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Demian

 Hermann Hesse
 

Key Facts

 
full title ·  Demian
 
author ·  Hermann Hesse
 
type of work ·  Novel
 
genre · Bildungsroman (a coming-of-age novel about education or moral development)
 
language ·  German
 
time and place written ·  1917, Switzerland
 
date of first publication ·  1919
 
publisher ·  S. Fischer
 
narrator ·  Emil Sinclair
 
climax ·  Sinclair's discovery that the woman he has been painting is Demian's mother
 
protagonist ·  Emil Sinclair
 
antagonist ·  Society in general—those who do not bear the mark
 
setting (time) ·  A span of ten years prior to World War I, roughly 1905—1915
 
setting (place) ·  Germany—Sinclair's hometown and the cities in which he is educated
 
point of view ·  An older Sinclair, looking back at his childhood
 
falling action ·  Demian runs into Sinclair, who invites him by his house to meet Eva.
 
tense ·  Past
 
foreshadowing ·  Since Sinclair is writing about his own experience after the fact, he is able to constantly foreshadow his future developments; this happens often with regard to ways he will think in the future, but also with events, for instance, the war
 
tone ·  Contemplative and analytic; psychological
 
themes ·  Psychology; good and evil; the will; narration
 
motifs ·  The mark of Cain; mentoring relationships
 
symbols ·  The sparrow hawk
 
 
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