It is rightly said that man becomes what he thinks. In light of this, Herman Hesse's novel Steppenwolf deals with Harry Haller, the protagonist who believes himself divided between his human and animalistic nature, considering himself a "steppe wolf". In an era in which an essentialized idea of ​​the self was beginning to arise, the character of Steppenwolf becomes an object of interest. However, readers may wonder why the author chooses his protagonist to find refuge in the life of a wolf, instead of choosing other animals such as birds, lions, or other mystical creatures. The relevance of the title is therefore a matter of debate. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayIt is not a new idea to find a character who identifies with an animal rather than living his life like any other human. This theme has been carefully addressed by numerous novelists such as Virginia Woolf and Janet Frame, who seem to emphasize that everyone has the freedom to dream what they want and be what they want. There are no restrictions on inner thoughts. There are some people who find their imagination as an escape from a life they feel disgusted with. Even though society forces people to behave in a certain way and people are divided into classes (i.e. bourgeoisie and middle class), people's imagination helps them forget the frustration and boundaries that society imposes on them. Indeed, Jean Jacques Rousseau illustrates this issue clearly: “Man is born free but everywhere he is in chains.” However, the right to choose where to belong lies exclusively with the person in question. As Rousseau states elsewhere: “Freedom is the power to choose our chains.” Harry Haller has chosen his "own chains", that of considering himself a wolf. In the preface Hesse illustrates the place that these people occupy in the society in which they live. They are usually ostracized and cannot be understood. The plethora of adjectives used in the preface allows readers to see Steppenwolf as strange, just as the narrator does. He was "repelled" by it. The steppe wolf, who gave “the impression of having emerged from an alien world”, was “strange”, “wild” and “shy” and lived a “suicidal existence”. Yet the narrator states that the disease from which Harry Haller suffers attacks "those who are strongest in spirit and richest in gifts." Categorizing Harry's split nature as such makes readers understand that the title is ideal and that no other animal has been chosen that Harry can identify with. Wolves are in fact among the "strongest" animals. In fact, the steppen wolf itself recognized its unique status as a steppen wolf and gave itself this name. Harry shows his rejection of the “pretense and fiction” of bourgeois life and the restrictions that are imposed on people under the name of norms. He finds himself in need of freedom and yet cannot free himself from the bourgeoisie. He finds comfort in his cocoon of unreality, in being a steppe wolf in his imagination. All the rebellious and “chaotic” nature that wants to explode is a crucial part of his identity as a wolf. However, his human and wolf natures are in constant battle with each other. In his own words, “inside me the battle raged furiously.” Again, the words "raged furiously" are characteristic of wolves, which are barely calm and friendly. There is always something boiling inside them and "The Steppenwolf" is the ideal animal to describe Harry's situation. Harry finds himself trapped in the web conditioned by modernity, where man is trapped in his own inventions. Thematerialism and the need for competition are what govern the world in which Harry feels suffocated. Just like the wolf, which now has little space to move freely, the steppen wolf also has difficulty finding a place to live. Referring to the Buddha, he emphasizes how important it is to be in harmony with the inner soul. In such a life, Harry wants to find meaning, and being a steppe wolf in his thoughts represents the perpetual agony of the search as he is unable to find the answer. The only time it finds any explanation is through the 'Steppen Wolf Treatises' which justify its title. Harry, who wanted to find answers to his existence as Harry Haller, instead finds answers to his identity as Steppenwolf. In the novel, he was "a steppe wolf who had lost his way and was lost in cities and the life of the herd." The treatises offer both a psychological and philosophical journey into the life of the steppe wolf. Readers may learn that there are other "Steppenwolves" besides Harry. In these people there is “God and the devil in them; the blood of the mother and that of the father; the capacity for happiness and the capacity for suffering and just in such a state of enmity and entrapment were the wolf and the man in Harry. Here the author sheds light on the nature of Harry's wolf side. Both natures exist in conflict with each other. He is also mentioned in the novel: "Although he is a very cultured person, he proceeds like a savage who cannot count more than two." The Steppenwolf is aware of the “dual Faustian nature” within himself. Readers have access to Steppenwolf psychology through the treatises, and these treatises allow them to learn more about the divided self, which gives the title its meaning. Over the course of the novel, readers meet several philosophers, such as Socrates, Plato, and Spinoza. . Indian and Chinese philosophy are also mentioned. It seems that to understand the depth of Steppenwolf's character and nature we need to retrace the words of these great characters. Plato's theory of recollection states that individuals possess substantial and profound knowledge, which could in fact mean that the answers Harry might have been seeking are, in fact, found in his inner soul. Furthermore, the presence and guidance of the immortals, namely Mozart and Goethe, give meaning to the multiplicity of the human self. In the background of the novel, Freud's psychoanalytic theory established that human nature has three sides, namely the "id". ', the 'Ego' and the 'Superego'. The id refers to the desires of human beings; that is, humans must get what they want to avoid frustration. The ego also allows for acceptance of reality and control over the id, while the superego is where everything that humans have learned through the socialization process is stored. It is therefore important to have a balance between these three components. This theory therefore emphasizes the complexity of human nature, and it is the same complexity that the author addresses in Steppenwolf. The Steppe Wolf has many layers to its character. The creation of a character like the Steppenwolf may have been the result of world events at the time Hesse wrote his tale. The novel was published a few years after the First World War; Harry's rebellious nature, perhaps, stems from the chaos of war. The novel attempted to show that the rebellious nature of humans should be kept in check due to its destructive force, and Hesse emphasizes the effect such rebellion has on people. In the case of the steppe wolf, the wait for another war had a negative effect on him. He says, “It has paralyzed me since I knew it and drove me to desperation.” Hesse even tried.