The Alchemist Essay

256 Words2 Pages
1. As he stands gazing across the Strait toward Africa, Santiago feels a strong wind, called the “levanter” on his face. What does he realize that the wind symbolizes, and how does this realization help him decide to cross the Threshold and start on his journey? How do? The wind symbolizes freedom. The boy saw that he could have the same freedom, which inspired him to cross the Threshold and start his journey. We know that Melchizedek’s advice about finding your Personal Legend helps him make this decision because it made the boy eager to find his own reason for being. 2. What does Melchizedek give Santiago to help him on this journey, and how does he tell the boy to use the gift? This gift has symbolic meaning. Can you guess what the gift symbolizes? Explain your guess by supporting it with a reference to the text. Melchizedek gives Santiago two stones, one black and one white. He tells the boy to use this gift to read the omens by asking them a “yes or no” question. If he picks the black stone, Urim, the answer is yes and if he picks the white stone, Thummim, the answer is no. This gift symbolizes the boy’s resistance to follow what other things tell him to do. He wants to be his own person but at the same time he wants to follow his dreams. This mindset makes him actually use the stones later in the book to find out if he will find the
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