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Self-reflection introduction
Self-reflection introduction
Self-reflection introduction
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Everyone has a different perspective on life, it can help shape how I live my life, and how I perceive things. By thinking positive, and tuning out some of the negatives in my life, I can further succeed on my path to achieve my dreams. By listening to my heart, which continuously tells me what I truly desire in life, and not listening to society and other people’s opinions, it helps me get that much closer to finding out what my goal and purpose is. If we are really focusing on persevering, and not only using the tools and resources we are given, but finding and creating new ones to help guide the way for us, we can truly find what we desire. I believe that we all have a purpose that is unique for each and every one of us, and if we try hard …show more content…
I will not compromise my responsibilities and school work because of a feeling of sadness. I will make an effort to always be putting 110% of myself into everything I do, while never forgetting my family, and education needs. “The secret to happiness is to see all the marvels of the world, and never forget the drops of oil on the spoon.” (Coelho 32). For me, the drops of oil on the spoon represent my other relationships, family, and my education. While having things going on in an isolated relationship, I can never forget to continue my relationships and caring for my other loved ones such as friends and family. Santiago has this same feeling throughout the whole novel, where event throughout his journey to find his treasure at the Pyramids of Egypt, he tried to keep his sheep which are the equivalent to my responsibilities, until he was unable to continue on his journey with them by his side. I will not only strive to accomplish my goals, and better myself, but I will always remember the oil on the spoon. Therefore, throughout reading Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist, the three lessons that give me a whole new perspective on life, are the quotes about listening to your heart, focusing on living in the present, and most importantly, never forgetting the oil on the spoon. I have learned to always appreciate the people in my life, by not only showing them, but letting them know. I will focus on keeping my priorities
Will Santiago go after his dream? In The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, Santiago has had the same dream twice. He takes it upon himself to discover what this dream means and where the treasure in the dream is located. The people and challenges he faces along the way all present him with a sacrifice. When trying to achieve his goal, Santiago sacrifices his sheep, Fatima temporarily, gold, and time.
Coelho incorporates many internal struggles into Santiago’s life in order to prove that they don’t restrain people from achieving their personal legend. Through the use of the hero’s journey, Santiago faces many internal struggles such as when he attempts to understand
First of all, the author shows that through persevering through adversity anyone can achieve their dreams. During the book Santiago continuously faces problems that he will have to overcome to achieve his Personal Legend. In this scenario, Santiago is in the city of Tangier when he is suddenly robbed of all of his money, by a thief who promised to take him to Egypt. However instead of thinking of himself as a victim of a thief he decides that “I’m an adventurer, looking for treasure” (34). Santiago was able to persevere through a situation that many people would not have been able to overcome and not able to continue their journey. Being able to persevere through
"If someone isn’t what others want them to be, the others become angry. Everyone seems to have a clear ideals of how other people should lead their lives, but none about their own.” That is one of many deep quotes that makes the reader truly think about life in The Alchemist, written by Paulo Coelho. The book is about a young boy named Santiago, who loves travel and adventure, but he does not have the money to do so. He was raised to be a priest, but decides that he would rather be a shepherd, so that he can travel. Santiago’s father gives him two spanish coins, and tells him that he will learn one day that no place is as beautiful as the one he lives in. It seems like Santiago’s father believes in him, but not the way Santiago wants him to.
“ Where your treasure is, there also will be your heart”(159). This is what the alchemist said to the main character. The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho, tells a story of a boy named Santiago, who goes on a long journey to discover his personal legend. As Santiago goes on his journey to pursue his personal legend, he is faced with many challenges, as well as left to make difficult decisions that change him forever. As Santiago travels the world, he becomes a hero. In The Alchemist, Santiago shows characteristics, as well as archetypal characteristics that make him a hero. Santiago displays kindness, bravery and wisdom; also he is considered a hero because he displays many characteristics of an archetypal hero. He displays archetypal characteristics such as: receiving supernatural help, proving himself many times and receiving an apotheosis.
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.
The Theme of “The Alchemist,” by Paulo Coelho is, always follow your dreams and listen to your heart. At the start of the novel Santiago does not know what he should do when he is confronted by his dream. But by the end of the novel Santiago completely trusts his heart to guide him though life. Santiago’s story shows him learning and living out the theme of the novel.
The fear of failure has been implemented into child-hood, as it is the most influential time in a persons life. Santiago’s society taught people from young ages, that your dreams are impossible to achieve. This thinking habit imposed by society would influence the child’s life by letting them grow up not believing in themselves or their abilities. This thinking habit was passed down to Santiago by his own father, who tried to talk him out of the one thing he truely wanted to do in life; travel. “ ‘People from all over the world have passed through this village, son,’ said his father. ‘They come in search of new things, but when they leave they are basically the same people they were when they arrived.’ ” (pg 9) Your family should support your dreams, but because society imprints false ideologies into people, Santiago’s father convinces him to give up on his dreams. Even though Santiago’s father wanted “to travel the world” (pg 9-10) too, he didn’t have the courage to do so which influenced his life by “having had to bury it, over dozens of years,”. Santiago was young and impressionable at the time, and so when his very own father doubted his ability to be able to achieve his dreams, Santiago too grew up to doubt himself. This then influenced Santiago to try to bury his own life callings when faced with his Personal Legend. He used excused, “But there’s a tribal war”, (pg 115) “I
To define one's purpose is at the very least human nature and at the very most the meaning of life. Humans seek the significance of existence and try to define it in many ways. There are thousands of religions and countless seminars to help people discover the point of human existence. The idea that we may all be irrelevant in the grand scheme of life or to the universe is not a popular position. In his short story "The Open Boat" Stephen Crane shows a universe that is unconcerned with the struggles of four men within a small boat lost at sea. Through the characters' experiences Crane shows the human struggle to survive as viewed in a naturalistic perspective as opposed to other prevalent 19th Century concepts.
In Paulo Coelho’s novel The Alchemist the story of the shepherd boy Santiago and his journey to fulfill his Personal Legend unfolds from beginning to end. On his journey Santiago meets several significant male characters that play very important roles in the development of his character, his journey, and his story. There are only a few female characters in The Alchemist, as men dominate the story; however, one of these female characters also plays a very significant role in Santiago’s story. Santiago falls in love with Fatima and this forever changes both of their lives. On the surface, the development of Fatima’s character seems to come from and speak for a male chauvinistic point of view and perspective. Not much is revealed about Fatima or her life other than her love for Santiago. Fatima fully supports Santiago’s quest and encourages him to leave her in search of it. Fatima seems to define herself by her love and support of Santiago, but this does not mean that Fatima’s character is written as such to emphasize a sexist point of view concerning the role of women. This narrative, with the use of Fatima’s character and her role in Santiago’s life, speaks volumes about the role and power of both women and love.
There are many obstacles in everyday life, but none as detrimental to ones future as fear. Fear can cause people to not only avoid achieving their goals in life but it also forces them to think about it throughout every day. Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist shows that those who wallow in fear will never achieve their personal legend, and those who conquer fear will achieve anything they strive for. Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist is a commonly analyzed and criticized piece of literature. One of these articles is Rejendra Kumar Dash’s “Alchemy of the Soul: A Comparative Study of Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha and Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist”. Dash’s article is a literary criticism of the different parts of the character’s journey in The Alchemist. He talks about, in his article, how the theme in The Alchemist is found through analyzing the different parts of Santiago’s journey and what those parts mean. Another one of these articles is Lily Hasanah’s “Decision Making in Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist”. Hasanah’s article is a literary criticism of the main character in The Alchemist, Santiago. She searches for the theme in The Alchemist through analyzing the decisions, and the outcomes of those decisions, made by Santiago. Paulo Coelho provides access to his theme, for the most part, though the actions and adventures of the main character, Santiago. Although this is the method of delivery he had in mind, Dash and Hasanah view the delivery of his theme differently.
The Alchemist conveyed the up-most truthful meaning of santiago’s personal legend by teaching him the soul of the earth. This stage helped santiago and the Alchemist are talking doing what your personal legend is and also doing exactly what your personal legend desires are when they speak in terms of listening to one’s heart. “Whenever your heart is, that is where you’ll find your treasure. Santiago takes initiative on his dreams and pursue them regardless of love affairs and the hurt that comes along with it. The stage encouraged and also motivated santiago to find his treasure and make a better life for fatima and
When reading the Alchemist, there are many lessons inlaid into the book. They teach about life and how to live life to the fullest. About making the right decisions and about taking action. But out of the ten main messages that are inside of the book, I strongly feel that one sticks out. That is to embrace the present.
Too often, we become too caught up in our everyday mundane routines that we forget, or perhaps, never truly see what our purpose is. We forget what truly motivates us to live and what truly drives us to reach a greater goal. Oscar Wilde once said, “To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.” As I look at the people around me, I see ones who furnish their goals with intents of gaining wealth, success, or recognition. However, are they truly happy? How many times have you actually sat down and asked yourself, “why do I do what I do?”.
I truly believe that every single person in the world has a purpose in life. God created each and every one of us for a reason. Whether we know it or not our life is planned and we follow a path throughout our life. In this path, we have the option to make good decisions or bad decisions. In order to achieve salvation and enter a virtuous after life we had to do deeds that had a positive impact on other people. In order to do this though, one must have the self-discipline and devotion to God. There are many obstacles that can get in the way of achieving this goal and the main one is our desires. Desire is a strong feeling of something we want or wish to have. Our desire negatively impacts our life because it detaches our body both physically and emotionally from our mind which then influences us to make morally wrong decisions.