The Alchemist Annotation

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

“You can always turn a bad kisser into a good one,” Laura Prepon. Santiago, the main character of Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist leads a modest and ordinary life as a shepherd. Santiago travelled constantly, exploring the Andalusian terrain. In his travels, Santiago met a woman who interpreted his dreams, and told him his treasure would lie in Egypt at the pyramids. However, Santiago believed that the dream interpreter was a phony, and he continued to herd his sheep. Soon after, he exchanged words with the King of Salem, and Santiago was once again told to venture to Egypt in order to find his treasure. After careful consideration, Santiago sells his precious sheep and begins his journey. An alchemist, somebody who turns lead

“The Rattler” Analytical Essay Authors often use literary devices to display to the reader a greater sense of depth within a piece of literature. The literary devices in “The Rattler” are used to create a fuller meaning within its story. Patric uses these devices to describe and explain the suspenseful encounter between a man and a snake. As a result, the story becomes much more intriguing to the reader’s eyes. In Patric’s “The Rattler,” the reader imagines the story’s events through the use of diction, detail, and point of view.

The quote I will analyze and relate to me is “We are afraid of losing what we have, whether it's our life or possessions and property. ”(page 76). This quote applies to Santiago’s journey, as he had to give up most of his possessions to continue his adventure. The specific events I will be analyzing are Santiago selling his sheep and the thief who stole his money. At the beginning of the book, Santiago always wanted to travel.

Although Ender and Santiago's stories were not alike, they both shared the attributes of a hero's journey, like the call and the mentor stages. In the book Ender's game, Ender demonstrates attributes of a hero's journey, one of which, is the mentor stage. Colonel Graff realized early on in the book that Ender was special. The quote took place towards the end, when it became more and more obvious that Ender was the one.

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.

The reader generates sympathy through the personification of the snake due to the use of language and detail. The rattlesnake is first presented as calm and watchful. At the sight of the man “he” did not rattle, but looked upon the man with “calm watchfulness”. The snake did not feel threatened by the presence of the man and waiting to see how he would respond to the encounter. The rattler can not only be described as fair, but as generous too. Upon feeling

Paulo Coelho has inspired many people around the world with his novel, The Alchemist. The main focus in the book was about a local shepherd boy named Santiago (who behind some slight encouragement from an old gypsy woman as well as an old man that believes himself to be a king) travels from his home country of Spain, to the pyramids located over in the Egyptian desert attempting to uncover the treasure which is buried in the pyramids. Coelho exercises various sorts of images discovered from the beginning to the end of the book such as a sheep, oil and a spoon, the wind, the desert, and lastly Fatima to convey the theme of a journey that is equally important to the goal.

The phrase used by the narrator implies that even when times are difficult, a person who has faith and commitment will achieve its goal. Just like the novel, Santiago runs into numerously difficult situations when trying to find the destination to the treasure he dreamed of.

The writer depicts how the snake exhibits calmness and nonviolence despite his wariness of the man to persuade the reader that the snake did not deserve his brutal death. When the snake spotted the man approaching, he “held his ground in calm watchfulness” and “was not even rattling yet.” The snake meant no harm; he was not threatening the man but was rather regarding him with a cautious curiosity. The snake’s passive nature aids in reassuring the reader that the snake is not necessarily a danger. Nevertheless, the man went to retrieve a hoe with the intention of killing the snake. The snake exerted more effort into avoiding conflict with the man to gain sympathy from the reader and to illustrate the man as a relentless assailant. When the man returned, the snake “shot into a dense bush” and “shook his fair but furious signal.” The snake was resorting to retreat tactics and peace proposals. Even in

The book, The Alchemist, written by Paulo Coelho, conveys many messages relating to life and society. The book outlines the story of a boy named Santiago who goes on a journey to the pyramids of Egypt, to find treasure. Along his way he learns about the concept of predetermined destiny, and the soul of the universe. One major moral shown within the book, is the idea that you should always pursue your dreams, despite minor obstacles, as you never know where it may take you.

‘’ The desert will give you an understanding of the world; in fact, anything on the face of the earth will do that. You don’t even have to understand the desert: all you have to do is contemplate a simple grain of sand, and you will se in it all the marvels of creation.’’ (127)

The Alchemist is a journey of exploration and self-discovery as we follow the main character, Santiago, a young shepherd who lives in Spain, on a journey to fulfill his personal legend. The novel shows us wisdoms and gentle reminders of how to change our lives from what they may be today into the life we have always dreamed of.

Fatima: A beautiful girl, whom Santiago is in love with, who lives at Al-Fayoum Oasis.