Herman Hesse's novel Demian tells of a young boy
             named Emil Sinclair and his childhood growing up
             during pre-World War I. Emil struggles to find
             his new self-knowledge in the immoral world and
             is caught between good and evil, which is
             represented as the light and dark realms. Hesse
             uses much symbolic diction in his novel to give a
             more puissant presentation of Emil Sinclair and
             the conflict between right and wrong. The
             symbolism gives direction, foreshadow, and
             significance towards every aspect of the novel.
             Emil Sinclair's home as a young child is a very
             important symbol in the novel. As Emil attends
             school he is shown a world immoral value. The
             confusion of which is right or wrong creates the
             need for a safe haven for Emil. Emil refers to his
             home as a realm of light and states that he and his
             family all belong to that realm. The house itself
             was once a monastery, giving it a more powerful
             representation of the light realm. This symbolic
             asylum represents Emil's innocence within himself
             and casts him apart from the real world. Another
             safe haven Emil retreats to is after he finds
             himself as a member of the mark of Cain. Eva's
             garden symbolizes the Garden of Eden (a
             religious setting therefore of the light realm) and
             Emil separates himself there as one with the mark
             of Cain apart from the rest of the corrupt world.
             Both settings symbolize Emil's importance in the
             The Garden of Eden presents itself as another
             symbolic location. The event that Emil told the
             story of stealing the apples from the garden was
             a very symbolic point of the novel in which Emil
             breaks away from his light realm. The garden that
             Emil stole the apples from represented the
             Garden of Eden and the apples, or forbidden
             fruit, symbolized Emil's first sin. This event
             foreshadows what is next to come in the conflict
             of good and evil. Emil's first step out of the li...