Personal Reflection

       Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse greatly expanded my mind to the topics discussed in the book, but also started my interest in other books I have not yet read.  I can say that this was my first book that captured the ideas that only come up in philosophy, and other intellectual genres.  I usually read fantasy and historical fiction and this book was quite a change, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.  One quote that remains in my head is one of the more popular lines from the book:

"Again I looked into the mirror.  I had been mad.  I must have been mad.  There was no wolf in the mirror, lolling his tongue in his maw.  It was I, Harry.  My face was grey, forsaken of all fancies, wearied by all vice, horribly pale.  Still it was a human being, someone one could speak to.

'Harry,' I said, 'what are you doing there?'

'Nothing,' said he in the mirror, 'I am only waiting.  I am waiting for death.'

'Where is death then?'

'Coming.'"

       This quote, along with many others embedded throughout the book, is what sparked my now burning desire to read more great pieces of literature.  This quote makes me think, and I surely want to experience many moments by reading others books of the same calibre. 
       Because of reading this book, and even now from reading Frankenstein, I can definitely see myself this summer, and perhaps for the rest of my life in pursuit of other great books, classic or not.  I would like reading to become a deeper part of my life.