Demian is a coming-of-age story that follows a young boy's maturation as he grapples with good & evil lightness & darkness & forges alternatives to the ever-present corruption & suffering that he sees all around him Crucial to this development are his relationships with a series of older mentors of who the titular Demian is the most charismatic otherworldly & ultimately influential Many have noted the influence of Jungian psychology upon this novel & it is fascinating to see Herman Hesse's interests in the self existence & free will play out through through the lens of early twentieth-century Europe; Christian imagery & themes are ever-present as is the shadow of the First World War