Flute Dream as an Existential Journey - Coursework Example

The boy sets out with a desire to fill the world with the music of his flute and his songs. Though his first encounter with the brown-eyed girl is by innocence and his naïve perceptions of beauty, it also acquaints him with the inseparable parts of love, pain, and longing. For the first time, he encounters the necessity of making a tough choice between following the girl and continuing his journey. This is also his first encounter with the darker emotions of life, although in a milder form. The next part of the story can be interpreted in two ways.

Assuming that the old boatman is the boy reminiscing about his past, his encounter with the brown-eyed girl is not a single event but a metaphor for all moments of simple, unadulterated joy treasured by him. The memories of the girl are, in comparison with his present situation, used to raise the question of authenticity. His next encounter with the old man can be viewed in two different ways. First, the old man introduces the then-unknown feelings of sadness to the boy and his later desertion of the boat may represent the eternal cycle of life and death where all old forms of life must make place for the new ones. Since the author uses the boat in the river, it denotes the transition of the young man over years. The songs of the young boy represent the fond memories and hope persistent in the old man whereas the songs of the old man are full of the pain in his life. As the author notes, life is full of dualities such as the conflict between life and death and in this case, between hope and despair. Thus, he shows the absurdity of trying to figure out the sense and logic governing our lives.

Assuming that the old man is not the boy but a man in the later stages of life, the story can be interpreted differently. While the boy asks if the man is ‘the king’, the man supposes the boy to be a poet. Here, Hesse identifies youth and old age using how we perceive the world around us in these stages of life. While youth is all about learning firsthand from our experiences and living life on our terms, old age is about how we manage the good and bad things of life with a noble indifference. The old man also teaches the young boy about the beauty of love and nostalgia. However, when the boy, unable to withstand the impact of these new emotions, asks if he can turn around, the old man tells him he cannot, indicating that life can only move forward again stressing authenticity. Since Hesse was also considerably influenced by Indian philosophy, the inescapable river can also be interpreted as the young boy’s entry into later adulthood entrapped in the vortex of familial ties and responsibilities.

Existentialists such as Nietzsche always opined that it is an individual’s responsibility to live his life passionately and attain his purpose or goal. Until the part of the story when the boy meets the old man, the boy has only known the positive emotions of life. As mentioned by his father, his only interest in life is to sing songs. His father also advises him not to sing songs of grief since it would be a waste of god’s gift. However, when he first meets the old boatman, he is attracted by the sadness in his songs. His confusion over his father’s words and his attraction toward the newly discovered sadness in music refers to the existential question of authenticity. The compulsion of having to make a choice challenges his beliefs and faith in the joy of life.

While thinking about these choices, he is subconsciously asking the ultimate questions of the meaning and purpose of his existence. But as is the case of almost every existential work, this story too, concludes in an absurdist manner when the young boy sees the old man in his reflection. Hesse uses this conclusion to imply that irrespective of how hard one tries, it is not humanly possible to achieve moral certainty. To comprehend the meaning of existence with the help of worldly knowledge and experience is not possible.

After the aforementioned thought, it can be understood that the young boy chooses the old man’s path and chooses to define reality using sadness. By not paying any heed to his father’s advice, the author presents the existential theme of discarding societal norms and practices.