Tuesday, 3/25
The Human Condition
- In the face of adversity, what causes some people to prevail while others fail?
- What is the meaning of life?
- What is the meaning of life and does that shape our beliefs?
- Are we governed/guided by fate, free will, a greater power, or do we fall somewhere on the spectrum between?
- In the face of adversity, what causes some people to prevail while others fail?
- What is the meaning of life?
- What is the meaning of life and does that shape our beliefs?
- Are we governed/guided by fate, free will, a greater power, or do we fall somewhere on the spectrum between?
Wednesday, 3/26
Blog Assignment: Due 3/28
How does The Alchemist compare with other "quest" novels, fables, movies......?
In approximately 150 words, make a connection between one fable story you know of, and discuss the similarities to the novel.
Friday, 3/28
Global Research work: Parenthetical Citation
24 comments:
The novel "The Alchemist" makes a big connection to a lot of people, it even connects to some novels and fables. This book reminds me of a story my mother read to me when I was 7 years old. It was called "the ice skate necklace" it was about a girl who dreamed of being a beautiful ice skater, but she couldn't skate. She started to take lessons and her teachers told her that she would need to take lessons for a long period of time. Months went by as she rehersed for an upcoming skate competition. 3 days before she has to preform, her mother gave her a necklace that was suppose to bring her luck, it didn't. She didn't place at the competition. She worked very hard to reach a goal she couldn't acheive. The connection to the Alchemist is that when Sandiago found out he couldn't go to Egypt, he still tried. The girl in the story ended up skating for another year and placed.
I think that the novel The Alchemist is like the book we read earlier in the year called The Odyssey. Both the books are similar, because in both books, the main characters are on a quest to do something. In The Odyssey the main character is on a quest to get home after being sentenced to wander the sea. After 20 years of being away from his home he finally returns to Ithaca and his wife. In The Alchemist, he is in search of his life goal, or his Personal legend. This goal leads him all across Africa all the way to Egypt, while looking for a treasure. The books are also similar because they both start very far away from their goals and both pursue their goals. There are also some differences in the books, in the Odyssey the only reason he is in search of his home is because he was cursed, but in the Alchemist he is in pursue of his personal legend for his own benefit.
As we’ve read the Alchemist I have noticed a similarity between this book and the epic, The Odyssey that we read earlier in the year. I find the most similarities between these books because they both have main characters who are trying to achieve something. In the Alchemist, Santiago is trying to get to the pyramids to find his treasure while finding many obstacles along the way. In the Odyssey, Odysseus is trying to return home from Troy after the Greeks won the battle with Troy. He has troubles returning home because he was the one who had the idea of building the Trojan horse which angered the gods. Both Santiago and Odysseus are trying to achieve something they want and both of them encounter obstacles along the way. For Odysseus who wants to return home to his wife, it is being punished by the gods and for Santiago who wants to achieve his personal legend, it is a combination of things including being robbed and having a change in thought on whether he should continue to travel to the pyramids or return home.
The Alchemist reminds me of my childhood favorite movie, Shrek. When the oger heard that he was offered a challenge to capture a princess and than had to go talk to the lord who took away his swamp, he did not want to go. Although Santiago wanted to travel the world, he didn’t because he knew how to be a Shepard and that it was easy for him since he already knew how to do it. This relates to Shrek because both characters didn’t know what was going to happen in the future, but went anyway to try to pursue their personal legend. In order to get to the princess Sherk had to slay a dragon. Also during Santiago’s journey he was questioning his decision to be a traveler and to instead just be a Shepard. Both of them had challenges along the way but they overcame them and in the end they decided to achieve their personal legend.
The story that I can best relate to the novel The Alchemist is one of my personal favorites, Shrek. The reason that these two stories are so similar is because both of the main characters, Santiago and Shrek, are informed that they must travel to get what they want. Along the way each of the characters meet a traveling companion. Shrek has Donkey and Princesses Fiona while Santiago has the Englishman. Both characters have to take detours or long stops in order to get what they really want like Shrek had to go rescue Princesses Fiona so he could get his swamp back from all the other fairy tale creatures and Santiago has to work at the crystal shop for a year until he can get enough money so he can afford to cross the dessert to get to the pyramids. In the end of Shrek he gets his swamp because he did what was needed to do and although I haven’t finished the novel but I have a feeling Santiago will get what he deserves.
I think that "The Alchemist" is very similar to an epic poem entitled "The Odyssey." They are similar in many ways such as that in both the book and the epic poem the main characters embark on an epic journey that they must undertake to realize their goals.In "The Odyssey", the main character must find his way back home,however the gods are not making it easy for him as they continually place obstacles that he must overcome to acheive his goal.In "The Alchemist" the main character must undertake a dangerous journey across the Sahara Desert in Africa to reach Egypt and hopefully realize his personal legend.However along his journey from Tangier just south of Spain he encounters many difficulties due to the cultural and language differences between him and the natives.In both the main characters are determined to reach their goal and they both show enormous perseveance in all the tasks they undertake.
The book "The Alchemist" connects a lot to the novel I read for the first independent reading book “Scorpions” by Walter Dean Myers. This book was about a kid named Jamal that had two choices. He could either be in the gang his brother started or just be a regular person like everyone else and follow rules. He decided to be in the gang because he knew he could make a lot of money doing so. He also loves to dream about owning his own yacht and being a wealthy man by being in the gang even though many people just want him to follow the same path everyone else goes down, being a normal person not in a gang. This connects to The Alchemist because it talks about decision making and different choices. In The Alchemist, his family wants him to be the same as all of them. They don’t want him to be a Shepard or look for treasure and that’s similar to Scorpions. It is also similar because in both cases they are looking for money or treasure so they will be wealthy.
The Alchemist is similar to a book we read earlier in the year. It is similar to the book, The Odyssey for many reasons. First is because the main characters in each book are trying to achieve something and are striving to do it. In the Odyssey, Odysseus is trying to get back to Ithaca but has a lot of obstacles he is trying to get over. He did something to end the Trojan War which got the Gods very angry. In the Alchemist, Santiago is trying to find his treasure in the pyramids. Of course, their will be many obstacles. Santiago has to battle through language differences between him and the people who live there, getting robbed and deciding whether or not he should continue on his journey. Odysseus has to battle the gods and their obstacles they throw at him and he battles the thought of his wife and wants to know if she is still loyal to him. Both characters are determined to achieve their goals and won’t stop until they do.
I think that the novel The Alchemist is like the book we read earlier in the year called The Odyssey. Both the books are similar, because in both books, the main characters are on a quest to do something. In The Odyssey the main character is on a quest to get home after being sentenced to wander the sea. After 20 years of being away from his home he finally returns to Ithaca and his wife. In The Alchemist, he is in search of his life goal, or his Personal legend.Both Santiago and Odysseus are trying to achieve something they want and both of them encounter obstacles along the way. For Odysseus who wants to return home to his wife, it is being punished by the gods and for Santiago who wants to achieve his personal legend, it is a combination of things including being robbed and having a change in thought on whether he should continue to travel to the pyramids or return home.
I think that the Alchemist is like a series called heartland. Their boks about a girland her love for horses and how she finds and treats misguided, problemed horses. She tries and tries but sometimes she cant get the horse to trust her so she almost gives up. When her friends keep her going and encourage her it takes all of the girls work but she ends up gaining the horses trust and helping it. This relates to "The Alchemist" like wendy's how, Santiago found out he couldnt go to egypt and still tried to figure out ways and Fatima supported him. Also when Santiago wants to become a Sheperd and nobody supports him, Santiago still tries to become a sheperd. Lastly not only is "Heartland" similar not only with Santiago's dreams but also with the englishman when he goes to ask the alchemist to help him with his alchemy but he just told him to keep trying.
The novel “The Alchemist” relates to a couple movies I have seen. The one movie that relates to this book the most is “Never Back Down”. “Never Back Down” is about a teenager, named Jake, who is the new kid in town with a troubled past. He goes to a party and is forced to fight with another kid even though he doesn’t want to. This other kid is also the best fighter in that city. Jake loses the fight and then wants to go train so he would be able to fight this kid again. This book relates to “The Alchemist” because both of the main characters have a dream that they want to accomplish. Santiago’s dream is to find the treasure in the pyramids, and Jake’s dream is to beat the best fighter. Santiago and Jake go though a lot of work and training so that they are able to accomplish there dreams and in both of the stories the main characters are about to quit. But they both pull though hard times and keep striving for their goals.
The Alchemist makes a connection with the movie Hildalgo. It makes a connection in many ways. In the movie Hildalgo, the horse and his rider have to travel across the Gobi Desert. They have too because they are traveling in a race with a lot of other horses and riders. They have to overcome many obstacles in order to win the race. During their trip they have many setbacks. This reminds of the caravan traveling to the oasis. It especially reminds of when they are traveling across the desert and they encounter many problems. When Satiago finally reaches the oasis, it is not what he expected.
The novel "The Alchemist" has a common theme with many books. One novel it reminds me of is "The Iliad"
by Homer. Both pieces of literature incorporate the fight and struggle to achieve a single goal or aspiration. Santiago's goal is to find 'his treasure' in his recurrent dream. Odysseus's and Achilles's, the main characters in The Iliad goals are to take Troy and return home after the war. All characters make sacrifices and push forward even after the multiple set backs they encounter.
I think "The Alchemist" and its story is related to the classic movie Saving Private Ryan. In "The Alchemist" Santiago is on a quest in order to pursue his personal legend, because he thanks he has to do so. In the movie Saving Private Ryan, a captain and his crew are sent to Europe in order to rescue a private from the battlefield. It ends up being a long and challenging journey for them, including some losses. So far in "The Alchemist" there have been no lives lost, however Santiago did get robbed and does face some challenges along the way. In the end of Saving Private Ryan, the private does get found and the rescue crew are able to complete their mission, meaning there was a happy ending for them. So far we dont know yet if Santiago will find the treasure, however happiness does occur to him during his journey when he falls in love with Fatima at the oasis.
The story of the novel The Alchemist relates to the movie “Beauty and the Beast.” They both have to do with love and discovery. In The Alchemist Santiago goes to Egypt in search of a discovery, treasure. When the caravan he takes reaches a destination, he sees “love at first sight.” The girl, Fatima, eventually grew to love him back, but told him to go off and search for his treasure instead of staying with her. In the movie “Beauty and the Beast” A man was put under a spell to look like a beast until a woman could see underneath his exterior to who he really is inside. The woman, Belle, was jailed in a castle where the beast lived in search for her father. After a few days Belle starts to discover strange things going on around the house and finds what truly is on the inside of the beast. The Beast has to learn to trust Belle in order for him to give her a chance. Santiago is much like the beast, though he does not look like one. They both find love and learn that discoveries are found, but only when you try.
The Alchemist is like many other novels or movies. In my opinion, the Alchemist is a lot like the Indiana Jones movies. Indiana Jones isn’t a full time teacher, he only pursues his treasure hunting dream when he gets an omen such as finding a clue about it. In the Alchemist, Santiago and the Englishmen both gave up their lives at home to travel and pursue their dreams. Santiago wants to find his treasure just like Indiana Jones does. In both The Alchemist and Indiana Jones’ movies, there are setbacks that make it difficult for the characters to pursue their goals. Indiana Jones always gets what he wants in the end, so we will have to wait and find out what happens with Santiago. The Alchemist is kind of like an adventure, where Santiago tries to pursue his goal and get the treasure.
Paulo Coelho, in The Alchemist and Ernest Hemingway in the “Old Man and the Sea", both tell a simple story, which is simply stated, but very deep. Both books are about following your dreams. Some of the key points are that it doesn't come without pain and misfortune. Even though the world may be conspiring to help you, it will not be easy.
In the Alchemist the young boy Santiago has a dream of hidden treasure. After selling his sheep and enduring an endless journey, he discovers that "treasure lies where your heart belongs", and that the treasure was the journey itself. In the “Old man in the Sea”, his treasure was his dream to capture the biggest marlin and to prove he was a great fishermen. Although he only brought back the skeleton of the fish, he accomplished his goal.
The boy Santiago never wavered from his mission of finding the treasure. Santiago in the “Old Man in the Sea” never stopped fishing until he caught the biggest marlin possible. We can all identify with both novels because all of us have dreams, and are dying for somebody to tell us that they may come true. Both characters reached for their dreams and didn’t give up. We must remain focused and listen to our heart if we want to reach the goal.
I also believe that The Alchemist is similar to the story of The Odyssey. In both stories the main characters try and fulfill their personal legends. Santiago is trying to travel to Egyptian pyramids and Odysseus goes to fight in the war in Troy, he tries to make his way back home. Throughout out their journeys both characters come across many obstacles which help make their goals so much harder to reach. Also, in both stories the characters have women that they love which makes it difficult for them to leave but both women support them and want them to do what they need to do. In the Alchemist, the girl who Santiago loves name is Fatima. She wants Santiago to fulfill his personal legend and is happy to wait for him to hopefully return back to her. In the Odyssey, Odysseus' wife, Penelope, realizes that Odysseus is needed in the war at Troy that she has to let him leave. Like Fatima she is happy to wait for Odysseus.
The alchemist reminds me of the movie “Semi-Pro” it was about a minor league basketball team and when all the coaches had their meeting together the minor league commissioner said that the NBA would induct the best four teams into the NBA. The Flint Tropics coach Jackie moon that also plays wanted to go into the NBA but his team was horrible. Jackie hired a former NBA player and he coached which mad the Flint Tropics a way much better team then they were. Later on though they realized they weren’t allowed to get inducted into the NBA because they didn’t have a good media but that didn’t stop Jackie and they beat the number one team the San Antonio Spurs and placed fourth in the league. Even though they didn’t make the NBA they still accomplished their dream. In the Alchemist Santiago kept on pursuing his dream and his dream took him too many places but at the end he found his personal legend.
The novel the "Alchemist" reminds me of the "Odyssey” the epic in which a fearless warrior seeks his goal. This relates to the “Alchemist” because in the “Alchemist” Santiago searches for his treasure while facing the many obstacles put in front of him. In the “Odyssey” Odysseus and his sometimes faithful crew journey the seas attempting to return home to Ithaca to his wife, Penelope. In both books the main characters both share common goals and are tempted to forget their goals by objects or people. In the “Alchemist” Santiago is tempted to stay with Fatima and not try to get to his treasure in Egypt. Odysseus in the “Odyssey” is tempted by Greek gods and goddesses along his journey. It seems in both novels that the main characters are blind sighted by love. Each character has the choice to move on and achieve their goal and they both jump at the opportunity.
The novel “The Alchemist” reminds me of a galaxy far far away. Luke skywalker is similar to Santiago in several different ways. Luke was just a farmer and Santiago was only a shepherd. Both of them leave their careers to purse what they believed in. Luke believed that he should rescue Princess Lea while Santiago went on a journey to pursue his personal legend. Both traveled great distances to get to their personal legend. Luke had to go as fast as the speed of light to find lea and Santiago had to travel through the Sahara desert. Both had get past these obstacles so that they would have a chance to achieve their personal legends. Santiago and Luke learned of their destinies because someone was guiding them. Luke had Obi-wan Kenobi teach him the way of the force, which help realize his personal Legend. Santiago had the king, who helped realize his own personal legend. Even though Santiago and Luke are in two very different stories, both have similar goals.
The novel, "The Alchemist" reminds me of one of my favorite movies, The Parent Trap. These are similar because they both have characters who are set out to follow their personal legend. Although their personal legends are totally different, the characters struggle to pursue their goals. In the Parent Trap, two twin girls, Hally and Annie were separated at birth but then discover each other at camp 11 years later. They each had live with only one of their parents their whole life, and were determined on finding their other parent. At camp they come up with a plan to switch lives so they can meet their parent that they have never met. In "The Alchemist" Santiago's personal legend is to reach the Egyptian Pyramids. He travels a long way and goes through many hardships but still doesn't give up. Although this story and the movie have different story lines, they both give away the same message of following your personal legend.
I think the novel "The Alchemist" is very similar to the movie "August Rush". These two are very similar because in the movie the boy, Evan Taylor, is in an orphanage and hears music everywhere. His birth parents, both involved in music, didn't know he existed, and he sets out to find them. He soon meets a man who tells him "Nobody can learn music, it comes from inside of you" Evan teaches himself how to play the guitar, which comes naturally to him, and splits his tips with this man. He earns the most money and the man wants to book clubs and restaurants for Evan to play in. The man persuades Evan to change his name to a more catchy name, August Rush. August then meets his parents but has no clue who they are. August overcomes many obstacles that want to stop looking for his parents, just like Santiago. They both have difficult dreams, but in the end, they both reach them.
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