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Critical Analysis of The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Major theme of the Alchemist
Critical Analysis of The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
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A smart student can learn from many sources. List and discuss some of Santiago’s important “teachers,” whether they be animal, human, natural, or divine. Use at last two quotes. The alchemist was one of santiago's major teachers in the novel. the alchemist taught him the soul of the world, how to read the world, and alchemy. santiago also “learned things from the sheep, and I’ve learned things from crystal, he thought. I can learn something from the desert too. It seems old and wise”. (76) the sheep had also taught him that there was a universal language that everyone understood“...the sheep had taught him something even more important: that there was a universal language in the world that everyone understood...It was the language of enthusiasm,
When reading How to Read Literature Like a Professor along with The Alchemist, or any book for that matter, readers are able to dig deeper between the lines and come to conclusions that are not so obvious. Knowing how to digest literature can prove to be helpful since connections inside and outside of the text can easily be seen. The Alchemist sends us different messages throughout the end, leaving the reader to decide if the message is to follow our Personal Legends, or to realize it is just a dream. After reading How to Read Literature Like a Professor thoughts are directed to the follow your Personal Legend since Foster tells us to use Biblical clues to unearth the truth, as well as character actions that point to certainty. When you have an extra reading device to help interpret, the text seems to come alive. Through Fosters ideas I have come to the conclusion that the alchemist referred to on the cover of the book is not the alchemist that we meet in the center of the novel, but rather Santiago and becoming an alchemist is his personal
Santiago’s early behavior of transcendentalism are evident when he nullifies and rejects his parents’ longing for him to become priest, and instead decides to remain a shepherd of Andalusia and learn the indecipherable language of the world. When Santiago’s father tries to persuade Santiago that travelling with a herd of sheep does not impact and change a person, Santiago replies, “But I’d like to see the castles in the towns where they live,”… “Well, I’d like to see their lands, and see how they live” (Coelho 9). Santiago’s early rejections of becoming a priest and perusing his life as a shepherd clearly demonstrates that Santiago’s comprehension and understanding of life does not include the following a decided future, but exploring and discovering the world with own eyes. Furthermore, when Santiago decides to define his Personal Legend by voyaging to the Pyramids of Giza, he is faced and challenged with many hardships that will require critical thinking and extremely important verdicts. When, for example, held hostage by Moorish chieftains and given the daunting task to disintegrate the Moorish military camp by transforming into the wind, Santiago communicates with nature’s elements, “I learned the alchemist’s secrets in my travels. I have inside me the winds, the deserts, the oceans, the stars, and everything created in the universe. We were all made by the same hand, and we have the same soul” (Coelho 146). Eventually, Santiago learns that all aspects of biotic and abiotic existence are controlled by a creator, and maintained by the Soul of the World. Manifestly, Santiago’s adventures revolutionized him into a prudent, wise man and reflect the
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.
Paulo Coelho shows that Santiago is determined in The Alchemist. No matter what he does, he always has his mind set towards achieving his personal legend. "I'm an adventurer, looking for treasure"(162). Along his journey, Santiago encounters 4 emotionally obstacles. Santiago was told at a very young age that its impossible to achieve your personal legend. He meets the King and Santiago is told that once you learn what your personal legend is, you will not be afraid to go out and dream. Santiago and the Alchemist run into a tribe of Arab soldiers, who hold them captive and the Alchemist tells them that Santiago can turn himself into wind and destroy everything. Santiago doesn't believe he can do it and the Alchemist tells him the only thing
In The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho an Andalusian boy named Santiago leaves Spain to travel to Egypt in order to achieve his Personal Legend. During his journey he meets four people, a Gypsy, a King named Melchizedek, an Englishman and an Alchemist, all of whom help Santiago along his journey towards his Personal Legend. However, only the King and the Alchemist teach Santiago lessons that he can learn from and use along his journey. The King teaches Santiago two lessons, to follow omens and that it is not always about the destination but that it is also about the journey. The Alchemist teaches Santiago to listen to his heart for guidance, what the Language of the World is and what the Soul of the World is. He eventually arrives in Egypt after
Before a teacher can impart knowledge to a student, the teacher must first understand how this can be done. The teacher should know the various ways people learn, and she specifically must seek to understand her own students’ intellectual strengths. Using Howard Gardner’s Th...
In the novel the alchemist tells Santiago that “when you possess great treasures within you and try and tell others of them, seldom you are believed.” The alchemist tells santiago this after he informs the tribal warriors that he has a philosopher's stone, a stone that can turn any metal into gold, and a drink that can make anyone life forever but they just laugh at him. Another time is when the boy is doubted when he informs the chief of the oasis that a group of tribal warriors is going
Santiago is a heroic figure because he was always kind to others. He was always helping someone with something. For example: when Santiago was working at the Crystal shop, he helped the Crystal Merchant, improve his business. When Santiago was leaving the Crystal Shop, the merchant stated “You brought a new feeling into my Crystal Shop”(61). The Crystal Merchant is talking about how much Santiago has changed his business. Santiago has helped the merchant’s business by making a display case to put outside the store, cleaning all the crystal and adding new things, such as the tea. Santiago also helped an Englishman by helping him find the Alchemist. The Englishman wanted to speak to an alchemist. The Englishman stated “I need you to help me find out where the alchemist lives”(90). Because the Englishman requested for help, Santiago helped him. It took over half a day to find the alchemist, but fi...
“A teacher is a compass that activates the magnets of curiosity, knowledge, and wisdom in the pupils.” – Ever Garrison
All of my Towslee teachers were some of the best that I have ever had. This being said, out of all of them, one of the most influential teachers I had was Miss Boyer (now Mrs. Mellis). I remember that I had her for her first year teaching – it was so much fun. It was easy to see that she loved her job. I hope to be as enthusiastic of a teacher as her. being young at the time (it was second grade), I was still really impressionable and her teaching methods, along with the positive experiences that I had in her class, helped to mold my strong work ethic and yearning to gain more knowledge. To this day, I still use some of the little tricks that Miss Boyer taught us to aid us in remembering things. In fact, in my geography class last semester
She thought that if she was going to be in a bad mood, she was going to take
Throughout my years of school I learned a lot of things. Math, english, science….they were all a part of it but what I really remember is the things I was taught not by teachers but by people.
Also, you can learn people, organizations, and life in general. Life is the greatest teacher because of the experiences you have during your lifetime, the vase types of trials everyone has to go through, and the duration of life is left up to you; giving you to learn something new every day of your life. The most common way people learn in life is by means of interacting with other people. For instances, this is a situation that actually
Mr. Geis- the tall, bike-riding Calculus teacher who truly made me realize the value of education. As far as academics were concerned, I believed I had always tried my best in reaching my full potential. That is, until
To a small extent, the knower can only control his or her own knowledge so much without someone already giving them knowledge to have through examples, experiences or opinions, or coming from instincts or their own equipped personal experience to know things from. An example is George Washington Carver, who let his faith in God lead him to the knowledge he gained of growing peanuts when he was still alive. George Washington Carver stated while at a peanut growing committee meaning, “If you go to the first chapter of Genesis in the bible, we can interpret very clearly, I think, what God intended when he said 'Behold, I have given you every herb that bears seed. To you it shall be meat. ' This is what He means about it. It shall be meat. There is everything there to strengthen and nourish and keep the body alive and healthy." Another example is Teachers being a role model for students in school. Teachers guide and show students for the most part how to gain their knowledge through their methods of teaching. Teachers have learned from their experiences and studied hard to be able to teach other people what they know and how they learned to know what they know. A person who pursues knowledge has to understand the way of thinking from his perspective towards the information. If that person is open minded, their perspective towards the pursuit of knowledge would be expansive and eager towards new