BOOK CLUB: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho / From page 11-18.


READING CLUB.For those who wish to participate, to read & discuss as a group, please read Pages 11-18 in The Alchemist, it is found here –>

www.shipk12.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Paulo_Coelho_-_The_Alchemist.pdf

After you have read these pages, please answer the following questions;

1- King Mechizedek tells the boy that when we are children, “everything is clear and everything is possible,” but as time passes mysterious forces convince us to abandon our dreams. Do you think this is true? What are the “mysterious forces” that threaten to hold us back as we grow older?

2- The King also tells the boy that when you really desire something “all the universe conspires to help you find it.” And he explains the principle of “favorability,” or beginner’s luck. From whom does Santiago receive help on his journey? Have you ever benefited from beginner’s luck?

3- Why do you think Melchizedek tells Santiago about the life of the baker? What point is he trying to get across to Santiago?

Please reply to this post and share:

1- One or more questions you have after reading from page 11-18 (discussion questions or comprehension questions)
2- Two or more phrases or sentences that you especially liked or want to talk about from page 11-18 [Choose them for whatever reason you wish!]
3- Three or more words or collocations you learned, or that you think others might find helpful to review/learn/understand (from page 11-18)

NOTE: This book group event is listed at GMT+2 hours (Egypt time).

To join the class, please be sure I have you on my Skype contact list PRIOR to class.
My Skype ID is: Roaming70

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11 thoughts on “BOOK CLUB: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho / From page 11-18.”

  1. King Mechizedek tells the boy that when we are children, “everything is clear and everything is possible,” but as time passes mysterious forces convince us to abandon our dreams. Do you think this is true? What are the “mysterious forces” that threaten to hold us back as we grow older?

    In the introduction to the book, in my edition, the author says the four things holding people back from doing what they want: 1. discouragement from others ( being told it is not possible) 2. love of others (being held down by the obligation to make other people happy) 3. fear of failure 4. guilt about success (while others are not successful).

    These thing made me think about my own life and I think that the seductive pull of COMFORT which produces a kind of laziness has affected me, in addition to the 4 things above. I had a hard life, and when I solved my biggest problems and became comfortable, I had difficulty making the effort to achieve my dreams because it is more comfortable to just stay where I am. As long as I was suffering, I kept moving in the direction of my dreams because I was forced to KEEP MOVING. I have really slowed down since I became comfortable.

    I see Santiago in that position also, as a shepherd. He seems comfortable at the beginning of the story. But he yearns for more, and so he moves toward it, and the universe begins to conspire to make it happen for him, but only because he is moving toward it. He only has his dream, meets the gypsy, talks to the king, and finds the book, all of which reveal his journey to the pyramids, when he starts thinking about his great desire to travel.

    I think his love for the merchant’s daughter in the village also pulls him toward the life of settling for comfort. He is tempted, but he seems to be moving away from her when he gets his mission to go to the pyramids.

    I see Santiago as going through the process of breaking with his comfortable habits (shepherding) in Chapter One.

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  2. 2- Two or more phrases or sentences that you especially liked or want to talk about from page 11-18 [Choose them for whatever reason you wish!]

    I really liked the gypsy. She said many surprisingly down-to-earth things, and I enjoyed that. She said,

    “I only interpret dreams. I don’t know how to turn them into reality. That’s why I have to live off what my daughters provide me with.”

    I am 63 years old and have a grown daughter and son, like the gypsy. I do not live off what they provide me with, but my daughter does occasionally take me to the store. But her help is not really good for me. It is restrictive, cuts into my freedom, and interferes in my schedule. In our little family, we are all learning to be free of each other and follow our personal dreams.

    I have several friends my age, also. I observe them in the same situation. The more they receive help from their grown children, the worse their lives are. And the worse the children’s lives are.

    I think that when the children are grown, parents should take their freedom and do what they want. While your children were growing up, you gave up your own desires to take care of their needs. That should stop when they grow up. But it is hard to do.

    The gypsy also said,
    “Tell me more about your dream. I have to get back to my cooking, and, since you don’t have much money, I can’t give you a lot of time.”

    I was expecting the gypsy woman to be nurturing to the boy, but she was not. So, it showed that being female did not automatically mean she wanted to take care of people.

    Also, being a dream interpreter did not necessarily mean she was spiritual, compassionate, helpful, or wise. She was selfish, impatient, materialistic, and limited in genius. Yet, I would not say she was cruel, but she was crafty, trying to get as much as possible out of the boy’s future, which should belong to only him. She got it by making him promise to pay in the future one-tenth of his treasure, rather than pay a small amount today.

    I think she was an example of how the world is in general, and her payment extraction was exactly like a credit card that drains the life out of a person by making him owe money in the future with interest, so his labor and any future gains are sucked up. As the king pointed out later, this is wrong—but it is the way of the world.

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