Alienation
The protagonist of the novel, Harry Haller, is a classic outsider who simply does not fit into society and has no desire to. Haller longs for something different and knows there must be more to life than numbing conformity of middle-class existence. Nearly everyone experiences these feelings of wanting more at some point time, but Haller is a member of the club who is so committed averse to adopting conformist attitudes that he truly becomes psychologically as well as philosophically alienated from society.
Levels of Consciousness
This alienation from conformist society is stimulated by the conviction that middle class consciousness is determined and shaped by not just an massive acceptance of mediocrity in all things, but a systematic design to make those who desire to rise above mediocrity the victim of hate and idols of foolishness. At the heart of this mediocrity of the masses are self-imposed limitations on reaching toward a higher level of existence and plane of consciousness. Hesse suggests in the novel that this must, by definition, mean such high levels of consciousness do exist. The problem becomes how to access them.
Integration of Identity
Forced at some level to conform to societal values and the lower level of consciousness if only to get along in the world, Haller must first accept that he is not just one perceptual being, but many. Establishing identity requires accepting the contradictions of behavior and recognizing the life is a series of dualistic opposites imposed from without and the only way to become psychologically whole is to learn recognize the fundamental unity of self existing within all those fragmented parts. Without that wholeness, higher levels of consciousness cannot be attained.
Multiplicity of personality
This novel is not only about tragic condition of one man’s life, but also brings up rather important issues: for instance, the problem of multiplicity of self-identification. The author of the book, as a supporter of psychological theory, which revealed the essence and complexity of the personality, created such type of a person. Harry Galler, the protagonist, is in a internal emotional crisis. One time, he was given a small book called "A Treatise on the Steppenwolf." That book tells about "Harry by the nickname Steppenwolf," who, like Haller, splits his soul into two parts: "Yes, it's me. I am one who is half-wolf and half-man, or thinks himself so at least.". Human part is responsible for the moral part of life, while an animal - the wolf – is considered to be a part of instinct and absurd desires. Moreover, the protagonist is torn between these two selves. Thus, we must not forget, that Harry's life "oscillates, as everyone's does, not merely between two poles, such as the body and the spirit, the saint and the sinner, but between thousand and thousands". And this is true not only for Harry, but for everyone.
Opposite worlds
There are, in Steppenwolf, two opposite worlds are constantly confronted - the world of humanists and the world of bourgeois, the world of humanity and high culture and the world of wool laws of capitalism. Synthesis of these two worlds is impossible, Harry Haller know it very well. In the bourgeois reality, the ideal, which Haller is seeking, is unattainable. It is the fact that becoming only a "wolf" or only a "man" is impossible, while reaching a compromise between these two entities is almost unreal The world is a struggle of natural humanity, inhuman massacres and technical civilization. And this is also the struggle of the poor and the rich. Harry is part of this struggle as a defender of humanity, but he does not have enough strength to change this world by himself. Nevertheless, Hesse shows us that our actions, fighting for the sake of kindness, are of great significance. It teach us to pay attention to the world and other people.
Eternal Values
Everyone knows that eternal values are worth respecting and preserving. In Steppenwolf, next to the real world, there is a symbolic image of the magical theater, which is the kingdom of eternal values. There are immortals in this theater that appear in the images of ‘great spirits’ – Goethe who “…have clearly recognised and felt the riddle and the hopelessness of human life” and Mozart with his music “sincere, unashamedly primitive and childishly happy” and the saxophonist of the restaurant Pablo, does not recognize the conventions of the bourgeois society. Here is a so-called "review of internal, spiritual resources" rights. The story of them, in the novel is the type of lyrical confession, and the allegorical vision of the character’s and society life.
