alchemist essay outline

The Alchemist Essay

Many people go throughout their lives feeling unfilled and lost. This may be due to the fact that they never discovered their personal legend. Your personal legend "is your mission on earth" (22) and too many people turn away from their true purpose. Paulo Choelo teaches us in "The Alchemist" that turning away from your fate will have repercussions. In the story we meet people who have and haven't achieved their personal legend, the ones who have are undeniably more at peace, it proves that no matter how much you have to go through to get there, finding your personal legend is worth it. Ignoring your personal legend is selfish. When you ignore it the soul of the world suffers along with you. You cannot disregard your personal legend if you hope to have a fulfilling life.

People who achieve their personal legend are happier. The book shows us some examples of these people like the candy merchant. He is a man who has discovered his true calling he "Had a smile about his face: he was happy, aware of what his life was about, ready to begins a day’s work" (43). The boy tells us about the feeling you get when you finally achieve your personal legend at the end of the book. He realized that everything in his life was leading up to this moment and felt that" Life really is generous to those who purse their destiny”(176)

 People who do not achieve their personal legend are unfulfilled. Not all people decide to follow their personal legends. Some people put their dreams aside, like the crystal merchant. He "Awoke with the day, and felt the same anxiety that he felt every morning." (44). He is not content with his life and always wondering if he made the right choice for himself. He feels it is too late to change anything and is trapped. In the intro P.C. describes what happens to those of us who ignore our personal legends. it will "Eat away at our soul, until, one day, we are no longer able to free ourselves for the bitterness and it stays with us for the rest of our lives" vii. People who turn away from their personal legends have many reasons, for the people they love, for money, because they do not think they are worth it.

Finding your personal legend is worth hardships. even after all the strife you go through, in the long run you will be much happier." once we have overcome the defeats-and we always do- we are filled with a greater sense of euphoria and confidence." (vii). The alchemist’s warns Santiago about the dangers of choosing the easy path for his life, staying in the oasis with Fatima and not going to the pyramids. He tells him that "You’ll spend the rest of your days knowing that you didn't pursue your destiny and that now it’s too late. (126) When life gives you a gift like true happiness you cannot turn your back on it without consequences." Every blessing ignored becomes a curse". (58) The soul of the world wants you to achieve your personal legend, and if you turn your back on the life it has planned out for you, it will punish you.

Finding your personal legend benefits the whole world-everything is connected. When someone ignores their personal legend, and makes themselves discontent, everything around them suffers. “The soul of the world is nourished by peoples happiness, also by unhappiness, envy, and jealousy. "(22) That means when you are ignoring your fate you are affecting everything, including your loved ones. The soul of the world is benefited by people realizing their personal legend. “When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better, too.” (158)

Throughout this book P.C. tries again and again to show us that finding your personal legend takes priority over anything else you can do in your life. If you have not found your personal legend by the end of your life, you have failed your life's true calling. You will have gone through your entire life without ever finding true peace and you will have negatively affected everything around you.

topic sentence for the alchemist

paulo choelo teaches us in "the alchemist" that turning away from your fate will have repercussions.

brainstorming:
king mefehdhbxjv
"i cant help you if you think that you have enough sheep" 20
"the most important is that you have succeded in discovering your personal legend" 21
"its what you have always wanted to accomplish. everyone, when they are young, knows what their ersonal legend is." 21
"as time passes, a mysterious force begins to convince them that it will be impossible to realize their personal legend" 21
"it is your mission on earth" 22
"the soul of the world is nourished by peoples happiness. also by unhappiness, envy, and jealousy. to realize ones destiny is a persons only true obligation. all things are one" 22
"because you are about to realize your Personal Legend. and you are at the point where youre about to give it up" 23
"people learn, early in their lives, what is their reason for being. the old man said. maybe thats why they give up on it so early, too. " 24
"there is a force that wants you to realize your personal legend" 29
the alchemists warning
"Well, what if I decide to stay? …Let me tell you what will happen. You’ll be the counselor of the oasis …You’ll marry Fatima, and you’ll both be happy for a year…. And you’ll get better and better at understanding omens, because the desert is the best teacher there is…. Sometime during the second year, you’ll remember about the treasure. The omens will begin insistently to speak of it, and you’ll try to ignore them…During the third year, the omens will continue to speak of your treasure and your destiny. You’ll walk around, night after night, at the oasis, and Fatima will be unhappy because she’ll feel it was she who interrupted your quest. But you will love her, and she’ll return your love… So you won’t blame her. But many times you’ll walk the sands of the desert, thinking that maybe you could have left… that you could have trusted more in your love for Fatima. Because what kept your at the oasis was your own fear that you might never come back. At that point, the omens will tell you that your treasure is buried forever…. Then, sometime during the fourth year, the omens will abandon you, because you’ve stopped listening to them. The tribal chieftains will see that, and you’ll be dismissed from your position as counselor… You’ll spend the rest of your days knowing that you didn’t pursue your destiny, and that now it’s too late. (126)

the candy seller vs the baker
"when he was a child, that man wanted to travel too. but he fisrt dicided to buy a bakery and put some money aside... bakers are more important than shepards. in the long run, what people think about shepards and bakers becomes more important than their personal legend." 23
"the candy seller had a smile about his face: he was happy, aware of what his life was about, ready to begins a days work" 43

the glass owner
"the crystal merchant awoke with the day, and felt the same anxiety that he felt every morning." 44
"it was too late to do anything else" 45
"i just want to dream about mecca... im afraid that it would all be a disappointment, so i prefer just to dream about it" 55
"i dont want to change anything, because i dont know how to deal with change. im used to the way i am" 58
"every blessing ignored becomes a curse" 58


the introduction
"why is it important to live our personal calling if we are only going to suffer more than other people?
because, once we have overcome the defeats-and we always do- we are filled with a greater sense of euphoria and confidence. in the silence of our hearts, we know that we are proving ourselves worthy of the miricle of life" vii
"what is a personal legend? its gods blessing, it is the path that god chose for you on earth"vi
"the latter goes on for years, and without our noticing, eats away at our soul, untill, one day, we are no longer able to free ourselves for the bitterness and it stays with us for the rest of our lives" vii
body paragrph ideas
show comparisons between poeple who achived and who didnt their personal legends
show how people feel after
show how even though its hard its worth it
damages soul of the world
…there were certain things one shouldn’t ask about, so as not to flee from one’s own destiny. (43)
“You will never be able to escape from your heart. So it’s better to listen to what it has to say. That way, you’ll never have to fear an unanticipated blow.” (136)
My heart is afraid that it will have to suffer…Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second’s encounter with God and with eternity. (137)
They show that, when we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better, too.” (158)
It’s true; life really is generous to those who purse their destiny,…(176)

narcissis- answer #2

from what i understand this question to be, you want us to relate the story of Narcissus to our own personal legends. i don't believe that that question makes a whole lot of sense. Narcissus didn't have a personal legend, he was simply a selfish little man. He did contribute to the soul of the world by making a beautiful flower, but he wasn't very useful to anyone besides the lake until after he was dead and gone.

vocab sentences obtuse-wistful

the boy was very obtuse when it came to school work, and received strait c's no matter how hard he tired to work.
the donkey was onerous and bit me and refused to move even while whipping it
the teacher used his essay as a paradigm for the rest of the class which inflated his ego a great deal
our rash decision making lead to ridicule by students and anger from teachers.
i had been running for so long i was forced to take a short respite
i was rife with anger after finding out my two best friends had been talking about me behind my back
we were somnolent after a long night of studding together and ended up nodding off during 2nd period
trying to have a serious discussion with a child is almost impossible because of their tangential thinking, one moment you are talking about consequences, the next they are distracted by a butterfly.
the used car salesman unctuous manner made me wary of buying anything from him
the girl was so vapid i knew i would never be able to talk with her about anything remontly meaningful.
thinking of seattle makes me feel wistful about going home, i miss my friends and family very much.

poem about challenge

On Seeing the  Elgin Marbles

BY JOHN KEATS

My spirit is too weak—mortality

   Weighs heavily on me like unwilling sleep,

   And each imagined pinnacle and steep

Of godlike hardship tells me I must die

Like a sick eagle looking at the sky.

   Yet ’tis a gentle luxury to weep

   That I have not the cloudy winds to keep

Fresh for the opening of the morning’s eye.

Such dim-conceived glories of the brain

   Bring round the heart an undescribable feud;

So do these wonders a most dizzy pain,

   That mingles Grecian grandeur with the rude

Wasting of old time—with a billowy main—

   A sun—a shadow of a magnitude.

 the mood of the poem is humbled and tired of chanlenges  it is shown in figurative language. his spirit is not literally too weak. it does not literally weigh on him during sleep. the Elgin Marbles are famous Greek sculptures. they got their name from the Englishman who stole them in the 17th century. i think this speaker thought he was an important man but upon looking at this statue he realized how un-important he actually is.
the tone of the poem is influenced by the rhyme scheme. the poem clearly rhymes but the rhyme scheme changes. i think he chose ti do this to signify a change in the view of the speaker. "bring round the heart" i think the " i have not the cloudy winds to keep is in reference to the fact that he does not want to hold onto something, and he wants to see the world in from a new view.

ps. im not sure how this would fit in but i noticed a lot of mentions to things doing with nature, sun, eagles, cloudy winds, mornings eye etc.

what is symbolism? the alchemist

what is symbolism?
Symbolism is something that stands for something else. an underlying meaning.
3 symbols in the alchemist
1) The wind. the wind is a symbol in the alchemist. it is a symbol for freedom and possibilities and adventure.
2) unum and thurm


The space needle
For me the space needle means home. it means something i have grown up with all my life, and being able to see it on the skyline almost every day. it means folklife, which is  festival i go to almost every year. it means seeing friends. it means seeing family, especially ones that travel to Seattle for the for the time and want to see the iconic building. thinking about the space needle makes me miss my home and my family and my friends and my cat and the sound of rain and sunshine and amazingly green grass and the places and parks and streets i grew up with. thinking about the space needle makes me really really sad. it also means my phone background. it is something i can identify myself with in this world. especially when i away from home. like now. I have only ever been up in the space needle maybe 5 times in my life time. but when i think about it i get so goddamn nostalgic, and fuck shit whore i miss my friends.
For other people the space needle also may mean Seattle. but in a different more surface way. it might mean Starbucks and hipsters and rain. maybe it means where a distant relative lives. it might mean the world fair. it might mean smoking weed.

the alchemist discussion questions. part 1

I think that this statement is true. As she got older you become more focused on what is realistic, and actually liable to happen. I think the force is at least in part, pressure by society. People believe less and less as they get older that anything is possible. They think that in order to become successful they have to conform to society. “in the long run, what people think about bakers and shepherds becomes more important for them then their personal legends” -23. Another reason people abandon their personal legends is because they think what they have is plenty. Like Mechizedek says, “I can’t help you if you feel you’ve got enough sheep”. To be completely successful, you have to keep pushing for more and more. Santiago helped the shop keeper understand that. The shop keeper kept on pushing to make his business better and better and it expanded once he did that. You can’t achieve your personal legend when you settle for mediocrity. “The crystal merchant awoke with the day, and felt the same anxiety that he felt every morning” -44. The crystal merchant had not achieved his personal legend, and was therefore, unfulfilled.

The language of the world is how you can communicate with someone. It is different from spoken language because it can cross language boundaries. Omens and sensing things are definitely involved you have to be able to spot them. Like the boy was able to spot that the crystal merchant had to make a decision, so he began to clean his glasses without waiting for a response. You cannot question it while you are speaking it, you might not even notice it is happening, like the boy and the candy seller. A fascination with words and pictures can make you forget the universal language because you cannot notice when you are speaking it. The boy had been speaking it to his sheep all along but once he was in a different situation, still doing the same thing, he was shocked by it. “He was learning a lot of new things. Some of them were things he had already experienced, and weren’t new, but that he had never perceived before” -43. He hadn’t realized he was speaking the universal language until he did it with the candy seller.  If you cannot understand the universal language, you cannot understand the world.