Dive InSeptember 3, 2009

• In your binder, write a response to the following prompt:

– What is your personal legend? How would you go about pursuing it?

The Alchemist

Paulo Coelho

Biography

Paulo Coelho on the Road to Santiago

Biography• Paulo Coelho has led an extremely interesting

life. Rebelliousness defined his youth. He was a hippie. He wrote popular lyrics for some of Brazil's most famous pop music stars, including Elis Regina and Raul Seixas. Shortly after, he worked as a journalist.

• In 1986 Paulo Coelho walked the Road to Santiago, a medieval pilgrim's route between France and Spain. He later described this experience in ‘The Pilgrimage’, published in 1987. The following year, his second book ‘The Alchemist’ established his worldwide fame.

Characters• Santiago

– a Shephard in search of his destiny. Santiago’s passion and ambition inspires him to see the world and follow his personal legend of discovering a treasure in Egypt. He gains wisdom throughout his travels and this wisdom allows him to understand the mysteries of the world.

• King Melchizedek– an old wise man who inspires Santiago to sell his sheep and

pursue the treasure. Throughout the story he is a symbol of truth and his wisdom surprises and shocks people.

• The Alchemist– understands the language of the world and helps Santiago

understand that all people are connected to the soul of the universe. He serves as a guide to Santiago. He has the ability to turn lead into gold.

Alchemy: [al-kuh-mee] -noun

1. a form of chemistry and speculative philosophy practiced in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance and concerned principally with discovering methods for transmuting baser metals into gold and with finding a universal solvent and an elixir of life.

2. any magical power or process of transmuting a common substance, usually of little value, into a substance of great value.

Themes

• Theme: /theem/ -noun 1. a subject of discourse, discussion, meditation, or composition; topic: The need for world peace was the theme of the meeting.

2. a unifying or dominant idea, motif, etc., as in a work of art.

Themes: Fate versus Will

Fate is constantly intertwined with will, and a key theme of the book focuses on how much in life is under one's control, and how much is controlled by fate.

Example?

The old king states that the world's greatest lie is that "at some point during our lives, we lose control of what's happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate."

Dive inSeptember 4, 2009

Coelho states that “simple things are the most valuable and only wise people appreciate them.” Produce a written or artistic response which depicts something that is “simple” yet valuable to you. Be prepared to explain specifically why/ how the item is valuable.

Note: if you choose to be artistic, please give a written explanation of your work.

Themes: LoveLove is described as a part of the Soul of the World. Love occurs in life and Nature.

Examples?– Santiago tells the desert that it shows love for the alchemist's falcon by offering it game, after which the falcon shows love to man as it offers the game to eat, and the man shows love for the desert as after one dies, his body is reintegrated into the desert sands.

– There is also love in people, demonstrated by Santiago's love of Fatima's beauty, and Santiago's knowing that it is part of his Personal Legend to love her.

– There is true love, a brief definition given by the alchemist; "True love is love that allows you to reach your Personal Legend."

Themes: Spiritual Enlightenment

In The Alchemist, a kind of spiritual enlightenment is accomplished by fulfilling one's Personal Legend, and adding to the Soul of the World, which is the "light" of most religions.

Example?The spiritual influence of this book is omniscient, for example in Santiago's "turning himself into the wind" stunt.

• Omniscient: [om-nish-uhnt] adjective 1. having complete or unlimited knowledge, awareness, or understanding; perceiving all things. –noun

2. an omniscient being. 3. the Omniscient, God.

Motifs

• Motif: [moh-teef] -noun 1. a recurring subject, theme, idea, etc., esp. in a literary, artistic, or musical work.

2. a distinctive and recurring form, shape, figure, etc., in a design, as in a painting or on wallpaper.

3. a dominant idea or feature: the profit motif of free enterprise.

Motifs: OmensOmen: [oh-muhn] -noun 1. anything perceived or happening that is believed to

portend a good or evil event or circumstance in the future; portent.

– Being able to observe and read omens is a key motif. Examples:– Santiago recognizes the hole in his pouch through

which Urim and Thummin fell in Tangier as an omen, – The crystal merchant of Tangier recognizes Santiago's

presence in the shop as an omen, as two customers came into the shop as he was cleaning the crystals for the merchant.

– Santiago later finds that going to the desert was a good omen, as he was able to meet Fatima, his love.

– Santiago reads omens in the flight of two hawks and has a premonition of an attack on the oasis as he is in the Sahara Desert.

Motifs: Personal LegendsThe Personal Legend is a being's reason to live. Everything in

the world has a Personal Legend, and by reaching one's Personal Legend, one adds to the Soul of the World, the purity of the world.

Examples: The boy's Personal Legend is obvious, to find his treasure at

the Egyptian pyramids. The alchemist fulfilled his Personal Legend, to become a true alchemist and accomplish the Master Work. The crystal merchant's Personal Legend is to visit Mecca, and the Tarifa baker's Personal Legend is to travel the world.

The Personal Legend of Santiago drives him to his treasure as he chooses to accomplish his Personal Legend, just as the alchemist’s was to become the most famed alchemist in the world. Others, like the Tarifa baker and the crystal merchant, choose to ignore the Personal Legend, and thus shape their life to be forever wanting.

Allusions

• Allusion: [uh-loo-zhuhn] -noun

1. a passing or casual reference; an incidental mention of something, either directly or by implication: an allusion to Shakespeare.

2. the act of alluding.

3. Obsolete. a metaphor; parable.

Allusions• Melchizedek is a figure mentioned by various sects of both Christian and Judaic traditions. He is commemorated as one of the Holy Forefathers in the Calendar of Saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church on July 30.

• Melchizedek's name can be translated (from Hebrew) as “Zedek is my king” or “My king is righteous”.

Allusions

Statue of Melchizedek. Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome.

Allusions

Meeting of Abraham and Melchizedek by Dieric Bouts the Elder, 1464-1467

Allusions• The Philosopher’s Stone

The philosopher's stone is a legendary substance, supposedly capable of turning inexpensive metals into gold.

• The first book in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series is entitled, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. In the United States, the title was changed to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.

The Alchemist in Search of

the Philosophers Stone, by Joseph

Wright. 1771.

The Original Harry Potter

Vocabulary

• Alchemy• Theme• Omniscient• Motif• Omen• Allusion

Homework

1. Get CD signed by Tuesday

2. Acquire all class required materials!

3. Bring “The Alchemist” to class!