Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Kumari, Archana
• Supriya

Titel

Literature in the Age of Globalization with Special Reference to Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha

Ist Teil von

• Language in India, 2019-02, Vol.19 (2), p.29

Ort / Verlag

Bloomington: Madasamy S. Thirumalai

Erscheinungsjahr

2019

Quelle

EZB Electronic Journals Library

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of globalization on English literature with special reference to Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha. Globalization has changed the face of English literature, when we think of globalization and forms of entertainment, we immediately think of the internet, social media, movies, or television shows. But contrary to popular belief, literature also holds an important place in the flow of entertainment media that is coursing through the veins of public consumption in our globalized world. The technological advances that are connecting people worldwide through shared information are also serving as a medium to disseminate books across national and cultural boundaries. The term "world literature" was first used by the German writer and statesman Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, referring to dissemination of literature from and to countries across the globe. World literature, in the modern sense, refers to literary works that are translated into multiple languages and circulated to an audience outside their country origin. Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha was published in Germany in 1922; it quickly became popular throughout Europe. Its introspective and passive protagonist appealed to readers who were traumatized by the violence of aggression of World War I, which had ended few years before its publication. It became popular again after World War II, when Hesse won many prestigious awards, including the Nobel Prize in literature in 1946. A few decades later, American readers' supportive pacifism and individualistic spirituality found resonance in Siddhartha, which was first published in English in 1951. Hesse's Siddhartha has transcended the boundaries of nation, language and culture. Keywords: Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha, Globalization, World Literature, Cultural Boundaries, English Literature