Compare and Contrast American Beauty and Siddhartha

In American Beauty, there are a lot of similarities to Herman Hesse's Siddhartha. Lester, the main character, is on a trip to find and improve himself and at the same time, to escape from his reality. Siddhartha was trying to reach the ultimate goal of Buddhism, Atman or the pure self. <Tab/>Lester starts out in the movie as a total loser whose marriage is a loss, according to his daughter, "…

…him are his son and Atman. So he makes a complete circle in his life and ends up where he started, right where he needed to be. <Tab/>In my opinion, American Beauty and Siddhartha have more similarities than differences. Both are trying to discover themselves, and find what makes them happy. Both have to deal with disappointment and loneliness, but both also find happiness and well being in the end.