Beneath the Wheel - Hermann Hesse

Written at the age of 29, Beneath the Wheel represents the second full length novel by Hesse and it is said to be one of the most autobiographical of his works. From the beginning, the protagonist Hans is exposed to intense paternal and social expectations that force him to enter the most reputable school of the region. There he encounters an insurmountable daily rhythm that slowly grinds him down and pushes him back out of the system, damaging his health along the way, and leading him to his tragic demise back in his native Black Forest village. This book speaks out against the institutional oppression of students in Hesse's era (early 1900's) but its relevance couldn't be more applicable to our times as well. After two years of working with students in Japan of a similar age to Hans in the story, I saw the face of such oppression and I realized that it is still very much alive. The age-old desire of wanting ones prodigy to reach the highest of peaks that oneself as a parent was never able to reach has not changed, and in the case of Japan (and no doubt there are many other countries thus inclined) it seems to be one long race to the top from the day the child sees first light. Stories of truancy, refusal to go to school, nervous ticks, fainting in class, headaches, stomach aches, and general depression abound. The point of culmination in the Japanese case is sending ones children to 'juku' or cram school since state schools have recently been denounced for being too 'easy'. What price are people willing to pay for their loved ones to be part of the elite? How far can you push someone to the edge before they fall? And after all, once you have joined the so-called elite, looking back was it worth it?