SCRIPTORIUM
GERMAN AND FRENCH
QUICK SUMMARIES
Siddhartha
Herman Hesse
Siddhartha seeks enlightenment with his friend, Govinda, through the Samanas, Buddhism, and hedonism. He eventually achieves enlightenment and inner peace through the aid of a ferryman named Vasudeva.
The Metamorphosis
Franz Kafka
Salesman Gregor Samsa wakes up one day a bug. Ostracized by his family and shown only affection by his sister, Grete, he stays in a secluded room in his house until he dies of starvation.
The Trial
Franz Kafka
Josef K is a banker arrested for an unknown crime for an unknown reason on his thirtieth birthday. After condemnation for his unknown crime, he feels confusion in the surreal legal system and is executed.
Tartuffe
Molière
Tartuffe, a pious fraud, manipulates a wealthy man, Orgon. Orgon becomes obsessed with Tartuffe's religious devotion while his family sees through Tartuffe's deceit. Orgon continues to fall for Tartuffe's manipulations until he observes him attempting to seduce his wife and disinherent his own son, leading to his exposal and punished by the king.
Candide
Voltaire
Candide is expelled from his home for kissing Cunégonde. He is then forced to endure a series of disastrous events, including war, poverty, and a shipwreck, while trying to reunite with her, all while clinging to the optimistic philosophy taught by his tutor, Pangloss. Candide witnesses numerous horrors that lead him to question this belief that they live in "the best of all possible worlds".
Steppenwolf
Hermann Hesse
Harry Haller, a middle-aged intellectual, feels alienated by society and conflicted by his human and animal instincts. He encounters Hermine, who introduces a hedonistic lifestyle to him that forces him to confront his internal conflicts and search for his identity through the "Magic Theater."