Blog 16

 
 
 
Eng 102 extends and intensifies the work of Composition I, including research methods and documentation procedures that will allow us ti identify and analyze literary works. The study of culturally diverse works in poetry helped me to comprehend the role of symbolism, which i think is the literary element that got my attention, because it allows the writers and also the reader to create a meaning from each person’s point of view. I learned about the hero's quest, which is a kind of life experience that all the heroes have in common represented with various stages in which the hero goes through many process during his life period and gives the perfect touch to create a meaning and emotions to the viewers, readers or the audience.

All of these activities during class made me realize that no matter what happens during the plot of the story, the hero is never going to die, he or she may experience near death experiences, but as soon as they recover they come back more powerful and wiser than before, and if they die, another hero may appear, and usually this new hero is a close relative to the real hero.

the entire class was a very active "Online Group" this made it easy to review each student works and learn new things, and what i think was cool is that we could choose the book or the literary works that we were going to analyze, so it made it fun, including the last two activities, Coraline and the book we used for blog 15, which i think it was good because i used The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, I read the Spanish version before, so it made a lot of sense to me when reading it in English.

In Conclusion this course extends and intensifies the work of Composition I, including research methods and documentation procedures that will help us out in becoming more assertive when looking and judging a literary work, I really think it was a really nice class with a really nice professor and with a nice use of technology.

Blog 15

Paulo Coelho was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. he wrote The Alchemist in 1987 has gone on to sell more than 30 million copies, becoming one of the best-selling books in history, and has been translated into more than 67 languages, winning the Guinness World Record for most translated book by a living author.

A young boy had a dream about a buried treasure hidden in the pyramids, and he decides to go for it in a trip full of adventure. A boy named Santiago meets a mysterious king named the king of Salem in Tarifa convinces Santiago that he has succeeded in discovering his Personal Legend. The old king tells Santiago that following his Personal Legend to its conclusion is a person’s only real obligation in life. this king because he plays an important role in this story and makes a strong impact on santiago's life he assists Santiago in making the decision to go searching for his treasure, and although Santiago does not know it the old king is a god.

Santiago listens to his heart and decides to go on a dangerous search for the treasure. He sells his flock of sheep and heads to Africa, where he is quickly robbed of all his gold and left despondent on the streets. He decides that he was foolish to believe in his dreams and quickly gets a job with a crystal merchant in order to save up enough money to go back home.

Fate is constantly intertwined with will, and a key theme of the book focuses on how much in life is under one's control, and how much is controlled by fate. The old king states that the world's greatest lie is that "at some point during our lives, we lose control of what's happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate." While this point of view strongly supports that will has a stronger hold on one's destiny, later events, such as Santiago and the alchemist being caught by warring tribes, demonstrate fate's hold on one's life. However, in every situation where fate does take over, the characters are capable to excavate themselves from the situation. For, instance, after being caught by the tribal chief, Santiago is able to turn himself into the wind, demonstrate his power, and is released.

The Crystal Merchant hires Santiago after he is robbed in Africa. Santiago has given up on his treasure and begins to transform the crystal shop. The merchant is a kindly man who is fair to Santiago, and even though he is afraid of change he takes Santiago’s advice about the shop. The money begins pouring in, and the shopkeeper is very grateful to Santiago.After almost a year working for the merchant, Santiago has made a success of the shop and has plenty of money to do whatever he wants. As he’s walking the streets to go back home he suddenly decides to take a chance and continue his search for the buried treasure.


This story has a very usual point that creates a feeling of real life, and i can identify it as love, because there is a part where Santiago joins a caravan and he meets a young girl named Fatima which is a young girl at the oasis. She is very beautiful, and as soon as Santiago sees her he loves her, and never wants to leave the oasis. She loves Santiago as well, and convinces him that he needs to go searching for his treasure, that she will wait for him to come back. Love is described as a part of the Soul of the World. Love occurs in life and Nature, as everything supports each other, they love each other. Santiago tells the desert that it shows love for the alchemist's falcon by offering it game, after which the falcon shows love to man as it offers the game to eat, and the man shows love for the desert as after one dies, his body is reintegrated into the desert sands. There is also love in people, demonstrated by Santiago's love of Fatima's beauty, and Santiago's knowing that it is part of his Personal Legend to love her. Also, there is true love, a brief definition given by the alchemist; "True love is love that allows you to reach your Personal Legend." After his encounter with the girl Santiago meets an Alchemist who has an important role in this story, i see this character as a supernatural aid who teaches Santiago about the Soul of the World, and also tells the boy that right before he’s about to discover his treasure he will be tested hardest. He also performs alchemy for Santiago just to show him it’s possible to turn minerals into gold.

In conclusion The two alchemy objects are physical representations of the Soul of the World, the Master Work, which is the result of completely purifying metals. The Philosopher's Stone, being completely pure and powerful as the Soul of the World, has the property of turning metals into gold, the most advanced and purest of all metals. The Elixir of Life cures all illnesses and gives immortality. These objects represent the purity in the world, and in people trying to reach their Personal Legend. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho its a very interesting story with a lot of literary elements, such as motifs and symbols, Everything in the world has a Personal Legend, and by reaching one's Personal Legend, they add to the Soul of the World, the purity of the world. The boy's Personal Legend is obvious, to find his treasure at the Egyptian pyramids. The alchemist fulfilled his Personal Legend, to become a true alchemist and accomplish the Master Work. The crystal merchant's Personal Legend is to visit Mecca, and the Tarifa baker's Personal Legend was to travel the world. The Personal Legend of a person surfaces at childhood, and one can never find true happiness without fulfilling it. The Personal Legend of Santiago drives him to his treasure, as he chose to accomplish his Personal Legend, and the alchemist to become the most famed alchemist in the world. While others like the Tarifa baker and the crystal merchant, choose to ignore the Personal Legend, and thus shape their life to be forever wanting. it has a very uplifting mood almost entirely through the novel. Even when Santiago stumbles or even falls on his path to his treasure, we know he will get back up again and persevere, and it also teaches many important lessons, some of which will help anyone become a better human being "Anyone who interferes in the destiny of others will never discover his own."

Blog 14

Well, it seems to me that i need to work a little bit more on my explanation about the book, but I realize that what I have created is not that bad, I already included what happened in the story but I need to add explanations about symbols, motifs and themes, by doing this little steps my blog will be completed, and I have to add that the comments and advices made by other people helped me see the story in a different way, something that gave space to talk about symbolism, because this story by Paulo Coelho has all the literary elements to create an excellent work.

Blog 13

Paulo Coelho was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. he wrote The Alchemist in 1987 has gone on to sell more than 30 million copies, becoming one of the best-selling books in history, and has been translated into more than 67 languages, winning the Guinness World Record for most translated book by a living author.

A young boy had a dream about a buried tresure hidden in the pyramids, and he decides to go for it in a trip full of adventure.A boy named Santiago meets a mysterious king named the king of Salem in Tarifa convinces Santiago that he has succeeded in discovering his Personal Legend. The old king tells Santiago that following his Personal Legend to its conclusion is a person’s only real obligation in life. i am planning to write about this king because he plays an important role in this story and makes a strong impact on santiago's life he assists Santiago in making the decision to go searching for his treasure, and although Santiago does not know it the old king is a god.
Santiago listens to his heart and decides to go on a dangerous search for the treasure. He sells his flock of sheep and heads to Africa, where he is quickly robbed of all his gold and left despondent on the streets. He decides that he was foolish to believe in his dreams and quickly gets a job with a crystal merchant in order to save up enough money to go back home.

The Crystal Merchant hires Santiago after he is robbed in Africa. Santiago has given up on his treasure and begins to transform the crystal shop. The merchant is a kindly man who is fair to Santiago, and even though he is afraid of change he takes Santiago’s advice about the shop. The money begins pouring in, and the shopkeeper is very grateful to Santiago.After almost a year working for the merchant, Santiago has made a success of the shop and has plenty of money to do whatever he wants. As he’s walking the streets to go back home he suddenly decides to take a chance and continue his search for the buried treasure.

This story has a very usual point that creates a feeling of real life, and i can identify it as love, because there is a part where Santiago joins a caravan and he meets a young girl named Fatima which is a young girl at the oasis. She is very beautiful, and as soon as Santiago sees her he loves her, and never wants to leave the oasis. She loves Santiago as well, and convinces him that he needs to go searching for his treasure, that she will wait for him to come back. after his encounter with the girl Santiago meets an Alchemist who has an important role in this story, i see this character as a supernatural aid who teaches Santiago about the Soul of the World, and also tells the boy that right before he’s about to discover his treasure he will be tested hardest. He also performs alchemy for Santiago just to show him it’s possible to turn minerals into gold.

In conclusion The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho its a very interesting story with a lot of literary elements, it has a very uplifting mood almost entirely through the novel. Even when Santiago stumbles or even falls on his path
to his treasure, we know he will get back up again and persevere, and it also teaches many important lessons, some of which will help anyone become a better human being "Anyone who interferes in the destiny of others will never discover his own."

-The Alchemist (Coelho) Study Guide. Web. May 24, 2010.
 http://www.gradesaver.com/the-alchemist-coelho/study-guide/quotes/


-Paulo Coehlo. Web. May 24, 2010.
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paulo_Coelho

Blog 12

A young boy had a dream about a buried tresure hidden in the pyramids, and he decides to go for it in a trip full of adventure.

this boy named Santiago meets a mysterious king named the king of Salem in Tarifa convinces Santiago that he has succeeded in discovering his Personal Legend. The old king tells Santiago that following his Personal Legend to its conclusion is a person’s only real obligation in life. i am planning to write about this king because he plays an important role in this story and makes a strong impact on santiago's life he assists Santiago in making the decision to go searching for his treasure, and although Santiago does not know it the old king is a god.

Santiago listens to his heart and decides to go on a dangerous search for the treasure. He sells his flock of sheep and heads to Africa, where he is quickly robbed of all his gold and left despondent on the streets. He decides that he was foolish to believe in his dreams and quickly gets a job with a crystal merchant in order to save up enough money to go back home.

The Crystal Merchant hires Santiago after he is robbed in Africa. Santiago has given up on his treasure and begins to transform the crystal shop. The merchant is a kindly man who is fair to Santiago, and even though he is afraid of change he takes Santiago’s advice about the shop. The money begins pouring in, and the shopkeeper is very grateful to Santiago.After almost a year working for the merchant, Santiago has made a success of the shop and has plenty of money to do whatever he wants. As he’s walking the streets to go back home he suddenly decides to take a chance and continue his search for the buried treasure.

This story has a very usual point that creates a feeling of real life, and i can identify it as love, because there is a part where Santiago joins a caravan and he meets a young girl named Fatima which  is a young girl at the oasis. She is very beautiful, and as soon as Santiago sees her he loves her, and never wants to leave the oasis. She loves Santiago as well, and convinces him that he needs to go searching for his treasure, that she will wait for him to come back. after his encounter with the girl Santiago meets an Alchemist who has an important role in this story, i see this character as a  supernatural aid who  teaches Santiago about the Soul of the World, and also tells the boy that right before he’s about to discover his treasure he will be tested hardest. He also performs alchemy for Santiago just to show him it’s possible to turn minerals into gold.

Blog 11

for this assignament i've chosen a book which is from a very popular writer from Brazil, he still alive, and the book is called "The Alchemist". This story, dazzling in its powerful simplicity and inspiring wisdom, is about an Andalusian shepherd boy named Santiago who travels from his homeland in Spain to the Egyptian desert in search of a treasure buried in the Pyramids. Along the way he meets a Gypsy woman, a man who calls himself king, and an alchemist, all of whom point Santiago in the direction of his quest. No one knows what the treasure is, or if Santiago will be able to surmount the obstacles along the way. But what starts out as a journey to find worldly goods turns into a discovery of the treasures found within. Lush, evocative, and deeply humane, the story of Santiago is an eternal testament to the transforming power of our dreams and the importance of listening to our hearts.

I chose this story because it reflects that life experiences are changed and shaped based on who we meet, what we experience, how we learn, and how we apply the new information to our lives and our realities.

the wikipedia link to learn more about the book i 've choosen is:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Alchemist_(novel)

to obtain more information about this great author please visit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paulo_Coelho

Blog 10

According to our past blog activities, i have learned a lot about the hero's quest, which is a kind of life experience that all the heroes have in common and these life experiences or as defined by Joseph Campbell as hero's quest is divided or at least represented with various stages in which the hero goes through many process during his life period and gives the perfect touch to create a meaning and emotions to the viewers, readers or the audience.

All of these activites during class made me realize that no matter what happens during the plot of the story, the hero is never going to die, he or she may experience near death experiences, but as soon as they recover they come back more powerful and wiser than before, and if they die, another hero may appear, and usually this new hero is a close relative to the real hero.
In conclusion, i agree with Joseph Campbell belief that "if the hero in his triumph wins the blessing of the goddess or the god and is then explicitly commissioned to return to the world with some elixir for the restoration of society, the final stage of his adventure is supported by all the powers of his supernatural patron".