This week, you learned about The Hero's Journey. Trace Santiago's steps along the Hero's Journey, and use the text as evidence.

This week, you learned about The Hero's Journey. Trace Santiago's steps along the Hero's Journey, and use the text as evidence.

The Alchemist is an excellent example of the Hero's Journey, seeing as one can easily trace Santiago's steps along the path. He starts out as a shepherd and thinks he will always be shepherd. This is the life before the call. Then, he meets the old man, whom he soon learns is the king of Salem, who teaches him about the Personal Legend. "It's what you have always wanted to accomplish. Everyone, when they are young, knows what their Personal Legend is." (23) This is the call to adventure. After that, Santiago begins his journey but is stopped in Africa and begins to work for the crystal merchant. That stops Santiago for a while. He almost decides to quit and go home after he leaves work with the crystal merchant. That is another of the trials, but Santiago does decide to continue his journey. Santiago meets the Englishman and learns from him about alchemy as he travels to the oasis with the caravan. He meets the love interest, Fatima, in the oasis and meets the alchemist soon after. The alchemist is the supernatural aid in this story. He and the alchemist leave out into the desert, where Santiago learns about alchemy. The alchemy is Santiago's tool that is necessary for him to complete his journey. Santiago uses alchemy to change himself into the wind and overcome yet another trial. After that he finds out the location of the treasure described to him in his Personal Legend. He travels to the pyramids, gets the stuffing beat out of him, and learns that the treasure is back where he started, in Spain. He travels back, gets the treasure, and that's where the story ends.

Explore the notion of omens and Universal Language in this novel. What do you think of this idea?

Explore the notion of omens and Universal Language in this novel. What do you think of this idea?

I think this idea of the universe having its own language and ability to communicate what will happen through omens is a very valid idea. Omens have been around for as long as we can find. Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, and most other ancient civilizations had some sort of omens in their religious structures. Prophecies. They may not have been ramblings of religious maniacs from thousands of years ago if Paolo Coelho is right. Coelho writes many omens into his book, such as the ones Urim and Thummim create when Santiago asks. "God has prepared a path for everyone to follow. You just have to read the omens he left for you." What language are these omens in? The language of everything (or the universe, you pick). I think I'm going to liken this "universal language" to the Force from the Star Wars movies. The Force flows through everything, linking everything together. You just have to be able to sense these links. The king and the Gypsy fortune teller may be people who can read into the universal language, and they push Santiago further on his course.

What is a Personal Legend, and why do you think this will be important in the rest of the book?

In The Alchemist, the concept of a "Personal Legend" is explained by the King of Salem as "...what you have always wanted to accomplish. Everyone, when they are young, knows what their personal legend is." He goes on to say more about how the Personal Legend stays bright in a child's mind until a "mysterious force" convinces them that their goal isn't possible. The pursuit of a Personal Legend will surely become more important in the story, seeing as Santiago (the boy) is torn between traveling and going after marrying the merchant's daughter. The legend will serve as an impetus to start him on his journey towards fulfillment.

What do you hope to get out of English Language Arts class this year?

What do you hope to get out of English Language Arts this year?

What do I want from my english and language arts class this year? I've always been good at the wordy kinds of things like history and ELA, so these kinds of classes have always been easy for me. I'm very excited for what's going to happen in class this year, but I'm not too worried about the work. I've also taken a look at the list of the books we'll be reading in class this year, and I'm liking the list very much. I don't have much else to say, so I'm just going to say goodbye for now.

-Until next time!