A T E A C H E R S G U I D E T O

Paulo Coelhos

The Alchemist

To realize ones destiny is a persons only obligationfrom The Alchemist

HarperPerennialA Division of HarperCollinsPublishershttp://www.harpercollins.com

The AlchemistPPaauulloo CCooeellhhoo

Note to Teachers

Before the publication of The Alchemist,Paulo Coelho (b. 1947) worked as a theaterdirector, playwright, and songwriter forsome of Brazils most popular singers. In 1986, he walked the Road ofSantiago, an ancient Spanish pilgrimage, and this experience inspired ThePilgrimage, his first novel, and The Alchemist, whose protagonist takes hisname from the road. When The Alchemist was published in 1988, it was aninstant international bestseller, and reached the #1 slot on bestseller listsin 29 countries. Paulo Coelho became one of the most widely read con-temporary authors.

The Alchemist tells the story of Santiago, the young Andalusian shepherdwho dreams of buried treasure in Egypt and embarks upon a challeng-ing and enlightening journey to find it. With all the simplicity and symbolic richness of a fable, Paulo Coelhos novel is both a hunt forburied treasure and a spiritual quest, with a hero who overcomes trialsalong the way with the help of disguised teachers who guide him.

The story begins with Santiago, referred to throughout the novel simplyas the boy, deciding to sleep in an abandoned church with an enor-mous sycamore growing from the spot where the sacristy once stood. Itis here that the boy, who had recently chosen not to become a priest,dreams of his treasure, and it is here that he will finally find it, buriedamong the roots of the tree, after he returns from his pilgrimage to the pyramids. These kinds of traditional religious symbols appear

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throughout The Alchemist, but in Coelhos story they have either lost theirhold or have been transformed. Santiago chooses not to become a priest,his treasure lies in a ruined church, the Old Testament King Melchizedekis now an alchemist, the traditional Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca hasbeen replaced by the journey to find ones Personal Legend, and so on.Indeed, Coelho employs ideas that, although derived from alchemy, maybe familiar to students from the many New Age concepts that havebecome pervasive in contemporary American culture. In order for theboy to reach his treasure, he must first learn to accept change, to valuesimplicity, to trust his experience of daily life over book knowledge. Hemust learn to live in the present moment, to read Gods will in signs andomens, to listen to his heart, and to penetrate the Soul of the World andthe Universal Language through which it speaks. In other words, toattain his material treasure Santiago must undergo a spiritual transfor-mation, a process that parallels the alchemical transformation of leadinto gold.

But if The Alchemist has clear lessons to impart, much of the novels appealcomes from the way Coelho dramatizes these lessons. As Santiago journeysacross the African desert, he falls in love, meets the Alchemist, encoun-ters warring tribesmen, risks his life by promising to turn himself intothe wind, and is robbed, beaten, and nearly killed just as he thinks he isabout to uncover his treasure. The surprise ending, in which the boylearns that his treasure lies not at the pyramids, as his dream had foretold, but back at the abandoned church where his journey began, haspowerful implications about the importance of looking into the rootsand foundation of our lives, voyaging outward to find the way backhome, and trusting our dreams even when it seems they have slippedbeyond our reach.

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Questions for Class Discussion

1. What is the significance of Santiago becoming a shepherd ratherthan a priest, as his parents had hoped? Why has he made thischoice? What does being a shepherd allow him to do?

2. The novel begins with the boy deciding to spend the night with hisflock in an abandoned church. The church has no roof and an enor-mous sycamore tree has grown up where the sacristy once stood.Why is it important that Santiago dreams of a child who tells himof his treasure in this particular setting?

3. King Mechizedek tells the boy that when we are children, every-thing is clear and everything is possible, but as time passes myste-rious forces convince us to abandon our dreams (p. 23). Do youthink this is true? What are the mysterious forces that threaten tohold us back as we grow older?

4. The King also tells the boy that when you really desire somethingall the universe conspires to help you find it (p. 24). And heexplains the principle of favorability, or beginners luck. Fromwhom does Santiago receive help on his journey? Have you ever benefited from beginners luck?

5. What tests and setbacks does the boy experience on his journey?Why is it important that he faces and overcomes these challenges?How would the novel be different if his quest was easier?

6. After he has been robbed of all his money in Tangier, how doesSantiago choose to regard his situation? Did this surprise you? Whatallows him to understand his loss in this way?

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7. What chain of events leads the boy to work at the crystal shop?What does he learn there? Why is he able to change and improve theshop, which has remained the same for many years? How is he dif-ferent from the shops owner?

8. When Santiago begins his trek across the desert, he meets anEnglishman who is a student of alchemy. In many ways they arealike: both are pursuing their Personal Legends, both haveencountered the ideas of alchemy. How is their approach to life andlearning different? Why does the alchemist choose the boy as hispupil over the Englishman?

9. The Englishman tells Santiago that he would like to write a hugeencyclopedia just about the words luck and coincidence. Its withthose words that the universal language is written (p. 72). TheSwiss psychologist Carl Jung coined the term synchronicity todescribe such moments of meaningful coincidence. When doesSantiago experience this kind of synchronicity? What do these expe-riences reveal?

10. The alchemist says that people become fascinated by pictures andwords, and wind up forgetting the language of the world (p. 89).What is this language of the world, or universal language as it iscalled elsewhere in the novel? How is it different than ordinary language? Is it spoken or expressed in some other way? Why woulda fascination with words and pictures make people forget it?

11. The boy is repeatedly encouraged to read the signs and omens tolearn what he should do. What is an omen? How are omens relatedto the universal language and to finding ones Personal Legend?What are some of the omens that appear to the boy in the novel?Have you ever experienced something that seemed like an omen?

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12. How does Santiago feel when he meets Fatima? How does he knowthis is love? What does she teach him about love?

13. Early in the novel, the King tells the boy that his book says whatmost other books say: It describes peoples inability to choose theirown Personal Legends. And it ends up saying that everyone believes theworlds greatest liethat at a certain point, we lose control of whatshappening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate (p. 20).And yet throughout The Alchemist, the concept of Maktubthe ideathat our destiny is already writtenis endorsed by many characters.What is the difference between being controlled by fate and dis-covering ones Personal Legend or destiny?

14. When Santiago meets the alchemist, he wants to give up his journeyto find his treasure and remain at the pyramids. He has become arespected counselor at the oasis, he has fallen deeply in love withFatima, and he wants nothing more than to stay where he is. Howdoes the alchemist convince him to go on?

15. The alchemist says that for the boy to find his treasure he must lis-ten to his heart. Why does the alchemist feel that the heart is moreimportant, or more trustworthy, than the mind? How and why is theheart able to understand things the mind cant grasp?

16. When Santiago and the alchemist are captured by one of the war-ring tribes, Santiago must turn himself into the wind to save his life.He asks the desert, the wind, and the sun to help him, but noneknow how to turn a man into the wind. Where does the boy findthe answer? What is the larger significance of this answer?

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17. How do you interpret the novels ending? Why is it significant thatSantiagos treasure is buried not at the Pyramids but back in Spainat the abandoned church where his journey began? What is themeaning of the fact that Santiago learns this from a man who alsohad a dream but refused to follow it?

18. What time period do you think The Alchemist takes place in? Are thereany clues in the novel? Why do you suppose Coelho hasnt clearlyindicated when the events described in the story take place? Why doyou think Santiago is simply called the boy throughout the novel?

19. The Alchemist is about a shepherd boy who journeys by caravan acrossthe desert, has many magical experiences, and meets many extraor-dinary characters. How were you able to relate to the story eventhough the world it describes is so different from life in contempo-rary America? What aspects of the story seem most relevant to you?Has reading the novel changed the way you view your own life?

20. If you could ask Paulo Coelho one question, what would it be? Howdo you think he would answer?

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Topics for Research and Writing Projects

1. Research the history of alchemy and explore the ways Coelho usesthe concepts and practices of this mystical science in The Alchemist.You might want to consider the relationship between alchemy andthe Pyramids; alchemy in Christian and Islamic cultures; or alchemyas a means of both material and spiritual transformation.

2. Much of the action inThe Alchemist hinges on the right interpretationof omens, signs, and meaningful coincidences, which the Swiss psychologist Carl Jung termed synchronicity. Research synchronicityand discuss those moments in the novel where coincidence playsan important role in guiding Santiago.

3. Spend several weeks closely observing how you make decisions. Do non-rational factors play an important role in your choices? Do you ever look for signs or omens to guide you? Has readingThe Alchemist changed the way you view this process?

4. In The Alchemist, King Mechizedek explains the principle of favora-bility, or beginners luck, a concept that is also important in Zen Buddhism, which emphasizes beginners mind. Do someresearch on this topic and discuss how it works in the novel. In whatsituations does it help Santiago? Why would a beginner be luckierthan someone with more experience? Have you ever benefited frombeginners luck or witnessed someone else who did something surprisingly well the first time?

5. Write a paper discussing what you think your own PersonalLegend is. Do you have a dream you want to achieve in your life?Has reading The Alchemist influenced the way you think about your dream?

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6. Many spiritual quests involve a journey into the desert. Research thesubject of desert spirituality and discuss the relationship betweenthe outer landscape and inner world in The Alchemist. In what ways isthe desert the perfect landscape for a spiritual journey? What doesthe Santiago learn about himself from the desert?

7. Examine the student/teacher relationships in The Alchemist. Look atall of Santiagos teachershuman, divine, animal, and naturaland discuss what the boy learns from these teachers.

8. Write a paper imagining what Santiagos life might be like after thenovel ends. Would he continue to be a seeker, or would he simplysettle down with Fatima and live a contented life?

9. In J. D. Salingers novel The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caufield speaksof the kind of book that makes you wish you could sit down andtalk to the author. Did The Alchemist have this effect on you? If so,write a letter to Paulo Coelho about your response to the novel andany questions youd like to ask him about the book. You can e-mailhim at autor@paulocoelho.com.

10. Write a paper discussing the significance of the novels endingofthe boy finding his treasure back where his journey began, buriedamong the roots of a tree, in the very church where he dreamed ofhis treasure. Did the ending surprise you? Did it change the way youlook at everything that leads up to it? What might the tree representin this context? Why did the boy have to go so far to find that thetreasure was back home?

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Suggestions for Further Reading

The Pilgrimage: A Contemporary Quest for Ancient Wisdom, Paulo Coelho; TheValkyries, Paulo Coelho; By the River Piedra I Sat Down & Wept, Paulo Coelho;The Fifth Mountain, Paulo Coelho; The Little Prince, Antoine De Saint-Exupery; Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Richard Bach; The Prophet, Kahil Gibran;The Book of Merlyn, T.H. White; The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, C.S.Lewis; Alchemist in Life, Literature, and Art, John Read; The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum; The Tao of Psychology, Jean Bolen

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Books by Paulo Coelho

TThhee AAllcchheemmiissttHarperSanFrancisco; 0062502182; paperback

TThhee AAllcchheemmiisstt oonn CCDDHarperAudio; Unabridged; 0694524441; $27.50

TThhee AAllcchheemmiisstt oonn aauuddiiooccaasssseetttteeHarperAudio; Unabridged; 0694524476; $24.00

EEll AAllqquuiimmiissttaa(TThhee AAllcchheemmiisstt in Spanish)

HarperSanFrancisco; 0062511408; paperback

TThhee IIlllluussttrraatteedd AAllcchheemmiissttHarperCollins; 006019250X; hardcover

BByy tthhee RRiivveerr PPiieeddrraa II SSaatt DDoowwnn aanndd WWeeppttPerennial; 0-06-097726-4; paperback

TThhee FFiifftthh MMoouunnttaaiinnPerennial; 0060930136; paperback

LLaa QQuunniittaa MMoonnttaaaa (TThhee FFiifftthh MMoouunnttaaiinn in Spanish)

Perennial; 0060930128; paperback

TThhee PPiillggrriimmaaggeeHarperSanFrancisco; 006251279X; paperback

TThhee VVaallkkyyrriieessHarperSanFrancisco; 0062513346; paperback

VVeerroonniiccaa DDeecciiddeess ttoo DDiieeHarperCollins; 0060196653; hardcover

Perennial; 0060955775; paperback

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HarperPerennialA Division of HarperCollinsPublishershttp://www.harpercollins.com

10 East 53rd StreetNew York, NY 10022-5299

ISBN 0-06-251761-9

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