The Alchemist Summary & Study Guide includes detailed chapter summaries and analysis, quotes, character descriptions, themes, and more. Download facebook video grabber for mac.

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• First performed in 1610, Jonson's satire of human materialism was set in then contemporary London. There are therefore a great many characters and themes which the original audience would have..
• In Paulo Coelho's book The Alchemist, our protagonist has many teachers. Santiago learns lessons from everyone and everything he encounters on his journey, right down to the desert, the wind, the..
• An alchemist is supposedly able to transform lead (or any other ordinary metal) into gold. While there is a character in the novel that is an alchemist, I think Paulo Coelho is referring to how..
• The point of Melchizedek's story is that “secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world, and never to forget the drops of oil on the spoon.” What he means is that when the boy in the..
• The Alchemist by Ben Jonson is a very comedic play. The premise of the play, that a rich man's butler has commandeered his house for use as a center for organized crime, is amusing in itself. The..
• Act 4, scene 6 of The Alchemist by Ben Jonson begins with Surly and Dame Pliant talking. Surly still poses as a Spanish Don, but he reveals his true identity to Dame Pliant. Contrary to Subtle and..
• The old man comes to Santiago because it is the old man's destiny to help guide people who are trying to realize their destinies. The old man tells the story of the miner who believed it was his..
• I am assuming, by the Top Tags, that you are reading The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho and not the play by Ben Jonson.A Comedy of Humours focuses on a character who exhibits one overriding trait, or..
• The gypsy woman merely reiterates that the boy, who dreamed that he went to the Pyramids of Egypt and found a great treasure, must go on his quest. The reason Santiago went to see her was because..
• MASTER LOVEWIT. The aptly named master of the house, he is quick to overlook the chicanery in his house when he sees the chance for romance and marriage with Dame Pliant.ABEL DRUGGER. Drugger is a..
• Santiago's father claims that any travelers that he has seen have all been more interested in the past than in the present. They travel to a place and then begin to romanitcize about what it would..
• Overall, Sasntiago's dilemma is how to achieve his 'Personal Legend'. After dreaming that he would find a treasure at the Pyramids of Egypt, Santiago first struggles with whether or not..
• Ben Jonson, who lived during the time of Shakespeare and who was both Shakespeare’s friend and friendly rival, was one of the great innovators in English dramatic comedy. Whereas Shakespeare’s..
• The all is one metaphor has to do with one of the underlying themes in The Alchemist. Namely, that we all have the ability to tap into a 'universal force' for understanding. This notion that the..
• One of Coelho's basic points in the novel is that individuals sometimes cannot achieve their dreams because people in their lives have not been a source of encouragement, but rather a source of..
• Santiago began his treasure hunt after dreaming that he would find one if he went to the Great Pyramids. It took several years for him to get there, but he did make it to Egypt. When digging a..
• This hilarious satire on the greed and avarice within humans contains two female figures: Doll, the whore who works with Subtle and Face to con the various individuals that come to them, and Dame..
• Although there are certain elements of a morality tale in this play, overwhelmingly there are far more elements that make this play a comedy - the theme of 'gulling' or deceiving was very popular..
• When the boy first arrives in the oasis, he notices that there are many more women and children than there are men. The camel driver explains that oases are neutral territories and reserved as..
• Coelho describes the ruined church where Santiago spent the night with his sheep very well. He gives explicit visual imagery so that the scene is imprinted in the reader's mind. This is the place..
• What Paulo Coelho means is that through erosion ('the force of flowing water'), whatever is buried may be brought to light (like finding gemstones such as the emerald underground). Time..
• What is correct to say about the satire in Jonson's play is that he is satirizing fools, crooks, and swindlers. Biographers have not succeeded in definitively identifying Jonson's personal opinion..
• In 'The Alchemist', Fatima is a woman of the desert. According to the definition of that term in the novel, a woman of the desert accepts life as it comes, and she waits for her man who..
• Like life itself, Santiago's perceptions about himself and his world begin to change as his life experiences change. Unlike many, however, it's not so much the changes that take place, but his..
• Ben Jonson prided himself on his skills of design as a dramatist, and certainly the design of his play The Alchemist reveals the kind of complex unity of which he was justly proud. Samuel Taylor..
• I would have to say that trusting one's intuition would have to be Santiago's greatest lesson. He trusted that the life of a priest was not for him, and he become a shepherd. This made him happy,..
• The alchemist tells the story of the poet and the soldier probably to illustrate the idea that sometimes we can influence our world's in unintended ways. On the surface, it would seem that the..
• The wind is an inspiration to Santiago. If I read you correctly, your question is a reference to the text below: That wind had brought the Moors, yes, but it had also brought the smell of the..
• Only three characters in The Alchemist are given names. The boy's name is Santiago. The old man's name is Melchizedek, and he is the King of Salem. Santiago's love interest is Fatima, the woman..
• As in much of this story, this question is a matter of interpretation. Keeping in mind the nature of the story's theme, i.e., identifying and following one's personal legend, the reader can come to..
• The major themes of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar is the question as to whether it is ever defensible to kill a king. The Elizabethan audience for which Shakespeare wrote this play generally believed..
• John Henry of the University of Edingburgh explains the Emerald Tablet this way: 'The Emerald Tablet of Hermes Trismegistus, one of the most important alchemical texts. It should be noted that..
• A discussion of Ben Jonson's The Alchemist as an allegory is, in truth, a little difficult. The reason why this is so is that The Alchemist is in the genre of farce not that of allegory. However,..
• [eNotes editors are only permitted to answer one question per posting. Additional questions must be posted separately.] In The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho, the old man (Melchizedek, the King of..
• At the beginning, Santiago is afraid to trust his dreams/intuition and so he seeks the aid of a gypsy woman to interpret a dream for him. Her words are actually a confirmation of what Santiago..
• Santiago's family wanted him to be a priest, and so they went him to seminary school. The boy, however, longed to see the world, and so he decided to become a shepherd so that he could travel..
• The king opens Santiago's eyes to the possibility that there are signs/omens all around him and that he needs to be on the look out for these as he goes about his life. Sort of like when you first..
• Absolutely! Ben Johnson's comedy The Alchemist is a direct blow to society's tendency to believe in anything that is advertised, especially everything that is dubbed to be a quick money maker. Even..
• The characters in Ben Jonson’s play The Alchemist all have significant names, as the following list of the dramatis personae (“persons of the drama”) implies: SUBTLE, the Alchemist: Subtle’s name..
• 'The Alchemist' by Ben Jonson is, I think, one of the most perfect comedies ever written. Kenneth Tynan, the veteran theatre critic, described is as 'good episodic play ..bead after bead, the..
• 'The Alchemist' revolves around deception and an understanding that in this society there were the very rich, and the very poor. 'For most purposes, there were two classes: the..
• Sir Epicure Mammon, one of the most memorable characters in Ben Jonson’s play The Alchemist, is associated with excess and with a commitment to material pleasures. These traits are especially..
• Near the beginning of Santiago's quest for his Personal Legend, his father tries to dissuade his son from travel. He throws up impediments that might have changed Santiago's mind; claims such..
• Santiago must endure trials in order to fulfill his Personal Legend and thus comprehend the Language of the World. One's goals are never reached unless we are willing to face fears. Additionally,..
• To an extent, this is an opinion question, and either option could be supported. I think defending the destination option is more difficult, so I think the better option is to say that the journey..
• The king you refer to in the story is Melchizedek, who also calls himself the King of Salem. Melchizedek is the one who encourages Santiago to pursue his destiny and to find his treasure. He gives..
• At the beginning, Santiago is afraid to trust his dreams/intuition and so he seeks the aid of a gypsy woman to interpret a dream for him. Her words are actually a confirmation of what Santiago..
• Sheep are usually thought of as mindless followers. They exist solely to produce wool and not much else. Sheep are also dependent on a shepherd to keep them together as a flock and to lead them to..
• There are many aspects which make this play a comedy - the theme of 'gulling' or deceiving was very popular in Johnson's times and the audience is able to enjoy the 'fleecing' of the central..
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