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A essay on christopher columbus
A essay on christopher columbus
Background about christopher columbus
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57. Santiago encountered many omens, identify and describe as many as you can. When Santiago met the King, a butterfly flew in between them and he remembered that his grandfather had once said that butterflies, crickets and other things were good omens. Another omen Santiago encountered was when he was at the oasis and he saw two hawks fighting. This omen revealed the violence that was approaching the oasis. Towards the end of his journey, Santiago encounters a scarab beetle when he arrived at the pyramids. He then remembers that in Egypt scarab beetles are a symbol of God. This omen shows him where to dig for his treasure. Finally Santiago’s stones that the king gave him acted as omens because the black one, Thummim symbolized “No” and the
white one, Urim symbolized “yes”. When the black one fell it was a bad sign and when the white one fell it was a good sign.
Olympics Games Rio 2016 is on in full swing and the name Michael Phelps has cropped up several times during the past few days. Just recently he won his 19th Olympic gold medal. But getting there was not easy for him. I read an article recently about his journey so far and could find similarities in his journey to those of Santiago in The Alchemist.
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.
After Santiago has had his dream interpreted, he sets out on a journey with the guidance of many people such as a king and a new friend. Firstly, Santiago meets a king who tells him that he can help him find his treasure if he gives him a tenth of his sheep. Santiago then sold all but one tenth of his sheep, which left him with a lot of money and a treasure he sought (Coelho 31). Now that he has no sheep left, he has nothing left to go back to, and has to start his journey. During the crossing of the first threshold stage, Santiago has to decide to take a step in which he gives everything up to pursue his personal legend. Now that Santiago has a lot of money, he is able to make the voyage to his treasure, but first he must get guidance. A boy he meets in a bar serves as a guide who holds his money for him, until when Santiago is not looking, the boy runs off with all of his money (Coelho 41). Santiago now has no money left and no sheep left. During the belly of the whale stage, Santiago faces a very impactful hindrance in which he is left with nothing but hope for finding. Lastly, Santiago faces many external struggles while on his journey across the desert towards the treasure in his dream. After traveling with a caravan during the hot days and very cold nights, Santiago learns that it is unsafe because there are tribal wars
In the beginning of the book, Santiago travels to visit a Gypsy who is said to be able interpret his recurring dream. As a child he had always heard stories about Gypsies capturing children, taking them to their camps and making them their slaves. These stories translated into one of his largest fears for Santiago as a child and that fear returned when he visited the Gypsy, “As a child, the boy had always been frightened to death that he would be captured by Gypsies, and this childhood fear returned when the old woman took his hand” (17). The Gypsy eventually tells Santiago that there is treasure located at the Egyptian Pyramids. Without being able to overcome his fears of Gypsies, Santiago may have never went on a journey to Egypt in order to achieve his personal legend. Another example in the book that shows Santiago overcoming his fears is while Santiago and the Alchemist are travelling towards the Pyramids. They are suddenly captured by a desert tribe at war, who mistakes them for spies. In order to save his life Santiago has to turn himself into the wind. Coelho states, “But the boy was too frightened to listen to words of wisdom. He had no idea how he was going to transform himself into the wind” (83). Two days later Santiago is standing in front of the tribal chieftains trying to turn himself into the wind. He is able to stay calm while his life is on the line and
When an author uses imagery, it can have a positive effect not only on the story, but also the reader. Such effects make the reader feel more involved and keeps them interested, wondering what will happen next. In “The Alchemist”, the author uses imagery to guide the reader through Santiago’s journey. Santiago meets many people while exploring the sites ahead of him and searching for his treasure. Imagery allows a story to be shown instead of told. In the story, the author uses an abundance of imagery to create a more personal experience by extensively describing what characters look like, and allow the reader to become a character in the text.
Santiago guides his flock throughout the fields of Andalusia. He finds an old abandoned church and churchyard where he and his flock can spend the night. He sleeps on the stone floor using his book as a pillow. He anticipates his approach the Andalusian village where, one year prior, he met a merchant's daughter. Santiago and his flock approach the town. He has been herding this flock for two years. He often reflects about what he has learned from his sheep and what they have learned from him. He observes that the sheep depend fully on him to lead them to food and water. Not having to forage food for themselves, they have forgotten their instincts.
People often do not realize their differences, but the differences in people are what set them apart from all others. In Paul Coelho’s “The Alchemist” two characters do such actions. The main character, Santiago, and the arguably secondary character, the Englishman, do such aforementioned actions. The two characters meet in a caravan that is traveling across the Saharan Desert. Although they do have some pretty interesting similarities, their differences are what intrigue the reader more.
“ 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.
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.
Urim and Thummim are an important symbol in the book because they represent the omens. Santiago wanted to know if he was going to find his treasure or not by asking a man in Tangier, so the story states that, “He stuck his hand into the pouch, and felt around for one of the stones. As he did so, both of them pushed through a hole in the pouch and fell to the ground. The boy had never even noticed that there was a hole in his pouch. He knelt down to find Urim and Thummim and put them back in the pouch But as he saw them lying there on the ground, another phrase came to his mind. ‘Learn to recognize omens, and follow them,’ the old king had said” (p. 44). This piece of text evidence supports that Urim and Thummim are an important symbol in the book because it shows that Urim and Thummim can tell omens. Urim and Thummim are a part of the significance of the book because they can represent multiple omens while telling them to people and without these stones, Santiago wouldn’t have been able to find multiple omens across the
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.
When santiago was tested to turn into wind, he began to reach into the sandstorm and communicate with all the naturistic attributes.This represented his death. Santiago getting robbed for his gold & finding a solution to where his treasure was represented his rebirth in my opinion. “Tents being blown from their ties to the earth and animals were free from their tethers. The boy stood up shakily and looked once more at the pyramids. They seemed to laugh at him and he laughed back, his heart blasting with joy. This stage in santiago’s life represented resilience in its finest form, causing santiago to glide across this stage so profoundly. Santiago’s victory was a long time that was in deserving of coming. He deserved his treasure for believing in
The Price of Success Paulo Coelho's argument does have merit. Yes, everyone has a personal calling, but not all of us are able to achieve it due to our lack of courage. In most cases such as mine, fear is the root of all my problems; it shackles me. However, this is not the case for Santiago, in the novel The Alchemist, and with that I found exaltation. In the novel, Santiago manages to overcome all the obstacles that he happens upon whether it be internally or externally. The dilemma's that he encounters, I strongly identify with because I contend with them daily: the fear of responsibility, suffering and most of all the fear of failure.
On his journey to learn more about the soul of the world, Santiago met the old King of Salem, Melchizedek. He introduces several of the key concepts that we see repeated throughout the novel, The Alchemist. For example, he tells Santiago about Personal Legends, the Soul of the World, and Beginner’s Luck. The King also gives him Urim and Thummin, which represent “yes” and “no” to help guide him on his journey. Melchizedek is the first character to display magical powers that convince Santiago to pursue his dream of finding a treasure. The King once said, “Never stop dreaming, and follow the omens,” (Coelho 64). Two years later, these words helped him continue on his journey to fulfilling his destiny.
Placida Linero, Santiago's mother is one example of superstition with is the book. "She had a well earned reputation as an accurate interpreter of other people's dream, provided they were told to her before eating, but she hadn't notice any ominous augury in those two dream of her son's" (1-2) Santiago's character also represents this element of magical realism. The statement " Nor did Santiago Nasar recognize the omen" not only reveals his superstition but also the common faith put in superstition. There must have been some sign of the, foreshadowing or coming of his death that he could have seen. It is funny how these omens are more readily accessible after it is too late.