and is close with his family. Demian provides Sinclair a glimpse of the other world; his beliefs defy the norm. He is different from most boys, but there is a silent confidence radiating from him. Demian does not believe in sharing the same beliefs as everyone else just to fit in with society. He thinks for himself not what others think. Demian’s interpretation of the mark of Cain inspires Sinclair to come up with his own ideas too.“Something was very wrong with me, though; my life was in very great disorder. I had lived in a wholesome and clean world, had been a kind of Abel myself, and now I was stuck deeply in the ‘other world,’ had fallen and sunk very low--yet it hadn't basically been my fault” (Hesse 26). Sinclair originally opposed the idea that Cain did not actually have a mark, but that his “mark” was what the others created out of fear for him. According to Demian, Cain was feared not because of his appearance, but because of his confidence in his differences. Demian is someone who also has that mark; the mark that symbolizes being true to oneself. Sinclair aspires to obtain the “mark of Cain” like Demian, whom he admires for his

She is Sinclair’s dream whom he must pursue. “She is the object of Sinclair's worldly and spiritual dreams and fantasies” (Alt 1). Frau Eva wants to him to hold on to his dreams and never give up on them. “Sometimes I felt certain that it was not she as a person whom I was attracted to and yearned for with all my being, but that she existed only as a metaphor of my inner self, a metaphor whose sole purpose was to lead me more deeply into myself” (Hesse 127). She gives Sinclair advices on how he should use his imagination to the fullest. His imagination will help him find deeper meaning in his dreams. The messages behind his dreams will lead him to get a better understanding of his unconscious self. In conclusion, Frau Eva is the one who aids him into becoming his own individual through the use of dreams and