The Alchemist Freshman Summer Honors Project

1. In the Alchemist, it says that our lives are incomplete without love. What do you think

In the book there are a lot of characters, but the main characters are Santiago, The Alchemist, Fatima, Englishman and the Crystal Merchant. I am choosing to write the Analysis on Santiago, he is the protagonist. Santiago is a shepherd from Spain, he kept on having a recurring dream about a treasure in the Egypt. He was determined to find his treasure and learn about the world. His parents wanted him to become a priest, but instead became a Shepherd because of his desire to travel throughout the country. Santiago was hesitant at first, but it all changed when he met a king from Salem, he explained about omens and powers of nature. This quote was the inspiration “And dreams are the language of God. When he speaks in our language,

How to Read Literature like a Professor, by Thomas C. Foster, is like painting a picture; with painting the first step is to paint inside the lines, but an advanced artist understands that a picture is made up of not just color, texture, and shapes, but also considers the purpose behind each stroke. Foster brings a different meaning to reading a book and draws attention to the author and his or her intention. While applying Fosters teaching's to Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist, the main character, Santiago's journey becomes more than a journey- it turns into a quest. Simple drinks and foods turn symbolic into acts of communion and while

The Alchemist, a novel written by Paulo Coelho teaches us about the importance of self-discovery and exploration by taking us through the journey of a young Andalusian shepherd, Santiago. Paulo Coelho was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on August 24th 1947, to Pedro Quiema Coelho de Souza, an engineer, and his wife, Lygia, a homemaker. Paulo early on had dreamed of an artistic career and then after his surroundings in Jesuit school, he discovered his true vocation was to be a writer (Coelho 195). Upon telling his mom, she told him that his father was an engineer, a reasonable and logical man and had a clear view of the world. At the age of 16, Paulo’s opposition against following a traditional path led to his parents committing him into a mental institution (Paulo Coelho). To satisfy his parents, he enrolled in law school. However, it led him to mental illness and failing his career. After many years, he gave a shot at his dream profession and started to write. Paulo wrote The Pilgrimage: Diary of Magus which described his experiences and his discovery that the extraordinary occurs in the lives of ordinary people. He was the recipient of numerous international awards, amongst them the Crystal Award by the World Economic Forum. The Pilgrimage was published in 1987 and The Alchemist was published in 1988, a year after. Both novels appeared on the best sellers list but The Alchemist continued to sell more copies than any other book in Brazilian literary history. The Alchemist,

Some may refer to The Alchemist as a best-selling novel written by Paulo Coelho which explains the ideas of having a dream, or Personal Legend, and going through obstacles to conquer it. The book starts off like any other, introducing and describing the main characters, in this case Santiago is the first to share the interest of peers reading the story. He is said to be a small town shepherd boy who will do anything for his flock of sheep. In the opening scene of the story, Santiago takes his flock to an abandoned church and lies down under a sycamore tree hoping to get some rest. He is soon woken up from a disturbing dream which foreshadows further into the story of his own Personal Legend. Later in the book, Santiago is faced with multiple tests to be successful in finding his treasure. “Remember that wherever your heart is, there you will find your treasure” (Coelho 15). Paulo continues to add characters in the book that help Santiago throughout his journey.

So far The Alchemist has presented itself as a narrative that is constructed around a protagonist following his dreams. Though, the pattern has seemed to take a dark twist by highlighting every human flaw, at least up until this point, that holds back the human spirit from achieving it’s “personal journey”. After entering a strange new world, with a population consisting of “infidels”, Santiago quickly finds himself robbed of all of his money. It seems that his weakness lies in his inability to adapt to a change in environment. Santiago has many prejudices against Tangier, such as a different language, religion, and different social norms that end up backfiring on him. It was the false comfort of a man who spoke his language that ended up leaving

Have you ever encountered problems while trying to fulfill a goal in your life? In the book The Alchemist, written by Paulo Coelho, a shepherd boy named Santiago overcomes obstacles to reach his personal legend. Throughout the book Santiago encounters many friends to help him fulfill his destiny. Santiago encounters many problems throughout the story. He overcomes them with the help of his friends and his wife-to-be. These problems shape Santiago into a dignified man of many traits.

Although a hero seems like a faraway distant character who possesses a unique ability that saves humanity, an everyday citizen in society holds the ability to impact the lives of others can become a hero. In the novel, The Alchemist, the protagonist, Santiago, travels as a shepherd but ultimately, follows The Hero’s Journey Archetype. As Santiago pursues a journey for treasure and self-knowledge, Santiago faces several difficult challenges and character-defining moments that assess his ability to succeed. Coelho depicts Santiago as following the stages of the Hero’s Journey Archetype such as The Mentor, The Abyss, and the Return to the World. Thus, Coelho employs The Hero’s Journey Archetype to demonstrate the

It is through our trials that we build our character. Without challenges we could not become stronger; and without strength we could not move forward. Just think, if man was not challenged by extreme weather, we would not have shelter, or if man was not challenged by disease, we would not have modern medicine. In the same way, individuals are face challenges that make them better and help them progress in their lives. People like Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, and Mahatma Ghandi were prime examples of this truth.

The alchemist is a well written book that accurately describes every concept about life and explains it through a story. The Alchemist is a book about a shepherd named Santiago, who discovers his personal legend and receives help from others to help achieve his Personal Legend and learns many major life lessons along the way. Santiago gets advice that when life puts him down, keep getting back up and to focus on the task at hand, which is Santiago’s own personal legend. Along the the journey, Santiago receives help from many different characters but only three characters who helped him the most throughout his quest for his Personal legend is the alchemist, the Old King and the Englishman. The best advice a reader is able to gain from this story is the advice the the Old King taught Santiago, which is” there is only one thing that makes achieving a dream impossible to achieve, the fear of failure” which means is to never be afraid of failures and to follow your own path God has laid out for you because if you are too afraid to pursue your personal legend, meaning if people are too afraid to take risks to make their own life better than it already is now, then they will not have the opportunity to accomplish their own goals. In Coelho's The Alchemist, Santiago learns the Soul of the World through experience, patience, time and help from the Old King, the Englishman and the alchemist.

The book The Alchemist was about a young man named Santiago who followed his dream to discover a hidden treasure. As Santiago progressed throughout his journey, his character changed a lot. Santiago, a man who has great instincts, is afraid to trust his dream at the beginning of the book but over time becomes more and more confident with his choices in in this aspect he changes from the beginning of the book to the end.

Admittedly, another way Dahl’s writing is successful is his use of utilization to develop the characters in the story. In the exposition, Dahl introduces us to the narrator Timber, Harry’s friend.As the author states, “'Don't move and don't talk any more unless you have to, you know it won't bite unless it's frightened. We'll fix it in no time.' I went softly out of the room in my stocking feet and fetched a small sharp knife from the kitchen. I put it in my trouser pocket ready to use instantly in case something went wrong while we were still thinking out a plan. If Harry coughed or moved or did something to frighten the krait and got bitten, I was going to be ready to cut the bitten place and try to suck the venom out”(Dahl, 3). This claim illustrates

Even though personal legends may seem like they are governed by fate and must be completed, characters in The Alchemist do not always do this. Once the naivety of childhood wears off and characters are exposed to the harshness of reality, they may give up or get distracted. “But, as time passes, a mysterious force begins to convince them that it will be impossible for them to realize their destiny.” (Coelho 32) The baker near the area where

Alchemist is already explained in the story as it is the ability to purify your soul, listen to your heart and speak the language of the world. The title is, then, to show us, the readers, that anyone can achieve his/her dream by possessing the characteristics of alchemist as exactly as the shepherd boy, Santiago.

1)Why does Coelho open with the modified myth of Narcissus? How does the new version differ from the original one? How does it change the myth’s meaning? What might the author be suggesting about how we perceive ourselves and the world?