Growing up in the Western world, we have accustomed ourselves to looking at time in a series of specific events, or points. Point A is where we start, point B and C are somewhere in between and point D is where we end. We follow this rhythm without questioning it, simply accepting the fact that there was a yesterday, there is a today and there will be a tomorrow. For us, time is nothing but a straight line- similar to the picture to the right that demonstrates that time is viewed with respect to a set past, present and future. All of the events that occur within these time periods are concrete, and therefore can then never be truly relived. Regardless of when we reach complete these events, we know that there is typically an ending to arrive to; a goal that we are trying to achieve. However, our Eastern counterparts would disagree with how we stubbornly go through our lives looking only directly behind or ahead-not considering what is around. Instead, their perspective on time is viewed in a cyclical fashion, constantly moving like a fluid and simultaneously occurring over time over and over again. As portrayed by the picture to the left, cyclical time offers no set past, present and future-replacing the Western conviction of historical significances with coincidences. Despite these differences in the notion of time, they both aim to create a distinguished path for someone to follow, whether it be a straight line or a circle. In Hermann Hesse’s novel Siddhartha, the paths that come about from looking at time in these two different perspectives exploit Siddhartha’s journey to enlightenment and ultimately allow him to reach unity with the world around him. In the novel, a linear time frame is best modeled by a diachrony: a change extending throughout time. On the other hand, a synchrony, which mirrors the cyclical model of time, involves a chronological arrangement of events that suggests that there is a coincidence within the time frame. However, while these differing perspectives have allowed Siddhartha to travel through time in a straight line or in circles, Hesse cleverly set up the structure of each part in the novel to mirror the path of the diachronic and synchronic time frame. Ultimately, while Siddhartha is finally able to reach enlightenment in the end and realize which perspective worked best for him, we are able to determine the byproducts of both the diachronic and synchronic time lenses and see how those byproducts contribute to Siddhartha’s development and the novel as a whole. The first part of Siddhartha was set up as a diachrony in order to create a simple and somewhat narrow path for Siddhartha to follow. In the beginning of the novel, Siddhartha had established his main goal: to reach enlightenment. If one has goals, then they have to be diachronic because goals have end points. However, for Siddhartha, time-specifically in the diachronic mindset-becomes an obstacle in his path to reach his goal. Time within a diachrony is very measured because there is a finite amount, an amount that can limit the time that Siddhartha has to reach his goal. Since the diachronic set up in the first part limited the amount of time that Siddhartha had, he made sure to utilize every second towards achieving his goal. When Siddhartha decides to join the Samanas, he tells Govinda, “We will not waste words, Govinda,” he said softly. “Tomorrow at daybreak, I will begin the life of the Samanas. Let us not discuss it again.” (7). As Siddhartha crafted his plan, he mentioned to Govinda the notion of wasting time. Given that in a diachrony, time has a limited finite amount, wasting it becomes a byproduct-one that Siddhartha can not afford. With this seemingly short amount of time, Siddhartha then gained greater determination to achieve his goal. Likewise, the ability to achieve something in such a short amount of time created a sense of arrogance, another byproduct of a diachrony and a trait that comfortably resided in Siddhartha. Similarly, a diachrony creates impatience because if a goal is not achieved in a certain amount of time, it can be regarded as a waste of time. And indeed, did the diachrony of the first part create an impatient Siddhartha as he continually asked Govinda, “Do you think we are any further? Have we reached our goal?” (13). Unfortunately, this diachronic perspective of only focusing on a single goal ended up clouding Siddhartha’s mind and ultimately impeded his ability of reaching his goal of enlightenment in part one of the novel. What is most ironic, though, is while Siddhartha was living through a diachrony in the first part, he felt as though he and Govinda were simply “going i