Name: Date: Period: Total Grade: _____________ 3The Alchemist By: Paulo Coelho Vocabulary and Discussion Questions Journal Writing Questions #1 Prologue-Page 21 Vocabulary Words PilgrimageNarcissus Alchemy AndalusiaTarifa Gypsy - Discussion Questions 1. What is the name of the main character? What does he do for a living and for how long? What is the name of the region he is in at the beginning of the novel? 2. Why do you think he made the choice to leave the seminary after learning to read and write? 3. Explain why the main character’s jacket could be both a blessing and a curse. The jacket is considered a symbol for the hero’s journey. Make an inference as to what the jacket may symbolize. 4. The novel opens with the main character thinking about his sheep. What does he observe about their existence? How might the sheep symbolize the way some people live their lives? Name: Date: Period: Total Grade: _____________ 5. How does Santiago’s father react when his son tells him that he wants to travel? (p.9) What does he say about travellers? 6. Why does the gypsy woman say that Santiago’s dream is difficult to interpret? (p.12-14). 7. Describe Santiago’s Dream. What does the old fortune teller tell him it means? 8. What is the lie in Santiago’s book according to the old man? 9. At the beginning, Santiago thinks the old man might be a gypsy like the woman. How does the old man gain Santiago’s trust? Name: Date: Period: Total Grade: _____________ The Alchemist By: Paulo Coelho Vocabulary and Discussion Questions Journal Writing Questions # 2 Page 21- 47 Vocabulary Words Salem (Jeru”salem”)King Melchizedek (Genesis14, “King Most High”) Levanter infidel scabbard - Discussion Questions 1. According to the King, what is a Personal Legend? 2. The old man tells Santiago that he often appears in people’s lives just at the moment they are about to give up on their destiny. What are some of the guises he takes? 3. The old man tells Santiago the story about the miner and the emerald on p. 24. How does it connect to Santiago’s situation? What does he mean when he says that “treasure is uncovered by the force of flowing water, and it is buried by the same currents”? What does this quote have to do with the miner/emerald story? 4. What does Santiago realize about the wind (p.27) How does this help him on his journey? Name: Date: Period: Total Grade: _____________ 5. What is the principle of favorability? 6. What point does the old man’s story about the boy in the castle and the drops of oil (p.30-32) make? How might this story apply to us in our modern lives? 7. How does the King assist Santiago in recognizing omens? When does Santiago use this help? 8. How do Santiago’s thoughts and perceptions about himself and the world begin to change on pp. 42-44? 9. What difficult choice does Santiago make when he meets the crystal merchant? Name: Date: Period: Total Grade: _____________ The Alchemist By: Paulo Coelho Vocabulary and Discussion Questions Journal Writing Questions # 3 Page 51-71 Vocabulary Words Mecca – “Maktub”Esperanto – Philosopher’s Stone – Elixir of Life – Allah – Discussion Questions 1. What lessons does Santiago learn by working at the crystal shop? How does the crystal merchant’s explanation for not taking the pilgrimage to Mecca (p.55) highlight the difference between Santiago and the merchant? What effect does the merchant say Santiago has had on him? 2. Specific words can carry a deep meaning. The crystal merchant introduced Santiago to the Arabic word maktub (it is written). This is mentioned at several important moments in the story. Why do you think he speaks this word when he and Santiago part ways? (61) 3. Santiago is an educated young man who wants to learn the Language of the World. He has come to realize in the first part of the novel that there is a language that goes beyond speaking and writing. The language without words is the same language he uses with his sheep. What are some of the literal and figurative languages that Santiago realizes he has learned by the time he completes his first year of work for the crystal merchant? Name: Date: Period: Total Grade: _____________ 4. The Englishman and his goals are described on pp.65-70. What is he looking for? What does he demonstrate to Santiago that he already knows? Short Essay: Please answer in 10-12 complete and thoughtful sentences. Quality work = quality grade. Trash answer = trash grade. If you need more room, staple another piece of paper to this J.W.Q. Prompt: Do you agree with the crystal merchant that having a dream is more important than pursuing a dream? Do you agree more with Santiago’s philosophy or the merchant’s? Name: Date: Period: Total Grade: _____________ The Alchemist By: Paulo Coelho Vocabulary and Discussion Questions Journal Writing Question # 4 Page 71-104 Vocabulary Words Primitive- Discussion Questions 1. A foil character is one who contrasts the main character. Why can we describe the Englishman as a foil character? (A foil character is a character who contrasts with another character, usually the protagonist, to highlight particular qualities of the other character.) 2. Why does the Englishman refer to as the “principle of the Soul of the World? How does this connect to the caravan and the desert? 3. What information do Santiago and the Englishman exchange? What do they learn? 4. How does Santiago feel when he meets Fatima? How does Santiago believe his reunion with Fatima represents the Language of the World? Each encounter that Santiago has presents him with an opportunity for personal growth. What does Fatima think about his journey? What lesson does this teach him? (Make sure to answer every question) Name: Date: Period: Total Grade: _____________ 5. Who finally shows Santiago how the find The Alchemist? Why is this significant? 6. What vision does Santiago have when he witnesses the hawks in the desert? What conclusion does he draw from the vision? Short Essay: Please answer in 10-12 complete and thoughtful sentences. Quality work = quality grade. Trash answer = trash grade. If you need more room, staple another piece of paper to this J.W.Q. Prompt: Explain how Santiago’s union with Fatima represents the Language of the World (according to Santiago on page 98). Why does Fatima accept that her new husband wanders the desert, as she explains on page 98? Name: Date: Period: Total Grade: _____________ The Alchemist By: Paulo Coelho Vocabulary and Discussion Questions Journal Writing Questions # 5 Page 104-127 Vocabulary Words Emerald TabletDialectAl-Fayoum Oasis- Discussion Questions 1. When Santiago meets The Alchemist, he wants to give up his journey and remain at the oasis. He believes he has already found his treasure. What does this treasure include according to Santiago? 2. The Alchemist persuades Santiago to sell his camel and buy a horse. The next night he takes he takes Santiago into the desert and gives him a second test. What is the task and what skills is being tested in this task? 3. During his trek through the desert with the alchemist, Santiago is told of many basic truths. The alchemist says,” There is only one way to learn. It’s through action. Everything you need to know you have learned through your journey” (p.125). What are some of the things Santiago has learned through action? Name: Date: Period: Total Grade: _____________ 4. The Alchemist says that for the boy to find his treasure he must listen to his heart. Why does the Alchemist feel that the heart is more important, or more trustworthy, than the mind? How and why is the heart able to understand things the mind can’t grasp? Short Essay: Please answer in 10-12 complete and thoughtful sentences. Quality work = quality grade. Trash answer = trash grade. If you need more room, staple another piece of paper to this J.W.Q. Prompt: During their trek through the desert the alchemist tells Santiago, “There is only one way to learn. It’s through action. Everything you need to know you have learned through your journey” (125). What are some of the things that Santiago has learned on his journey through action? Use quotes to support your answer. (Minimum of 3 quotes/examples). Name: Date: Period: Total Grade: _____________ The Alchemist By: Paulo Coelho Vocabulary and Discussion Questions Journal Writing Questions # 6 Page 127- 153 Vocabulary Words TreasonEncampmentMoorSimum- Discussion Questions 1. Once Santiago believes he understands his heart, what agreements does he ask of it, and what does he promise it in return? 2. According to the Alchemist, every search starts with Beginner’s Luck. How does every search end? What does this foreshadow for Santiago? 3. The Alchemist places Santiago in the center of a dangerous situation when he tells the chief and his men that Santiago is an alchemist who can turn himself into the wind. Why would he do that? 4. Santiago explains to the sun why alchemy exists and what alchemists do. What does he say? Name: Date: Period: Total Grade: _____________ 5. Why do you think the alchemist tells Santiago the story about the man’s dream about the two sons (the poet and the soldier) on p. 156? Short Essay: Please answer in 10-12 complete and thoughtful sentences. Quality work = quality grade. Trash answer = trash grade. If you need more room, staple another piece of paper to this J.W.Q. Prompt: What does Coelho mean by “love without ownership” and is it possible to have love without ownership? Name: Date: Period: Total Grade: _____________ The Alchemist By: Paulo Coelho Vocabulary and Discussion Questions Journal Writing Questions # 7 Page 153-167 Vocabulary Words MonasteryDiscussion Questions 1. What does The Alchemist say when Santiago tries to thank him for teaching him the Language of the World? 2. Why did Santiago have to go through the dangers of the tribal wars on the outskirts of the oasis in order to reach the Pyramids? At this point, the boy remembers the old proverb:” The darkest hour of the night came just before the dawn.” How does this apply to his situation now? At the end of the journey, why did the alchemist leave Santiago alone to complete it? 3. Earlier in the story, the alchemist told Santiago “when you possess great treasures within you, and try to tell others of them, seldom are you believed.” At the end of the story, how did this simple lesson change Santiago’s life? How did it lead him back to the treasure he was looking for? 4. Why is it significant to the story that Santiago’s treasure is not buried at the pyramids but back in Spain at the abandoned church where his journey began? Name: Date: Period: Total Grade: _____________ Short Essay: Please answer in 10-12 complete and thoughtful sentences. Quality work = quality grade. Trash answer = trash grade. If you need more room, staple another piece of paper to this J.W.Q. Prompt: Earlier in the story, the alchemist told Santiago “when you possess great treasures within you, and try to tell others of them, seldom are you believed.” At the end of the story, how did this simple lesson change Santiago’s life? How did it lead him back to the treasure he was looking for? (pg. 133-end)
