The Life of Paulo Coelho

Foreshadowing or first obstacle helps to identify, or gives a hint (idea) of what the problem of the story is. Paolo Coelho has several foreshadowing events in the Alchemist; for example, the scene in which Santiago relates his dream to the gypsy, regarding the Egyptian pyramids. The dream itself is an indication of a foreshadowing event. It indicates the events that eventually will occur through the book, ‘’gives a taste of the problem ‘’.

You can learn so much from going out and experiencing life and new cultures. The Alchemist is about a young man, Santiago and his journey to find treasure at the pyramids. He meets many new people and learns many new things. In the end he was able to grow in his knowledge of the world because he pursued his Personal Legend. In Paulo Coelho’s novel, The Alchemist he portrays literary devices such as symbolism and imagery to develop the theme that critical knowledge comes from life experiences.

As Santiago continues his journey, the author places the theme of love and unity of nature. He alludes to the liveliness and hope the heart naturally creates to empower this encouraging tone. He shares that, “your heart is alive. Keep listening to what it has to say” (147). The idea that the heart can speak conveys hope not only to Santiago, but also to the readers reading The Alchemist. Once again creating this peaceful, hopeful tone in the novel. Paulo also uses personification in the story to embody a lively, hopeful tone. He phrases his sentences like “the wind’s curiosity arouse”(147) to spark ideas and obtain an optimistic tone. Not only does the description of the wind, as if it was 3 year old seeing snow for the first time, connect with readers, it also uses word choice that intrigues readers and brings in reader’s focus. Paulo Coelho does a marvelous job at perfectly describing scenes that allow readers to connect but also read in this hopeful

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.

For two more weeks I remained in the hospital. Three times every day a nurse brought me a tray with a meal and medication. She watched as I swallowed the tablets, but never as I ate the meal. Compared to a normal sized portion of food, what I was given in hospital would be considered small, but my stomach was far too used to rations beyond small. Most days I was able to eat almost half a plate of pasta before my stomach rebelled and decided to throw it all back up again.

When someone has the right motivation, anyone can overcome adversity. In The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, a boy named Santiago is on a journey to find his personal legend with the help of many characters. Consequently, he develops into a well-rounded person from the obstacles he overcomes. Coelho explains that if an individual persists in dreaming about a “treasure,” not only should one search for it, but also learn from the journey. This comes into act when Santiago is constantly in search for his desire. The author shows how Santiago defeats the challenges he must face in order to get to his treasure. As well as meeting other characters to help him alongside with his travels.

Coelho was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Concerned with his teenage rebelliousness and desire to be a writer, his parents sent him to a mental institution, where he received electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). In 1970 Coelho dropped out of law school and traveled around South America,

“Take it do as I ask” I insisted to Elie (pg.75). I wanted to give my only son our family’s inheritance, but he was refusing to accept it. I take one long look at Elie, observing of his face. Although I was shaking with fear I put on a brave face for my son. “Time is running out” I said with pain in my voice as I tried to convince him one last time before it’s too late (pg. 75). He finally caved in and took it. Now the most painful part came and we said our final goodbyes. As I walked away, I looked back thinking that would be the last time I ever saw my son; it took everything in me not to break down and cry. Every step I took seemed to be getting heavier and heavier as if my feet knew that the end was near. We all walked in a line with our

Poe was born into a traveling family in 1809 and had two other siblings. His parents tragically lost their lives three years later and he had to live with a foster family, separated from his two siblings, who went to live with other families. In the home of Mr. and Mrs. Allan, Poe worked for his foster parents until 1926, when he decided to attend the University of Virginia at Richmond. His troubles began here because he lived in poverty due to inadequate education funds from his foster parents, and eventually returned home to begin his writing career. To worsen his state of being, Poe found his fiancée was seeing another man, and had lost interest in him. Disheveled by events, Poe set out to become a great poet, but not before he would be riddled with more grief.

An author’s life can impact their writing drastically. Edgar Allan Poe’s writing had certainly been impacted by his life. Poe was born by his mother, Eliza Poe, in 1809. However, his alcoholic father, David Poe Jr., had left him. His mother later died of Tuberculosis when he was still young. Although he had joined the Allan Family, this absence of his parents brought him to be lonely. His foster father, John Allan, raised Poe as if he was his own, but Poe and his foster father tended to argue as Poe became to disrespect him. This brought John a negative outlook on Poe. His father’s doubt made him become stressed and miserable. Poe left his family to become a poet in Boston. He did not make much money

I had the pleasure of interviewing Pedro Castillo. He is seven years old, Cuban, and is in Ms. Neer’s first grade class. Despite English he is one of the few students in his class that is above average, he is reading at a second grade level.

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,

Moreover, these complications even stem over to Henry’s guilt about the war. After arriving in Switzerland, Henry states, “The war seemed as far away as the football games of some one else’s college. But I knew from the papers that they were still fighting in the mountains because the snow would not come” (FTA, 291). Even in Switzerland, Henry cannot escape hearing about the war. While when he escapes the war, Henry cannot escape the guilt of deserting his friends, showing that his inner truth is not that simple. Even his inner meaning from existentialism has complications. With this idea, Friedrich Nietzsche states, “‘All truth is simple.’ Is that not doubly a lie?” This dichotomy between the simple and the complicated demonstrates nihilism’s

In J.M. Coetzee’s novel Waiting for the Barbarians, the Magistrate comes to discover the humanity of the barbarian through his interactions with the blind girl, which eventually leads him to learn about the nature of his own humanity. Although the Magistrate is more lenient on the Barbarians than Colonel Joll, he still unknowingly objectifies them, while placing himself above them. It is only when he is imprisoned that he comes to realize the fragility of his own humanity. Ultimately Coetzee uses the magistrate’s journey from empirical leader to broken and fearful prisoner to express that peace and stability between people can only be obtained when all humanity is valued.

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.