The above painting is by Bega, an oil painting 'The Alchemist' in 1663.So I realize I gave myself over completely to The Alchemist. I know it was a bit cheesy, and I had little doubt that Santiago would fail, because he couldn't, because it is just that kind of book. I knew he was the one the alchemist in the desert oasis was waiting for, and of course he would be able to turn himself into the wind, because that is they way this book is. If he wasn't successful, then there wouldn't be much of a story. But oh do I still love it, ever so much.
I was reading the blogs, and as I read Bizz Browning's blog I was intrigued. Bizz says, "I mean, I guess it's kind of funny that this guy traveled this long distance, got rich and lost it three times- got the crap beaten out of him, and then has the huge epiphany that he should have stayed home. It's a bit of sick joke, when all of these wise people tell him to keep going onward to find his treasure."
Now a couple years ago I would have agreed with Bizz. Like what's the point? He left just to find out that what he really needed was at home? But wait, sounds like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz maybe a little bit?
However, had Santiago stayed at home he would never have found the treasure in the church, because he would never have made to the pyramids. Santiago would have gone off the shear his sheep, perhaps married that cute girl in the next village, and never realized his own personal legend. It is like going on a pilgrimage or something like that. Santiago learns more about himself and the world, and his soul(?) through the large detour from the treasure in the abandoned church. So he never had an epiphany in terms of, oh I should have stayed home, (now I could be wrong) but I think the epiphany, or realization is that he now knew that he had to leave, in order to return and know that place for the first time, and truly know himself.
page 152, "The boy reached the Soul of the World, and saw that it was a part of the Soul of God. And he saw that the Soul of God was his own soul. And that he, a boy, could perform miracles."
He realizes that everything in the world is connected through the divine, so when he communicates with the soul of the world he is communicating with the soul of God, which is his own soul. Sounds like, Meister Eckhart:"The eye through which I see God is the same eye through which God sees me; my eye and God's eye are one eye, one seeing, one knowing, one love."
Through leaving his comfortable life as a shepherd, he is able to have a religious, mystical experience. While this was really cool, I like that I originally thought his Personal Legend was to find the treasure, when really (as it appears to me) his Personal Legend was to his search for the treasure. But I suppose finding the treasure is his Personal Legend, not for the gold and jewels, but for the experiences leading up to it. Because the money never mattered anyway, seeing as how he was robbed three times and managed to gain it all back. What Santiago gained in his traveling, searching, and experiences, was more profitable than his treasure. He gets the gold and the girl as a bonus perhaps. But that is just my interpretation.
While looking around on the Internet I found this blog Broken Mystic, which provides the Guarantor of Gazelle. The blog mentions the Soul of the World, and Fatima. It is a nice little story. If you don't eat animals you will love it. I like meat, but I love this story.
I was reading the blogs, and as I read Bizz Browning's blog I was intrigued. Bizz says, "I mean, I guess it's kind of funny that this guy traveled this long distance, got rich and lost it three times- got the crap beaten out of him, and then has the huge epiphany that he should have stayed home. It's a bit of sick joke, when all of these wise people tell him to keep going onward to find his treasure."
Now a couple years ago I would have agreed with Bizz. Like what's the point? He left just to find out that what he really needed was at home? But wait, sounds like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz maybe a little bit?
However, had Santiago stayed at home he would never have found the treasure in the church, because he would never have made to the pyramids. Santiago would have gone off the shear his sheep, perhaps married that cute girl in the next village, and never realized his own personal legend. It is like going on a pilgrimage or something like that. Santiago learns more about himself and the world, and his soul(?) through the large detour from the treasure in the abandoned church. So he never had an epiphany in terms of, oh I should have stayed home, (now I could be wrong) but I think the epiphany, or realization is that he now knew that he had to leave, in order to return and know that place for the first time, and truly know himself.
page 152, "The boy reached the Soul of the World, and saw that it was a part of the Soul of God. And he saw that the Soul of God was his own soul. And that he, a boy, could perform miracles."
He realizes that everything in the world is connected through the divine, so when he communicates with the soul of the world he is communicating with the soul of God, which is his own soul. Sounds like, Meister Eckhart:"The eye through which I see God is the same eye through which God sees me; my eye and God's eye are one eye, one seeing, one knowing, one love."
Through leaving his comfortable life as a shepherd, he is able to have a religious, mystical experience. While this was really cool, I like that I originally thought his Personal Legend was to find the treasure, when really (as it appears to me) his Personal Legend was to his search for the treasure. But I suppose finding the treasure is his Personal Legend, not for the gold and jewels, but for the experiences leading up to it. Because the money never mattered anyway, seeing as how he was robbed three times and managed to gain it all back. What Santiago gained in his traveling, searching, and experiences, was more profitable than his treasure. He gets the gold and the girl as a bonus perhaps. But that is just my interpretation.
While looking around on the Internet I found this blog Broken Mystic, which provides the Guarantor of Gazelle. The blog mentions the Soul of the World, and Fatima. It is a nice little story. If you don't eat animals you will love it. I like meat, but I love this story.
Also, we have already encountered an alchemist in our Highbrow/Lowbrow class, Shem, from Finnegans Wake, but Alchemy runs throughout Finnegans Wake in many other ways. I found an interesting JSTOR resource called, "Alchemy in Finnegans Wake", by Barbara DiBernard. Unfortunately it will not allow me to copy and paste, but visit the link and just read a little bit for yourself. Definitely interesting!
also, I know what an alchemist is, but just to double check I went to Wikipedia: and I put in bold that part that I thought really hit home in The Alchemist, "achieving ultimate wisdom", is perhaps being enlightened....
Alchemy, originally derived from the Ancient Greek word khemia (Χημία) meaning
"art of transmuting metals", later arabicized as al-kimia (الكيمياء), is both a
philosophy and an ancient practice focused on the attempt to change base metals
into gold, investigating the preparation of the "elixir of longevity", and achieving ultimate wisdom, involving the improvement of the
alchemist as well as the making of several substances described as possessing
unusual properties.[1] The practical aspect of alchemy generated the basics of
modern inorganic chemistry, namely concerning procedures, equipment and the
identification and use of many current substances.
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