Literature Analysis for The Alchemist

1. This novel is about a boy who is a shepard and becomes one in order to pursue his dream of traveling.  One night in a church yard, he dreams that he goes to the Pyramids of Egypt and finds treasure there.  He then goes into the city and consults a dream-reader who instructs him to go to Egypt and find this treasure.  After, while he is sitting in the plaza, an elderly man advises him to follow his dream and informs him of the idea of people's personal legends.  He instructs him to go to the Pyramids and later devolges that he is the King of Salem.  The boy sets off to Africa and arrives at the town two hours from Spain from boat.  He goes into a pub and gets mugged of all his money that he earned from selling his sheep.  He sees a Crystal shop that sells glass cups and comences work there.  Before he started working there, buissiness was very slow in the shop.  His arrival attracted a prosperity of customers and he earned enough money to go back home since his dream was extinguished.  He then encountered a british alchemist who was trying to  purse "The Alchemist" who lived in Egypt.  The Alchemist had mastered alchemy and the brit wanted to learn from him.  Together they joined a caravan to Egypt after his dream had been ignited again and they arrived at an oasis because they couldn't travel anymore since a war commenced in the desert and it was too dangerous for them to advance.  There he met a girl named Fatima, who he instantly fell in love with.  He also read an omen indicating an attack from one of the tribes was iminent so he warned the chiefs and saved the oasis.  The Alchemist recognized his power and foundhim to accompany him to the Pyramids.  Before they got there, they got captured by one of the tribes and the boy communicated to the wind, sun, and god to make the wind wipe out the tribe so they could proceed.  The Alchemist let him go by himself the last 3 hours of his journey and when he arrived he was mugged and beaten.  One of the thieves laughed after the boy told them why he was there and one of the thieves said that he had a dream too that he was supposed to travel to the church yard where the boy dreamt his dream and he would find treasure there.  So the boy then knew where his treasure was and after all of the conflicts he encountered, he followed his heart back to where his adventure originated and discovered a box full of gold coins. The real treasure that he uncovered though, was his gift to understand the language of the sould of the world and his heart which are all one. 
2. The theme of this novel is to follow your dreams no matter who or what suggests hopelessness in that dream and your Personal Legend will be where your heart is at.  My author chose to write about this to express his feelings about how we should persue our Personal Legends in life. 
3. I chose this book because it was reccomended by an intellectually advanced companion of mine.  The summary on the back cover describing it's empowering and enlightening affect it relays to it's readers made me grab interest then after commencing the novel I witnessed it for myself, I literally couldn't put it down.
4. The message that this book relays is realistic in that it demonstrates the challenges and paths in life that are neccessary to find happiness, wisdom, and fullfilment. 
5. The other's tone can be described as passionate.  He knows what he is talking about and relays his thoughts onto parchment fancily. "No matter what he does, every person on earth plays a central role in the history of the world." "Where your treasure is, there also will be your heart." "Follow your heart."
6. Symbolism, metaphors, imagery, personification, idioms, hyperboles, foreshadowing, similes, dramtaic irony, and allusions are displayed to relay the author's message.  "The boy awoke as the sun rose.  There, in front of him, where the small stars had been the night before, eas an endless row of date palms, stretching across the entire desert. (pg. 85) "Maktub." ( pg. 61) "The alchemist fell silent as the desert, and answered the boy only after they had stopped to eat." (pg. 137) "And their eyes spoke of death." (pg. 139) "The sun was setting as the boy's heart sounded a danger signal." (pg. 138) "The boy stood up shakily, and looked once moreat the Pyramids.  They seemed to laugh at him, and he laughed back, his heart bursting with joy.  Because now he new where his treasure was." (pg. 163)
7. The author gives me the impression that the Brit and the Chief were stubborn through indirect chracterization and direct characterization of the boy and Fatima informs me of their love for eachother. "At that moment, it seemed to him that time stood still, and the Sould of the World surged within him.  When he looked into her dark eyes, and saw that her lips were poised between a laugh and silence, he learned the most important part of the language that all the world spoke, the language that everyone on earth was capable of understanding in their heart.  I was love."
8. No, all characters speak in the same manner throughout the book.  
9. There is no protagonist to this novel. 
10. I felt as if I met a person after reading this novel since his descriptions and relativity was so profound through the usage of his characters. 
11. This book will always have instilled the ideas of the pursuit of our dreams and of listening to our hearts.  This book is soley on those two topics and are relayed beautifully throughout the novel. It has singed a mark in my soul that will never heal and it has transformed my perspective on life and on how to approach life in order to find happiness. 

Latin Roots #3

Roots and Derivatives

1. aud(it): Hear; audience 
2. avi: Bird; aviation
3. bell(i): War; rebellion
4. ben(e): Good, well; benefit 

Word List

1. antebellum: before the war, especially the American Civil War: typical of how things were before any war.  It was peaceful during the antebellum. 
2. audit: to attend a class only as a listener, not for credit; to check or examine a company's financial records; the process of making such an examination.  I became an audit at Hancock to become more knowledgable before my future classes at Harvard. 
3. auditory: related to the sense of hearing.  Dre's Beats are a superb auditory experience. 
4. avian: characteristic of or pertaining to birds.  Chris Bosh resembles a prehistoric avian creature. 
5. aviary: elaborate structure for housing birds.  Big Bird often spends a large quantity of time with his mistress in the aviary. 
6. avionics: the technology of using electronic equiptment in aviation, missilery, and space flight.  Nazi scientists demonstrated their skills at avionics when they constructed V-2 Rockets. 
7. bellicose: eager to fight or quarrel; hostile.  Passive persons do not practice bellicose characteristics. 
8. belligerency: the condition of warlike hostility; a hostile action.  Adolf Hitler was a master at belligerency. 
9. benefactor: a person who gives another financial help; a patron.  My parents often serve as a  benefactor to me. 
10. beneficiary: one who recieves a benefit of payment, as from an insurance policy.  I often serve as a beneficiary to my parents.
11. benign: not malignant; gracious and kindly; good-natured.  I am only attracted to benign females.  
12. inaudible: unable to be heard.  One whom is mute is often considered inaudible. 

Narcissus at 60

Narcissus at 60

Journal #1

My priorities are working my hardest to achieve my very best, which I know is capable of being ranked number one in my sophomore class.  I plan on maintaining all As and excelling in this course.  The reason I enrolled in this course is because I want to conquer the obstacle of an AP English class and this course will assist my preparation in doing so.  Success for me is when I accomplish my goals and know I put forth maximum effort in doing so.  My goal is to achieve the Valedictorian Award and get an academic and athletic scholarship to either Stanford or Harvard Universities.  My goals for this class persist of maintaining a positive attitude and excelling in the course while taking advantage of the critical opportunities bestowed upon me to recieve very useful and applicable knowledge proposed to me in this seemingly enriched learning environment and atmosphere.

Latin Roots #2

Roots and Derivatives

1. anni, annu, enni: year
2. aqua, aque: water
3. arm: arm, weapon
4. art: art, craft, skill

Word List

1. aqua: the hue of the sea; bluish-green; Linda's beautiful dress was aqua. 
2. aquaculture: the cultivation of water plants and animals for human food; Bass aquaculture is a scrumptious task.
3. aqueous: like, of, or formed by water; watery; My water polo skills orignated in aqueous terrain.
4. armada: a fleet of warships; In 1941, the Japenese destroyed a chunk of our naval armada.
5. armature: equiptment or clothing for battle, or any protective covering; an armlike extension; My water polo armature is simply a speedo, pads, helmets, and cups are not neccessary. 
6. armistice: a temporary suspension of hostilities by mutual agreement, as a truce preliminary to a peace treaty; Japan and the US practiced an armistice in 1945.
7. artifact: any object produced by art of the human hand; simple or primitive objects from the distant past; I enjoy viewing artifacts of ancient greece. 
8. artifice: cunning ingenuity; clever or sly trickery; Most people use the qualities of an artiface to get what they want out of people. 
9. artisan: a person skilled at a craft, usually a handicraft; In Colombia, a lot of women hold the occupation of an artisan.
10. millennium: a period of peace and great prosperity; a thousand years; My name will be iconic for several millenniums. 
11. perennial: year after year: throughout the years; I dominate the pool in a perennial fashion. 
12. superannuated: worn out or retired from age and years of use of hard work: obselete or outdated; I will never reach the phase of turning superannuated.