A Book Review

W o r l d L i t e r a t u r eI V – B S P T

O r d i n a d o , F . A . M a r t i n e z , Z . E .

W e w i l l b e d i s c u s s i n g a b o u t o n e o f t h e m o s t i n f l u e n t i a l b o o k s o f a l l t i m e s . C a n y o u

g u e s s w h a t b o o k i t i s ?

L e t u s s e e i f y o u c a n g u e s s i t u s i n g 4 P i c s 1 W o r d

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A L C H E M I S T

O u r b o o k r e v i e w w i l l b e f r o m :

T H E A U T H O R

Name:

Born:

Nationality:

Language:

Occupation:

Twitter:

Paulo Coelho

Aug. 27, 1947

Brazil ian

Portugues

Novelist

@paulocoelho

T H E B O O K

Title:

Type:

Genre:

Year:

Place:

Author:

Publisher:

The Alchemist

Novel

Fiction

1988

Brazil

Paulo Coelho

HarperOne

T H E B O O K

Narrator:POV:Tone:Tense:Themes:

Motifs:

Omniscient3rd PersonMyth/FablePast Tense

Centrality of Personal Legends; Unity of Nature; Danger of Fear

Dreams; Maktub; Omens

T H E B O O K

Setting (time):

Geographic Setting:

Pre - modern t i me / Pa s t

S pa n i s h pas tures , S pa n i s h town of Ta r i fa , the c i ty of Tan gi er i n North Afr i ca , a n d the S a ha ra d e s e rt .

Characters

C H A R A C T E R S

Santiago

The Book’s central character: An adventurous shepherd who have unwavering resolve to accomplish his personal legend of f inding a treasure.

C H A R A C T E R S

The Alchemist

200-year-old, extremely potent alchemist inhabiting in the Al-Fayoum Oasis .

C H A R A C T E R S

Crystal Merchant

A struggl ing merchant who owns a crystal shop on top of a desolate hi l l . He is a good-hearted, devout Musl im, but has a crippl ing fear of change.

C H A R A C T E R S

Englishman

A well -educated science scholar gritty to learn the clandestine of alchemy by learning from a factual alchemist . He is a cynic and adore reading his tomes.

C H A R A C T E R S

Melchizedek

The King of Salem. He appears to possess magical powers and helps those pursuing their Personal Legends.

C H A R A C T E R S

Fatima

A gorgeous and innocent juvenile "desert woman" who l ives at the Al-Fayoum Oasis .

C H A R A C T E R S

GypsyAn old

women living in Tarifa who

interprets dreams.

Camel DriverA friendly

former orchard owner and

devout Muslim

The Tribal Chieftain of Al-Fayoum

A strict and ruthless tribal chieftain who

lives in luxury.

C H A R A C T E R S

Merchant’s daughter

The beautiful and intelligent raven-haired

daughter of the merchant .

MerchantA merchant who buys wool from

Santiago on a yearly basis.

Caravan LeaderThe bold leader of a

caravan traveling across the Sahara Desert from

Tangier to Egypt.

Summary

S U M M A RY

Santiago is a shepherdwho journey everywhere with his sheep. One day he had a dream about treasures in the pyramids in the desert . So he sell his sheep and journey to the desert .

S U M M A RY

Upon his journey,he was robbed so he work under a crystal merchant . After saving an amount of money, he join a caravan which will travel across the Sahara desert .

S U M M A RY

In the journey, he met an Engl ishman who wants to be an alchemist . Thecaravan stops on an Oasis because there is tr ibal war further beyond the desert . There, he met Fatima, the girl he loved.

S U M M A RY

In the oasis , he also met the 200 -years-old alchemist . Then when they taught that it is safe to travel , they go along their journey to the pyramids. But they were captured by the tribesmen.

S U M M A RY

To be f led by the enemy, Santiago proved that he was powerful by morphing into wind. After their escape, they go separate ways. Santiago go on to the pyramids.

S U M M A RY

In the pyramids, Santiago found nothing. He met someone who dreamed about a treasure in a ruined church. Then Santiago real ized that his treasure is in Spain. So he went back and found his treasure.

Archetypal Symbols

Santiago’s sheep symbolize the sort of existence lived by those who are completely blind to their Personal Legends.

Alchemy, in which a base metal is transformed into a more valuable metal like gold, functions as the dominant symbol in The Alchemist and

represents Santiago’s journey to achieve his Personal Legend.

The desert, with its harsh conditions and tribal wars, symbolizes the serious difficulties that await anyone in pursuit of their Personal Legend, but it also serves as an important teacher to Santiago during his journey to the pyramids.

Crystal Glassware: Fragility and clarity are the characteristics represented by the crystal merchant's crystal glassware.

Urim and Thummim: These stones stand for the characters' needs to respond to omens, which are essential motivating

factors.

Sycamore Tree: This tree represents Egypt, the place where sycamores come from.

Oasis: The oasis symbolizes life, love, and domesticity.

The pyramids represent the ancient and inscrutable.

Thieves represent everyone who tries to find a shortcut to his or her Personal Legend; the journey is necessary, according to The Alchemist.

Water: Life is synonymous with water in the novel, and perhaps for love too.

End.Thank You!

S O U R C E S :

• C o e l h o , P . ( 1 9 9 8 ) . T h e a l c h e m i s t . S a n F r a n c i s c o :H a r p e r S a n F r a n c i s c o .

• S p a r k N o t e s E d i t o r s . ( 2 0 1 0 ) . S p a r k N o t e o n T h eA l c h e m i s t . R e t r i e v e d D e c e m b e r 1 2 , 2 0 1 4 , f r o mh t t p : / / w w w . s p a r k n o t e s . c o m / l i t / t h e - a l c h e m i s t /

• P a u l o C o e l h o . ( 2 0 1 5 ) . T h e B i o g r a p h y . c o m w e b s i t e .R e t r i e v e d 1 0 : 4 5 , J a n 0 4 , 2 0 1 5 ,f r o m h t t p : / / w w w . b i o g r a p h y . c o m / p e o p l e / p a u l o -c o e l h o - 5 5 2 4

• S e x t o n , A d a m . C l i f f s N o t e s o n T h e A l c h e m i s t . 0 4J a n 2 0 1 5