Being Your Better Self Becoming better benefits a bunch of beings. When you become better, you may not know it, but people around you benefit from you trying to improve. This happens to the main protagonist, Santiago because he strives to become better and everyone and everything’s lives around him improve as well. In the novel, The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho, Santiago learns, “When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better, too.” To begin, King Melchizedek tries to become better, and in return Santiago becomes better.
While people come in all shapes in sizes, underneath it all we are still flesh and blood. Even if people have a different skin color or orientation we are all humans living on this earth. This idea, no this fact was really driven home to me when I was traveling with my family around the world. We met people in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Ecuador and though they looked and talked different they had the same needs, concerns and wants. I found a quote by Santiago, a boy in The Alchemist, written by Paulo Coelho that really explains this better than I ever could, “I have inside me the winds, the deserts, the oceans, the stars, and everything in the universe.
Paulo Coehlo’s, The Alchemist, explores the Hero’s Journey through the story of a shepherd, Santiago. Throughout the novel, Santiago becomes more aware of his potential as he pursues his Personal Legend. He faces temptations and obstacles as he develops as a character. The hero crosses the threshold when they leave their old reality in search for a new one. Santiago crosses the threshold by selling his sheep and taking a boat to Africa.
The Alchemist Santiago has many mentors along the way during his journey. He had the alchemist, the crystal merchant, and his own sheep. The alchemist helped Santiago turn himself into the wind. Turning Santiago into the wind saved his life, he was being held captive and when he turned into the wind he was able to escape from the people holding him captive.
Happiness Have you ever worked hard to accomplish something and felt really good about it in the end? Even when you did not get exactly what you were working for? You may be scared to try something at first, and it may actually be scary, but once you complete it, you will feel a great sense of pleasure. You can also learn many new lessons and meet new people who can help you during your journey. This concept is recognized throughout the whole story.
Deontay Burnett Period Religion 10/3/14 The Alchemist Everyone at some point in their lives is faces with their personal treasure. I am one of the enlightened few who aren’t afraid to chase after mine. Since I was young I have had the dream to play professional football. Quite like Santiago
It was the day before Valentine’s Day, and all of the children in the second grade classroom had joyful smiles on their faces. They ran from corner to corner, grabbing supplies for the next day’s decorations. Each person carried a pizza box, awaiting the valentines yet to come, decorated with their name and hearts. Peel and stick letters scattered the floor, and kids zoomed around excited for the coming day. In the corner of the room, next to the numerous shelves full of books, there sat three young girls.
The awards are Cocheco Readers’ Award 2016 for Chapter Book, Cybils Award 2016, nominee, for Young Adult Fiction, and Indies Choice Book Award 2017, finalist, for Young Adult Book. Nevertheless, in my opinion, from what I have read on the reviews and the brief summary of the book, I do see why this book has been recognized so much. The author is writing about history that will definitely attract people and incorporating a mysterious side to it is quite fascinating. Monica Hesse was able to capture the meaning of the Edgar
Something else to note is that each chapter does not start on a new page. The flow of the novel reminded me of a diary. The structure is nothing but unique, which I think was a big factor in it winning a Printz award. Along with this, another standard for a Printz award is “Controversy is not something to avoid. In fact, we want a book that readers will talk about.”
Driven by Fate or Choice? People thought the main characters in the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare were driven by fate, not choice. Others think that Romeo and Juliet are driven by their choice. In the Prologue, we learn that the “star-crossed lovers” will “ take their own life.”
Nothing prevented me from continuing to enjoy the pleasure of reading, save for a few bad books I’ve had to read for school. Having read The Alchemist, I realize that I have many inner resources that I could use to continue my “journey”, specifically, searching out more books to
The Alchemist is a famous book written by Paulo Coelho. It’s about a shepherd named Santiago who travels from his homeland Spain to the Pyramids in Egypt. He does this to find a treasure he was told about. Along his hard journey, he meets some people along the way like a gypsy woman and a king in disguise who all direct him towards his quest. He doesn’t let the obstacles stop him toward his goal and eventually he finds his treasure.
When reading The Alchemist, it amazed me how much I could identify with the book. A quote from the book I really related to was, “He had to choose between something he had become accustomed to and something he wanted to have,” (Coelho 30) I wanted to be happy, I wanted
In life a single event can dramatically change a person forever but how they survive is what matters the most. In Night by Elie Wiesel and The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, two character named Elie and Santiago are placed in life altering situations where they have to figure out how to persevere. Night is a dramatic book that recounts the reprehensible treatment that Elie had to live though during the Holocaust. Elie has to endure deplorable conditions in a Nazi concentration camp and learn to survive. He has to choose to separate himself from his experiences and still have hope. In contrast, The Alchemist is a hopeful book where Santiago goes on a journey and discovers new ideas and hidden treasures.
As Douglas Everett once said,"There are some people who live in a dream world, and there are some who face reality; and then there are those who turn one into the other. " What this essentially means is that there are people who live in dreams, the other’s live in mind and there are some who believe that true meaning of living exists in following their dreams so they try to make their dreams reality. I agree with this quote because some people just dream about things and leave it; while, others don’t believe in dreams at all. Then there are some people who actually try to convert their dreams into reality because they think that dreams are for a reason. This quote is best designed for Paulo Coelho book titled “The Alchemist” as Santiago constantly works to convert his dream into reality
