The Alchemist Feb. 05, 2010

NAME: Claudia Martinez DATE: February 5, 2010
TITLE: The Alchemist TIME: I'm guessing like an hour
TOTAL PAGES THIS WEEK: 70



QUESTION #19: What in the book upsets you or bothers you? Why?

REPONCE 1:
It bothers me that the author says all these quotes throughout the book and Santiago the main character doesn't listen to them all... he didn't even use Urim and Thummim the old man [god- i think] gave them to him. Also what bothers me is Santiago suffers and then gets help almost right away.. the author should wait add something and then oh look he's better now. But now. In the book theres a time when Santiago is at a bar and a guy tricks him into giving hime his money and steals it. But thene he meets the old guy and the old guy gives him a gold plate with Urim and Thummim. Then he just gets luckier and luckier until he goes broke again.... Its just repeating when something good or happy is going to happen. The beginning is happy and the ending is too. Theres only about three times when I actually feel bad for him.


QUESTION #13: Which character would you like to be? In what way? Why?

RESPONCE 2:
I would like to be the old guy whos name is Melchizedek who says that he is the King of Salem. This old man is like a god or something because through out the book even though he isn't with Santiago... like helping him find his treasure and stuff - hes there but appears in like or as a diffrent person...like a merchant or an alchemist. I don't know but this man has like powers of some kind because as an alchemist he makes gold and also helps Santiago... "Be the wind" and the wind [him]lifts the dessert sand [making it hard to see] so he truns into the wind.
The part of the old man that says quotes and stuff I don't think I'd want to be.... because I can say alot of stuff but I am not good with quotes and I'd probably forget them all. Melchizedek should have been with Santaigo the whole time and helped him until the end -not only to get to the pyramids.


QUESTION #14: What other character(s) beside the main character is really important to the story? How and why?

RESPONCE 3:
As I stated above Melchizedek was an important character and the alchemist, merchant. Oh and also the Gypsy lady who Santiago owes one tength of his treasure to. Fatima in the end of the story is animportant character also because she is who Santiago likes is like dying to see. Also the englishman. All these characters are important because they were with Santiago in along time and they got to know him and he told them about Personal Legends and all that stuff. So these characters come out alot during the book or are mentioned by someone.

QUESTION #20: I wonder why the author....


RESPONCE 4:
The author has like both a narrator and Santiago speaking in his point of view... he says things like "The boy or Santiago" but then he also says "I, He". It can confuse you especially when he changes evertime he adds a * thingy...which means the date is different [I think].... I also wonder why he left Santiago to like Fatima the dessert girl and not the Merchants daughter which he also liked in Andalusia or something.. Then my last wonder is why the author ended the book really weird BY saying what Snatiago was going to do now that he had his treasure. I mean if theres and Alchemist 2... then thats cool, but if theres not then I would kind of liked to know more. -And I got that off the epilogue.