STUDY GUIDE / NOTES THE ALCHEMIST BY PAUL COELHO

RISING ACTION

The rising action begins when Santiago sleeps in the church ruins and dreams about the child leading him to Egypt. From there, it follows his search for his treasure from Spain to Tangier to the oasis to the pyramids and back to Spain. Along .........

FALLING ACTION

Santiago returns to the ruined church and digs under the sycamore tree until he finds ........

POINT OF VIEW

The point of view is third person omniscient, which means that the reader sees and knows.......

OTHER ELEMENTS

FORESHADOWING

There are several other literary devices that pop up at various times in the story. One of the most prevalent ones is foreshadowing which frequently presents clues of something that will happen later in the novel. Some examples of foreshadowing include:


1.) The entire foreword, Ten Years On, is a foreshadowing of the obstacles Santiago will face on his search for his treasure.

2.) The Prologue is foreshadowing of the idea of the Soul of the World - we are all a part........

........11.) When the alchemist gives a second piece of gold to the monk to hold for Santiago it foreshadows that the boy will return to the monastery to finance his way back to Spain

IRONY

Another element that is important to note is irony - when something happens, or is seen, or is heard that we may know, but the characters do not, or that appears opposite of what is expected. Some examples of irony include:

1.) It is ironic that Santiago has turned down a life in the seminary because he didn’t need .......

.........6.) It is ironic that he traveled all the way across Africa to Egypt only to discover that his treasure was in Spain at the ruined church where he had his dream.

PERSONIFICATION

Another element that is important to note is personification - when something that is not human takes on the characteristics of a human being. Some examples of personification include:

1.) Santiago must listen to the words his heart speaks.

2.) The desert knows and understands Santiago, because they.....

.......4.) The wind and the sun speak to Santiago when he asks their help in turning himself into the wind.

The complete study guide is currently available as a downloadable PDF, RTF, or MS Word DOC file from the PinkMonkey MonkeyNotes download store. The complete study guide contains summaries and notes for all of the chapters; detailed analysis of the themes, plot structure, and characters; important quotations and analysis; detailed analysis of symbolism, motifs, and imagery; a key facts summary; detailed analysis of the use of foreshadowing and irony; a multiple-choice quiz, and suggested book report ideas and essay topics.

The Alchemist by Paul Coelho Free BookNotes Summary

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