I believe that this site offers a valuable opportunity to have an informative discussion on Hesse's works.

Any thoughts on this work?

(Please don't be afraid to speak up!)

The beginning of the novel had a long discussion on the ways of the world for the normal person, where jobs and so forth awaited the graduate. Joseph was lucky, he found the order... However, at the end the Magister quit and became Joseph again and returned to the world. Hesse killed Joseph off and so we can't really say or know, but how would Hesse define the parameters for normal people who exist in society -whereby one needed to 'return to society'- and be contributing without falling into the traps he spoke of in the beginning of the novel, i.e., be under the influence of money, power, success, etc.?

Funny, Hesse voted for the return at end of his magnum opus, but then he and his character escaped with Joseph drowning and Hesse's old age and eventual death... Or maybe did say much with describing that "Joseph's death had inspired the boy to greatness" or something to that effect. Maybe just like he (Hesse) who was an artist/poet had inspired people, and so in this way the average person can escape the tyranny of collective thinking and so forth through art and the creation of such... Who knows?

---Duke