  thumb|right|160px|first edition, 1919 demian: the story of emil sinclair's youth is a bildungsroman by hermann hesse, first published in 1919; a prologue was added in 1960. demian was first published under the pseudonym "emil sinclair", the name of the narrator of the story, but hesse was later revealed to be the author. == plot summary == emil sinclair is a young boy raised in a bourgeois home, amidst what is described as a scheinwelt, a play on words that means "world of light" as well as "world of illusion". emil's entire existence can be summarized as a struggle between two worlds: the show world of illusion (related to the hindu concept of maya) and the real world, the world of spiritual truth. in the course of the novel, accompanied and prompted by his mysterious classmate 'max demian', he detaches from and revolts against the superficial ideals of the world of appearances and eventually awakens into a realization of self. == characters == * emil sinclair is the protagonist of the novel. sinclair is confused as to what his life is, and is going to be, and constantly seeks mentorship throughout the novel. he tends to need validation by an older figure, and finds mentors in figures such as pistorius, demian, and eva. * sinclair's mother and father are the symbols of safety toward which sinclair first finds refuge, but against whom he eventually rebels. * franz kromer is a bully, whose psychological torture leads sinclair to meet demian. * max demian is a childhood friend and a mentor of sinclair. demian leads sinclair to his eventual self-realization, and may be considered emil's daemon. * alfons beck is the "sarcastic and avuncular" oldest boy at the boarding house where sinclair enrolls after his confirmation. beck serves as a minor mentor 
1919_novels 20th-century_German_novels German_bildungsromans German_novels Novels_by_Hermann_Hesse Philosophical_novels