The Alchemist Essay

In creating my personal library, I’d include three books I’ve read recently: “The Alchemist,” by Paulo Coelho, “Divergent,” by Veronica Roth, and “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn,” by Betty Smith. Each appeals to me in different ways: one because of its message, another because of its literary style and genre and the last because of its character development. Together, though they deliver a powerful message I’d like my library readers to hear: develop strong morals while you journey through life,…

Mingming Tan Read 200 3:30pm The book, The Alchemist, is written by Paulo Coelho. In this book, Santiago is one of the main characters that has a dream to travel pass through the Pyramid and find his treasure. During his journey, he is not only looking for the treasure, but also learning about his personal legend. He becomes wiser, and he is capable of dealing with his obstacles. I think that the most important to me that Santiago learned in his journey is he never gives up. The first reason…

“The Alchemist” teaches readers something about the importance of self-discovery by taking us through the journey of a young shepherd, Santiago. The book espouses individuality as a means of achieving the ultimate goals of creation. Additionally, Paulo Coelho is expedient in telling Santiago's peregrination of selfhood through symbolism and metaphor. Initially, Coelho portrays Santiago's gain of self-knowledge with the use of allegory. When the author says, "The desert is a capricious lady, and…

uncomfortable, and we do not like to put ourselves out there not knowing what the outcome will be. However, with that said, what if we never took the chance, and we miss something amazingly beautiful? While The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind and The Alchemist are so different, they are similar because both books are about two young men who have vivid goals and dreams that take them on incredible life journeys. William and Santiago encounter several obstacles, but did not let any of that stop them…

Follow Your Heart, Find Your Treasure Have you ever thought how to find your treasure? Well if you are you can read the alchemist to find out. Throughout the book, The Alchemist, You learn how to find your personal treasure and what it means to you. In the novel, The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho, Santiago learns, “Remember where your heart is, there you will find your treasure.” First, Santiago always wanted to travel, so he becomes a shepherd. Next, Santiago works with a crystal merchant to buy…

the treasure (Alchemist, 19-21). In life, it takes someone or something for us to get motivated about doing what we want, especially if at first people don’t want to do it at all. In Santiago’s case, the old king helped him realized that it was his destiny to find a treasure. He didn’t believe it but the king explained to him wonders around the world and made him believe that there is a treasure waiting to be found. Another person who helped Santiago in his journey is an alchemist. He knew…

interaction with nature, and humanity's attempts to harness the power of nature for very human needs and wants” (“The Magic and Myth of Alchemy”). Alchemists acted on the idea that nature had secrets to give and that it could be exposed through laboratory examination and experimentation. Regardless of their limited knowledge at the time, the work that the alchemists did provided the basis of modern laboratory techniques (“The Magic and Myth of Alchemy”). Their pursuit for the elixir of life is…

world’s ancient monotheistic religions. The purpose of this paper will be to explore the role that traditional alchemy played in Jewish history, spanning from 3 A.D. to the later middle ages. This paper will begin with a brief overview of Jewish alchemists and continue to delve deeper into each of these scientist’s contributions to alchemy, with a specific focus on Maria the Jewess. Maria is considered to be the founding mother of alchemy and is credited with the invention of several apparatuses…

providing information about him, there are still many who doubt he ever existed. Personally, I believe that an alchemist named Hermes might have actually existed at some point, even though his deed are most likely exaggerated. In my opinion, Hermes Trismegistus is not one person, but, in fact, many who assumed the name over the centuries. Probably, there was a well-known and successful alchemist, who most likely lived around the time of Moses as this was the earliest mention of him. As his…

day to have a street and once upon a hospital named after him in Paris. So like Santiago, Flamel undergoes his life’s journey through the normal trials and tribulations to ultimately become one of the most recognized and well known as the greatest alchemist of all time. As an honorable mention Flamel is also said to have discovered how to create the philosopher’s stone which after him would become a spiritual object not the physical stone itself. So Flamel is considered to be the last of…