It is rightly said that what a man thinks, he becomes. From this perspective, the novel Steppenwolf by Herman Hesse deals with Harry Haller, the protagonist who believes himself to be torn between his human nature and his animal nature, considering himself a "steppe wolf". At a time when an essentialized idea of ​​the self is beginning to emerge, the character of Steppenwolf becomes a subject of interest. However, readers might wonder why the author chose to have his protagonist escape into the life of a wolf, instead of choosing other animals like birds, lions, or other mystical creatures. The relevance of the title is therefore debated. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay It's not a new idea to find a character identifying with an animal rather than living their life like any other human being. This question has been carefully addressed by many novelists such as Virginia Woolf and Janet Frame, who seem to emphasize that everyone possesses the freedom to dream what they want and to be what they want. There are no restrictions on inner thoughts. There are people who find their imagination a way to escape a life that disgusts them. Even though society forces people to behave in a certain way and people are divided according to class (i.e. bourgeoisie and middle class), people's imagination helps them forget the frustration and the limits that society imposes on them. Jean Jacques Rousseau clearly illustrates this problem: “Man is born free but everywhere he is chained”. However, the right to choose which affiliation belongs to the only person in question. As Rousseau says elsewhere: “Freedom is the power to choose our own chains. » Harry Haller chose his “own chains”, that of considering himself a wolf. In the preface, Hesse illustrates the place that these people occupy in the society in which they live. They are generally ostracized and cannot be understood. The plethora of adjectives used in the preface allows readers to view the Steppenwolf as strange, as does the narrator. He was “rejected” by him. The Steppenwolf, who gave "the impression of having come from an alien world", was "strange", "wild" and "timid" and led a "suicidal existence". However, the narrator mentions that the illness Harry Haller suffers from attacks “those who are strongest in spirit and richest in gifts.” Categorizing Harry's divided nature as such makes readers understand that the title is ideal and that no other animal has been chosen for Harry to identify with. Wolves are indeed one of the “strongest” animals. In fact, the Steppenwolf himself recognized his unique status as a Steppenwolf and gave himself that name. Harry shows his rejection of the “impostures and pretenses” of bourgeois life and the restrictions imposed on people in the name of norms. He needs freedom and yet he cannot free himself from the bourgeoisie. He finds comfort in his cocoon of unreality, by being a Steppenwolf in his imagination. The whole rebellious, “chaotic” nature that wants to break out is a crucial part of his wolf identity. However, his human nature and his wolf nature are in constant struggle with each other. In his own words, “the battle raged furiously within me.” Again, the words "furious" are characteristic of wolves, which are hardly calm and friendly. There's always something bubbling inside them and "Steppenwolf" is the perfect animal to describe Harry's situation. Harry finds himself stuck in the web conditioned by modernity, where man is caught in his owninventions. Materialism and the need for competition govern the world in which Harry feels stifled. Just like the wolf, which now has limited space to move freely, the steppe wolf also has difficulty finding a place to live.v. Referring to Buddha, he emphasizes how important it is to be in harmony with the inner soul. In such a life, Harry wants to find meaning, and being a steppe wolf in his thinking represents the perpetual agony of the quest since he is unable to find the answer. The only time he finds an explanation is in the “Treatises on the Steppe Wolf” which justifies his title. Harry, who wanted to find answers about his existence as Harry Haller, instead finds answers about his identity as Steppenwolf. In the novel, he was "a steppe wolf who had wandered and lost his way in the cities and in the life of the herd." The treatises offer a journey that is both psychological and philosophical into the life of the steppe wolf. Readers can learn that there are other "Steppenwolves" besides Harry. In such people there is “God and the devil in them; the blood of the mother and that of the father; the capacity for happiness and the capacity for suffering and in such a state of enmity and entanglement were the wolf and the man in Harry. Here, the author highlights the nature of Harry's wolf side. The two natures exist in conflict with each other. It is even mentioned in the novel: “Although he is a very cultured man, he proceeds like a savage who cannot count more than two. » The Steppenwolf is aware of the "double Faustian nature" within him. Readers have access to the psychology of the steppe wolf through the treatises and these treatises allow them to learn more about the divided self, which gives meaning to the title. Throughout the novel, readers encounter several philosophers, such as Socrates, Plato and Spinoza. . Indian and Chinese philosophies are also discussed. It seems that to understand the depth of the character and the nature of Steppenwolf, we must return to the words of these great characters. Plato's theory of memory states that individuals possess substantial and profound knowledge, which could actually mean that the answers Harry might have sought are actually found within his inner soul. Furthermore, the presence and leadership of the immortals, namely Mozart and Goethe, give meaning to the multiplicity of the human self. In the context of the novel, Freud's psychoanalytic theory stated that human nature has three sides, namely the "id". , the “ego” and the “superego”. The id refers to the needs of human beings; that is, humans must get what they want to avoid frustration. The ego also allows for acceptance of reality and control of the id, while the superego is where everything humans have learned during the socialization process is stored. It is therefore important to have a balance within these three components. This theory therefore highlights the complexity of human nature, and it is the same complexity that the author addresses in Steppenwolf. The character of Steppenwolf has many facets. The creation of a character such as the Steppenwolf could be the result of world events at the time Hesse wrote his tale. The novel was published a few years after World War I; Harry's rebellious nature perhaps comes from the chaos of war. The novel attempts to show that the rebellious nature of human beings must be controlled because of its destructive force, and Hesse highlights the effect that such rebellion has on people. In the case of the Steppenwolf, the anticipation of another war had a negative impact on him. He said: "It has paralyzed me ever since I knew it and brought me.