The short stories Siddhartha by Herman Hesse and A Thousand Cranes by Yasanari Kawabata both have protagonists who go on journeys. In Siddhartha, Siddhartha embarks on a journey to reach nirvana, while Kikuji in A Thousand Cranes, decides to distance himself from his late father and get married. Both protagonists encounter obstacles and the way they overcome them is also different due to the way they were raised and the time period. It is the methods they choose to overcome the obstacles in their path and whether or not they decide to overcome them that decides whether they will succeed or fail in their journey. Both Herman Hesse's Siddhartha and Yasanari Kawabata's Thousand Cranes describe the influence that a bad father-son relationship has on the son: Kikuji's neglectful attitude towards the woman, Siddhartha's need to please and learn from Kamala, Siddhartha's success, Kikuji's failure on his path and their departure from the path paved by their parents, shows the impact of a poor father-son relationship. Siddhartha and Kikuji have very distinct reactions and behaviors towards women. Kikuji is careless about women and pretends that he can be careless about their needs. On the other hand, Siddhartha desperately tries to learn from women from their gaze. Kikuji, at one point said: “It makes no difference to me. Of course if he wants to go…(15)”. Instead, Siddhartha thought, “He regularly wanted the beautiful Kamala… to give and receive, to become one” (58). In the above mentioned quote about Kikuji, it is understandable how much he cares about women, the dialogue was said to a woman in his house. Siddhartha instead talks to himself about Kamala, a beautiful woman who is said to manipulate men's hearts at first sight. The quotes show that both ack...... middle of paper ......nd, waited for years, nonchalantly and did not take the initiative until provoked by Fumiko. These books show us the affects that relationships have on people. Kikuji, who lived in post-war Japan, is easier to relate to because of the time period and situation. Siddhartha is more difficult to understand, especially because he lived in India about two or three hundred years ago. This comparison is difficult considering the journeys undertaken by the protagonists. Siddhartha decided to be a Samana while Kikuji decided to distance himself from his father. These books show two sons and two fathers with different relationships which cause the protagonists to have very different mentalities and situations. Ultimately it is the impact of these relationships that makes the protagonists succeed or fail in their journey. Works Cited Siddhartha, A Thousand Cranes