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Beneath The WheelBeneath the Wheel (Unterm Rad) is a novel written by Hermann Hesse. It tells the story of a boy, Hans Giebenrath, who is highly gifted and as a result sent to a seminary. However, all his education is just focused on increasing his knowledge and neglects him as a person. He finally finds a friend, Hermann Heilner, at the seminary, who is less hardworking than him and more liberal-minded, and this friendship acts as a kind of relief for Giebenrath. In the end, Heilner is expelled from the seminary and Giebenrath is expelled some time later as his performance steadily decreases and as he develops symptoms of mental illness. At home, he finds it difficult to cope with the situation in his small village, in particular as he has lost most of his old friends. He starts an apprenticeship as a blacksmith and commits suicide in the end. Being one of Hesse's first novels, this book offers a severe critique of education that focuses only on the students' performance. It is in that respect typical for Hesse. There are also some biographical links to Hesse himself, as also attended a seminary (in fact the same as Giebenrath did in Beneath the Wheel) and was also expelled from it.
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