The Alchemist
Dynamic character
A character that changes throughout the story
What does the following passage reveal about a theme (message or lesson) about the book? "'You've got to find the treasure, so that everything you have learned along the way can make sense'" (Coelho 119).
Not everything that happens in life makes sense immediately.
Which of the following quotes best demonstrates Santiago's desire to learn from the world around him?
"Whenever he could, (Santiago) sought a new road to travel" (Coelho 13).
What does the old man ask of Santiago in exchange for his help interpreting the dream?
1/10 his sheep(6)
When did Santiago see omens?
After theif Crystal shop(thirsty people) Hawks Beetles by his tears
Soul of the world
All things are connected and have a soul (positive force)
Which language does Santiago begin to pick up as he travels?
Arabic
What reason does Melchizedek give for why he would talk with a shepherd?
Because the shepherd (Santiago) has discovered his Personal Legend
Why does the alchemist want Santiago to sell his camel and buy a horse?
Camels die suddenly without warning.
Who says the following quote? "I've crossed these sands many times... But the desert is so huge, and the horizons so distant, that they make a person feel small, and as if he should remain silent."
Caravan Driver
Characterization method "'Well, I'd like to see their land, and see how they live,' said his son" (Coelho 11).
Character dialogue
Which literary element does this quote connect to? "As it did so, a sudden, fleeting image came to the boy: an army, with its swords at the ready, riding into the oasis" (Coelho 103).
Foreshadowing
Characterization method "He had always believed that his sheep were able to understand what he said. So there were times when he read them parts of his books that had made an impression on him, or when he would tell them about the lonliness of a shepherd in the fields. Sometimes he would comment to them on the things he had seen in the villages they passed" (Coelho 6).
Comments from the narrator
Which of the following methods of characterization is used to describe Santiago in the following passage: "When the stall was assembled, the candy seller offered the boy the first sweet he had made for the day. The boy thanked him, ate it, and went on his way. When he had gone only a short distance, he realized that, while they were erecting the stall, one of them had spoken Arabic and the other Spanish" (Coelho 46)
Comments from the narrator
Round chatacter
Complex/developed character
"He dressed in his Arabian clothing of white linen, bought especially for this day. He put his headcloth in place and secured it with a ring made of camel skin." What method of characterization does the author use to describe Santiago?
Description of character's appearance
best describes the mood in the following passage? "He went of telling stories about his travels, and her bright, Moorish eyes went wide with fear and surprise. As the time passed, the boy found himself wishing that the day would never end, that her father would stay busy and keep him waiting for three days. He recognized that he was feeling something he had never experienced before: the deisre to live in one place forever. With the girl with the raven hair, his days would never be the same again" (Coelho 8).
Dreamy and peaceful
Santiago wants to abandon his journey to fulfill his Personal Legend. He states that he has already found his treasure. What treasure has he found?
Fatima, the money he made selling crystal, his camel, language of the world, the soul of the world, and traveling etc.
What animal does Santiago's vision involve?
Hawks
What are the details from Santiago's reoccurring dream?
He encounters a child playing with his sheep, he is transported to the Egyptian pyramids, and is told there is a hidden treasure awaiting them there
Why does Santiago decide to visit the tribal chieftains?
He had a vision of impending war.
Why did the alchemist leave Santiago?
He had nothing left to teach Santiago and he was supposed to find reach the end himself
What reason does the crystal merchant give for not taking a pilgrimage to Mecca?
He is afraid it will be a disappointment, so he prefers to just dream about it.
What is the most important reason Santiago gives for not wanting to continue his journey?
He loves Fatima and wants to be with her.
How does the leader of the caravan ensure that each member of the group is obedient to his orders prior to entering the desert?
He makes them swear their obedience invoking their Gods.
Why does Santiago choose to travel?
He wants to travel
Why does the owner of the bar yell at Santiago?
He wants to warn Santiago that he is with a thief.
What was the first important event to happen to Santiago in Africa?
He was robbed of all his money
Which word best describes the Englishman?
Intellectual
What does "maktub" mean?
It is written
What does the following passage reveal about a theme (message or lesson) about the book? "'Another dreamer,' said the ticket seller to his assistant, watching the boy walk away. 'He doesn't have enough money to travel'" (Coelho 28).
Many people have dreams or goals in life but do nothing to pursue or achieve those dreams or goals.
The old man identifies himself to Santiago as . . .
Melchizedek from Salem
What is significant about the fact that neither Santiago nor the old woman know what the Pyramids in Egypt are?
No one in Andalusia had traveled to or met anyone from Egypt
What type of conflict is developed by the following quote? The alchemist reached into a hole in the sand, and "His arm seemed to be battling with whatever was in the hole. Then, with a motion that startled the boy, he withdrew his arm and leaped to his fee. In his hand, he grasped a snake by the tail . . . The snake fought frantically, making hissing sounds that shattered the silence of the desert. It was a cobra, whose venom could kill a person in minutes" (Coelho 121).
Person vs. Nature
What type of conflict is developed by the following quote: "Here I am, between my flock and my treasure, the boy thought. He had to choose between something he had become accustomed to and something he wanted to have" (Coelho 30)?
Person vs. Self
What type of conflict is developed by the following quote? "If we serve tea in crystal, the shop is going to expand. And then I'll have to change my way of life" (Coelho 59).
Person vs. Self
The alchemist tells Santiago that many others had failed to make gold with the Philosopher's Stone because they "'were seeking the treasure of their Personal Legend, without wanting actually to live out the Personal Legend'" (Coelho 129). This means that...
Personal Legends are not just about material gain.
Which of the following methods of characterization is used in the following passage? "Astride the animal was a horseman dressed completely in black, with a falcon perched on his left shoulder. He wore a turban and his entire face, except for his eyes, was covered with a black kerchief" (Coelho 112-113).
Physical descriptions
How does Fatima feel about being a "woman of the desert"?
Proud
One great truth
Said by king Melchizedek-when you really want something it is because that desire originated in the soul of the world
Who said "The darkest hour of the night came just before the dawn" (Coelho 137)?
Santiago
Who thinks the following quote? "I've learned things from the sheep, and I've learned things from crystal, he thought. I can learn something from the desert, too. It seems old and wise."
Santiago
What does the following quote suggest about Santiago? "[H]e realized that he had to choose between thinking of himself as the poor victim of a thief and as an adventurer in quest of his treasure. 'I'm an adventurer, looking for treasure,' he said to himself" (Coelho 45).
Santiago does not allow his circumstances to control him.
Which of the following is a reasonable inference from the provided quote? "The boy felt sorry for the Englishman's camel, loaded down as he was the cases of books" (Coelho 74).
Santiago likes camels more than the Englishman does or The Englishman chooses to travel with many books. (?)
Infer what Santiago realizes in the following passage. "From where he stood, he saw for the first time that the old merchant's hair was very much like the hair of the old king. He remembered the smile of the candy seller, on his first day in Tangier, when he had nothing to eat and nowhere to go--that smile had also been like the old king's smile" (Coelho 65).
Santiago realizes that omens are everywhere if someone is watching for them.
What does the following quote best reveal about Santiago and the Englishman? "'You should pay more attention to the caravan," the said to the Englishman after the camel driver had left. "We make a lot of detours, but we're always headeding for the same destination.' 'And you ought to read more about the world,' answered the Englishman. 'Books are like caravans in that respect'" (Coelho 80).
Santiago values worldy wisdom while the Englishman values academic knowledge
To which of the "Big Ideas" is this quote most closely connected? "'Everything on earth is being continuously transformed, because the earth is alive . . . and it has a soul'" (Coelho 81).
Soul of the World
Alchemy
Study of transformations; create the elixir of life and philosopher's stone
Omens
Supernatural warnings(good or bad) of prophetic significance
Who leaves the oasis with Santiago?
The alchemist
Who said "When you possess great treasures within you, and try to tell others of them, seldom are you believed" (Coelho 138)?
The alchemist
What suggests the alchemist new the whole story of Santiago's personal legend?
The alchemist left gold in the monastery in Spain
According to the following passage, infer why the king of Salem would talk with Santiago. "'Why would a king be talking with a shepherd?' the boy asked, awed and embarrassed. 'For several reasons. But let's say that the most important is that you have succeeded in discovering your Personal Legend'" (Coelho 23).
The king of Salem wants to tell Santiago about his personal legend(?)
What do both Santiago and the Englishman have in common?
They are both in search of their personal legend
When Santiago told the tribal chiefs about his vision of the army, how did they respond?
They believed him and set consequences for whether or not he was right.
Which quotes connect to the idea of "Language of the World"?
Things have to be transmitted this way because they were made up from the pure life, and this kind of life cannot be captured in pictures or words" (Coelho 90). "But Fatia was a woman of the desert, and, if anything could help him to understand, it was the desert" (Coelho 102). "I learned that the world has a soul, and that whoever understands that soul can also understand the language of things" (Coelho 85).
The alchemist tells Santiago that the only way to learn is...
Through action
What purpose does Melchizedek have for telling the story of the miner and the emerald?
To illustrate how he keeps people from abandoning their Personal Legends
Why does alchemy exist?
To teach everyone there personal legends and make them want to be better after complete long them
In the King's story, what task does the wise man set for the shopkeeper's son?
To walk around the castle without spilling any of the oil in a teaspoon
What omen appears to Santiago in section 3?
Urim and Thummin fall out of his jacket, reminding him of the king's advice to never stop dreaming.
Personal legend
What you have always wanted to accomplish
What does the old man show Santiago to prove that he can be trusted to interpret the dream?
Writes in the sand revealing details of Santiago's personal life
Universal language
a language that could be understood and used by everyone in the world
Principle of favorability
beginner's luck; the world's effort to conspire in your effort
