Pocket Full Of Proses.

Chapter 4 : The power of books

Chapter 4 : The power of books

Has ever a story lead to you to heaven and hell both at the same time?
Has ever a story left you feeling blank, intoxicated?
Has ever a book brought in your life a revolution?
Has ever a book had such an influence on you, you transformed?
There is one such book that did it all for me.

Never had I ever thought a mere book would change me so much I'd became distinct. Never thought I'd be so influenced by a book, it would get into my subconscious and reflect in my personality. Never thought I'd be lead to heaven and hell simultaneously, be so encaptivated that nothing else mattered but the moment.

That's the power a book holds.
The power to bring about a revolution.
The power to change a generation.
The power to make a mortal human live on forever. That's the power of a book.

Demian, by Hermann Hesse, was the book that did led me to feel this way. I found this book through the song 'blood, sweat, and tears', from the album 'wings' by BTS. I was new to the fandom. It was the second or third song I heard by the artists; I had no idea the band had such an intricate story line but immediately realized something was going on when I was first watching the music video and listening to the song.

I love music concepts that relate to heaven and hell, good and evil, and there is no album that portrayed it better than BTS with their album wings. I started watching fan theories to understand what the music video meant. From the theories I learnt that the album was based off a certain book called 'Demian'. I had no idea what it was about nor did I try to figure it out. What I did do was order the book without giving it a second thought.

Just like any other typical reader, I too get lost in books so much so that I forget about everything else. Once I was reading the book War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells; I was so into it that I did not process anything else around me and physically jumped at a jump scare. Just like most people, if I like a book, I will finish it in just a few days. I remember finishing an entire novel in a record time of 4 hours; the story wasn't even very interesting but everything seems fun during exam time, doesn't it? That, however, wasn't the case with this book. I took my time reading it. A lot was going on in my life when I first received my copy of the book. When I first read it, I didn't know what to expect. I just kept reading. I read it slowly, I don't exactly remember why but it was probably because the book was too difficult and complicated for me to apprehend.

Most criticisms about his work seem to come from people who did not understand a word of what he wrote. It seems to me they read one of his books once and concluded that they don't make sense. That's the thing about the works of Hermann Hesse. They're too complicated, I think even for adults. You have to at least read them thrice in order to start getting what he actually meant. Not only for the norm following conservatives but even for a number of liberals, his words would many a times appear to be absolutely absurd but when you really think about it, they're completely correct, they make perfect sense. He very rightly quoted "Wisdom cannot be imparted. Wisdom that a wise man attempts to impart always sounds like foolishness to someone else." Makes sense right?

On first completing the book, I barely understood anything. I had to read it not once, not twice, but thrice before I actually started to understand the book. Today, I have read it enough times to recite whole paragraphs; well not exactly but you get what I mean. In the process of being fascinated by the book I didn't realize how much of an impact it had made on me. I started noticing how true his words are, I observed what he said happening all around me in real life. I only recently started to notice how I changed drastically after reading the book. But I'd like to keep those to myself. It is this book which gave me a direction to think. It even made an appearance in a dream I once had. I was sitting in a classroom, full of children from the front to the back, similar to Sinclair's classroom in the book. There was a different kind of enthusiasm in the environment, one which I had never experienced. Then we got the news that from the day onwards, the only book to be taught in schools is Demian. You can only imagine my excitement. I was happily boasting to my fellow classmates about how I've already read the book and know the plot very well.

I never understood and always wondered how it managed to make such a huge impact on not only myself, but entire generations. It's extremely fascinating. Hermann Hesse used to be popular when he was still alive and his books were widely read and well liked by people. These days however, he isn't talked about much which is a pity considering how powerful his thoughts, ideas and words are. This is the reason it makes me extremely happy when people take his name when asked which author influenced them the most. When it comes to it making an impact on me, I have 'an' if not 'the' answer. Both the author and I share the same personality type. Perhaps that's the reason? I don't know.

I finally understand the story line to a great extent. I haven't read many books that leave you feeling how you felt when you read it for the first time. Demian is one such rare book. I am so extremely fascinated by it that I did my research about it; I even wrote a report which I didn't share with anyone because I might have over analyzed everything. Being a professional over thinker, I do this a lot and often get carried away; I end up over analyzing things, it's quite fun though.

I found out that the book was influenced by world famous psychologist Carl Jung and one of the most influential philosophers of modern times, Friedrich Nietzsche. The book is written as if Hesse was asked to write a diary for psychoanalysis. After learning about Nietzsche's theories, I can definitely see the influence. For example, Demian, one of the main characters, seems to be a perfect example of a higher man. Perhaps this intelligent use of philosophy and psychology combined with his own wisdom and creativity is what makes this book so intriguing. Whatever the reason may be, it's a great book by a great person I really admire. It made me into a thinker and contributed to me becoming the person I am today.
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