MORA

The Alchemist continued

5th February 2010

The Alchemist continued

posted in Alchemist discussion |

The image of the tree growing through the center of the old church is a contrasting image of nature and religion. Discuss the roles of nature and faith in this fable.

People who choose to follow their destinies face many difficulties.
Discuss someone you know who has faced hardship in order to follow his or her dream.

The journey through an exotic land plays an important part in Santiago’s growth and his discoveries.
Aside from literally leaving home to search for treasure, what are some other ways that people can develop themselves and build confidence?

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There are currently 39 responses to “The Alchemist continued”

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  1. 1 On February 16th, 2010, Aryanna said:

    I don’t think omens are true. So there be weird thing like cowinsedents but dreams are thing that you want but can’t have there things that give you hope in your life but will never come true but there are things like your dream job and things like that, that can come tru if you are good at it and make it happen.

    posted on February 16th, 2010 at 1:24 pm

  2. 2 On February 16th, 2010, Sami said:

    I dont think that what the king said is hogwash I think that it means some thing important and that we should all do something with our lives (not that people don’t do stuff with their lives) but just that our live means more than what we think it means.

    posted on February 16th, 2010 at 1:24 pm

  3. 3 On February 16th, 2010, ashley said:

    Well, i don’t really know this person but i know their story. Fantasia Burino, she is the winner of american idol a couple years ago. She grew up with an under aged mother, and an older brother. She got pregnant at 17 years old and the babies dad left her. She went through a lot trying to live up to her dream that she never thought she could do because her mother and her grandmother didn’t follow theirs. Her brother was the person that brought her to american idol and she had to leave her baby and her whole life to be a singer and follow her dreams.

    posted on February 16th, 2010 at 1:25 pm

  4. 4 On February 16th, 2010, Devin said:

    The person who stands out in following their dream would have to be Jackie Robinson because he accomplished a lot but he had to do so much.

    posted on February 16th, 2010 at 1:25 pm

  5. 5 On February 16th, 2010, McKenzie said:

    I think that if your out of your comfort zone for a while that really builds confidence or helps people think about things in the long run. Like if your in a place you don’t know, or around people you can’t relate to very easily, it makes you think in different ways and eventually you’ll start to feel a little more comfortable and confident, where before you were completely uneasy.

    posted on February 16th, 2010 at 1:26 pm

  6. 6 On February 16th, 2010, Jennie said:

    I disagree with Aryanna. You actually can make your dreams come true. Just some people never really try.
    But I do agree with Sami, our lives do mean more than what we think they mean. They are so so much more.

    posted on February 16th, 2010 at 1:28 pm

  7. 7 On February 16th, 2010, mora said:

    Great example!! There are so many historical figures that are inspiring dream catchers! Does MLK Jr. count even though he didn’t live to see his dream fully realized? Is that how we measure the success of a dream? If we can actually achieve it?

    posted on February 16th, 2010 at 1:30 pm

  8. 8 On February 16th, 2010, Chelsie said:

    The church represents faith, while the tree represents nature. Nature is stronger and can take over anything such as faith because nature is the soul of the world I think.

    posted on February 16th, 2010 at 1:30 pm

  9. 9 On February 16th, 2010, ao said:

    A way a lot of people develop is from just growing up.From meeting different people and learning new things.

    posted on February 16th, 2010 at 1:30 pm

  10. 10 On February 16th, 2010, Dana said:

    Someone who worked hard for something would be Dr. Martin Luther King. He ended up losing his life for what he believed in, and I think that would be the noblest of ways to die.

    posted on February 16th, 2010 at 1:32 pm

  11. 11 On February 16th, 2010, mora said:

    Ao -But there are some people who live their whole lives without really growing up. They’re comfortably complacent.. kindof sleep-walking through their lives… No?

    posted on February 16th, 2010 at 1:34 pm

  12. 12 On February 16th, 2010, McKenzie said:

    I like the story that Ashley was talking about with Fantasia. It shows the struggle she went through just to reach her dream and how much it meant to her. I think all those hardships she went through also means that the world doesn’t always help you reach your goal, but if you try hard enough anyways, then you’ll reach it without the help of “the entire universe”.

    posted on February 16th, 2010 at 1:34 pm

  13. 13 On February 16th, 2010, ao said:

    Ashley:there are so many people on American Idol like that! I thinks its so wonderful when they get far.I think that was her personal legend.

    posted on February 16th, 2010 at 1:34 pm

  14. 14 On February 16th, 2010, Jack said:

    People can develop themselves by just doing something they want to do. Don’t think of the negative effects they can have unless it could really ruin something. If it goes good for them it might build more confidence in them.

    posted on February 16th, 2010 at 1:34 pm

  15. 15 On February 16th, 2010, ashley said:

    Some other ways people can build there confidence if they do not follow there dreams or are content with where they are is to look at what they have instead of what they don’t have. Also realize that some dreams are worth waiting for or are meant to stay dreams.

    posted on February 16th, 2010 at 1:35 pm

  16. 16 On February 16th, 2010, shoshone said:

    Some other way people can gain confidence is to join sports and take on responsibilities. The way that sports builds confidences is because when you get better at whatever it is you’re doing it boosts your self-esteem and makes you try harder at whatever you’re doing.

    posted on February 16th, 2010 at 1:35 pm

  17. 17 On February 16th, 2010, Maggie said:

    Faith plays a huge role in this story. Their cultures and societies revolve around faith and religion. Nature, however, also plays a big part in this story. Fate and omens guide Santiago through his journey. I know that this is supposed to be about the clash of nature and faith, but I think they work together to get Santiago where he is going. He needs both to get what he wants.

    posted on February 16th, 2010 at 1:35 pm

  18. 18 On February 16th, 2010, ao said:

    Chelsea:That was insightful! I wholeheartedly agree!

    posted on February 16th, 2010 at 1:36 pm

  19. 19 On February 16th, 2010, ashley said:

    I agree with Mckenzie. Over time of knowing people and experiencing new things, you will gain confidence in your self. Yeah, sometimes it is hard to be confident around new people but just believe in yourself.

    posted on February 16th, 2010 at 1:37 pm

  20. 20 On February 16th, 2010, ao said:

    Mora:point..maybe they never rally grew up all the way? Or maybe lack something they need to find?

    posted on February 16th, 2010 at 1:37 pm

  21. 21 On February 16th, 2010, Darlene said:

    I disagree with aryanna too yeah sometime they are a coincidence but there could be omens out there. I also agree with Jennie dreams can come true there are people who say they don’t but it’s probably because they don’t try hard enough or try at all.(:

    posted on February 16th, 2010 at 1:37 pm

  22. 22 On February 16th, 2010, caleb said:

    I agree with Devin totally because he was a black person playing baseball with white people who were racist and didn’t want him to play. So he had to work really hard to accomplish his dream.

    posted on February 16th, 2010 at 1:37 pm

  23. 23 On February 16th, 2010, Logan said:

    Mora. There were thousands of people with that same dream MLK Jr. had but because he never lived to see it come true so what did he have to live for. Sure he helped the problem but so did many others. we know he was a big part today but He never got a chance to look back and say that he was happy for what he has done.

    posted on February 16th, 2010 at 1:38 pm

  24. 24 On February 16th, 2010, ashley said:

    I agree with Mckenzie. Over time of knowing people, you will gain confidence in your self. Yeah, sometimes it is hard to be confident around new people but just believe in yourself.

    posted on February 16th, 2010 at 1:38 pm

  25. 25 On February 16th, 2010, Dana said:

    Yea, I liked the story about Fantasia too. It showed that even though she made mistakes in her life and grew up in a pretty disfunctional place, she made the “Big Time” and grew to be something amazing.
    What year did she win, anyways?

    posted on February 16th, 2010 at 1:39 pm

  26. 26 On February 16th, 2010, Evelyn said:

    I agree with Mckenzie, I was going to say the same thing. Like for example there are doctors who travel all over the world and help all kinds of people in different situations, From that they can learn oter people points of view and walk a mile in their shoes. If you can put yourself in anyone elses shoes to see how they view the world then you can understand and grow more.

    posted on February 16th, 2010 at 1:41 pm

  27. 27 On February 16th, 2010, Devin said:

    I agree with Dana. MLK jr. did a lot because he never quite.

    posted on February 16th, 2010 at 1:42 pm

  28. 28 On February 16th, 2010, Dana said:

    Lol, well put Caleb. Even when that guy smashed in his knee, he stilled played with all his heart and ignored the hatred that bubbled all around him in the stands. He worked hard, and deserved to be remebered.

    posted on February 16th, 2010 at 1:42 pm

  29. 29 On February 16th, 2010, Maggie said:

    I think everyone around us has had to experience a hardship to get to their dream. Every dream you want requires you to overcome some obstacle and hardship. No matter what you do you can’t avoid them. I think basically every person you see on the street has had something that has been an obstacle to them.

    posted on February 16th, 2010 at 1:44 pm

  30. 30 On February 16th, 2010, shoshone said:

    One of the difficulties you almost always have to face is other people, when you are chasing what you believe is your dream you often have very many conflicts with it and many give up, but if it is destiny it will come to you through out you life, And if it wasn’t supposed to be than you would look back at it as a distant dream. But one of my friends dream is freedom and his difficulties is other people, but he almost got his dream, so that proves if you work hard enough for something you want you can achieve it.

    posted on February 16th, 2010 at 1:45 pm

  31. 31 On February 16th, 2010, Tasha said:

    Someone that has faced hardship for what he or she wants is my mom, she really wants a baby but she had very small chances of getting pregnate and she had many miss carriages but now she is having a kid but the plesenta is miss placed and the baby might die but sheis willing to take the chance.

    posted on February 16th, 2010 at 1:46 pm

  32. 32 On February 16th, 2010, Morgan said:

    To build confidence you should believe in your self and realize whats right and whats wrong. Don’t let people put you down just because they have a low self esteem or enjoy crushing other peoples dreams. Just because they don’t have any confidence doesn’t mean you shouldn’t.

    posted on February 16th, 2010 at 1:48 pm

  33. 33 On February 16th, 2010, Dana said:

    MORA- MLK jr. deserves to be remembered. Though there were many others who worked hard for his/her goal, he made one of the biggest marks on society, and by that I mean more than just the USA.

    posted on February 16th, 2010 at 1:48 pm

  34. 34 On February 16th, 2010, shoshone said:

    I agree with Ao that just growing up you can develop.

    posted on February 16th, 2010 at 1:49 pm

  35. 35 On February 16th, 2010, Sami said:

    A hard ship for someone I know is my brother. He made some mistakes when he was younger and he took the consicunses not so well. It took affect on what college he wnt to but know he is a really good cook and is working part time for a tattoo parlor and is an tattoo aprentice. So i think that if you think of something and have a hard time then you get will get a good bennifit (some times)

    posted on February 16th, 2010 at 1:49 pm

  36. 36 On February 16th, 2010, mora said:

    Morgan — I never met a dream crusher. Have you? My mom has sometimes put a damper on things or given me a serious reality check but I’ve never had a dream crushed or broken by someone else. Do you really think others have the power to do that? Even Cinderella’s evil step-mother couldn’t crush Cindy’s dream! I’m not even sure if I believe this but I’m going to say that only the dreamer can destroy the dream. What do you think?

    posted on February 16th, 2010 at 7:59 pm

  37. 37 On February 16th, 2010, mora said:

    Tasha – thank you for sharing. I’m reminded that COURAGE is needed in pursuing a dream. Your mom is quite brave.

    posted on February 16th, 2010 at 8:02 pm

  38. 38 On February 16th, 2010, mora said:

    Shoshone — will your dream be realized and come to you if you don’t chase it? Will it work for you even if you don’t work for it?

    posted on February 16th, 2010 at 8:03 pm

  39. 39 On February 16th, 2010, mora said:

    Maggie — I think there’s an inspirational quote along the same lines of your comment — the trick is to turn the obstacle into an opportunity! 😉

    posted on February 16th, 2010 at 8:07 pm