The Alchemist Novel Study Questions (help with what you can!) PART ONE?

1. Why does Coelho open with the modified myth of Narcissus? How does the new version differ from the original one? How does it change the myth’s meaning? What might the author be suggesting about how we perceive ourselves and the world? 2. The novel opens with Santiago thinking about his sheep. What does he observe about their existence? How might the sheep symbolize the way some people live their lives? How does his observation that they “have forgotten to rely on their own instincts” foreshadow later events in the story? 3. How does Santiago’s father react when his son tells him that he wants to travel? (p.9) 4. To what degree is his father’s observation about travelers (“They come in search of new things, but when they leave they are basically the same people they were when they arrived.”) true about Santiago? 5. Why does the old fortune teller say that Santiago’s dream is difficult to interpret? (p.12- 14). Why is Santiago suspicious of her? 6. The old man tells Santiago the story about the miner and the emerald on p. 24. How does it connect to Santiago’s situation? What does he mean when he says that “treasure is uncovered by the force of flowing water, and it is buried by the same currents”? What does this quote have to do with the miner/emerald story? 7. What point does the old man’s story about the boy in the castle and the drops of oil (p.30-32) make? How might this story apply to us in our modern lives?