Leadership Lessons in DemianIn Demian, Hesse uses a comparison to the biblical story of Cain and Abel to convey his ideas about those who are different. The idea keeps coming back, leading the reader to look at it from a very unique perspective. Through this comparison, the reader begins to see the mark of Cain as a positive symbol – as the mark of those who would lead the world into the future of humanity, without fear. When Emil Sinclair meets Max Demian for the first time, he sees that Demian is unlike anyone he has ever known. Subconsciously, he sees Demian as having a mark, something that sets him apart from others. Sinclair doesn't know if it's the adult way Demian behaves, or the vast store of wisdom and truth behind his eyes. Whatever this difference was, it was something that could not be denied. Demian – almost immediately after meeting Sinclair – tells the story of Cain and Abel with a whole new perspective. This greatly upsets Sinclair's little world, in which the pious are always right and the "sinners" are always wrong. Sinclair finds himself both repelled and obsessed by this story. In Demian's version of the story of Cain and Abel, Cain was actually the better man of the two. Abel was described as being weaker, and therefore less necessary to humanity than Cain. Demian had no doubt that this part of the story was true, but he placed much less importance on the idea that Cain was then marked by God. On the contrary, in Demian's version, Cain was labeled by the society in which he found himself. They were afraid of the “slightly sinister look” that... middle of paper ... is obvious, in everyday life, that such people exist. Throughout Demian, Hesse proves that those who bear the mark of Cain in the biblical interpretation of Demian are superior in almost every way. They are innovative, brilliant and strong enough to follow their own path. Hesse does, however, provide a spark of something else, something that not all readers may understand. This spark is the inspiration to look into your own soul and examine yourself honestly. The questions that need to be answered are: “Who am I? Do I bear the mark of Cain? Each answer will be different, but the goal is not to be the same as the others. It's about realizing that we are different from everyone else, and finding the strength to move forward, towards the light of our future... As a leader, not as a follower..