First Impression Journals

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

By: Raévon Khan


The Alchemist is a simple truth and a unique mysterious novel which was first published in Portuguese in 1988 by Paulo Coelho and in 1993 there was an English version which became an "overnight success".

 My very first impression of  the book was that it would be adventurous and mysterious. I read the prologue just to get a brief understanding of the book and in the prologue it told a story of a narcissus. It gave me the impression that the boy would learn a lesson on being humble from this alchemist, but that idea wasn't exactly where it was going as you read  further into the book. When my group and I first chose this book my first thought was about someone or something  finding a treasure or fulfilling a dream of some sort.

My first impression on the first character introduced, Santiago. He was very alert, intelligent and observant. He put everything in a very deep way and made reasonable statements. Santiago is a very likable character, he is really mature and he knows what he wants and when. What I liked the best about him was how he wasn't an uneducated person, he knew exactly what he was talking about. The next character introduced was a female named Gypsy to me she was very shady. I got this feeling that she wasn't going to be a good person, she just didn't seem right. Gypsy didn't read about his dream like you would think she would instead she asked for a payment without doing anything special. The last character introduced in the first 20 pages was an old man. He was really mysterious, he knew things about Santiago that the boy never told anyone. I thought that was magical and a sign that Santiago should listen to the man. I'm pretty sure he wanted to talk about more than Santiago's book, I felt that he was going to tell him about finding his treasure.

The setting was an old broken church which Santiago was sleeping in, to me it felt as an homeless person's place to sleep. But then I found out that he was Shepard and I thought it made sense because he would travel with his herd of sheep's, its what he said he wanted to do being a Shepard. The church to me seemed like a calm and a peaceful setting with a meadow. The Spanish  marketplace was the only other place introduced. It was okay, it seemed like a typical foreign marketplace, but it is where the old mysterious man came to Santiago. But so far I like where this book was starting and the impressions it gave me, it was a good start. It had a very mysterious, knowledgeable aura to it, like there was some other understanding to it that was beyond my standards. But overall the book to be honest gave a great deal of interest and curiosity in the first 20 pages.

FIRST IMPRESSION JOURNAL

By: Aliya Najarali


          The Alchemist is a novel written by Paulo Coelho. The novel focuses on the adventurous journey of a young Andalusian shepherd named Santiago. The reasoning for Santiago becoming a shepherd was because he desired to travel and see what the rest of the world was like. This idea was interesting as it caused me to admire how he was able to pursue his dreams of becoming a shepherd despite what his parents wanted. The story so far describes the life that Santiago has as a shepherd during his everyday routine to tend to his sheep. Santiago has met a Gypsy woman who told him her interpretation of his continuous dream, a girl with black hair who he seems to have a keen interest towards, and an old man who persuades him to go on the quest to find the treasure in the Egyptian pyramids.

Instead of chapters, the book is separated into parts which is interesting to me because of how it connects to the journey that Santiago is about to embark on. In the beginning of the novel, the reader gets a clear image of the type of setting Santiago is in and the difficulties he endures daily because he is a shepherd. The novel is told in third person which means it is told from someone else’s perspective. I feel that when a story is told in first person, one is able to have a better understanding of what the character is going through and how they deal with it.

The protagonist in the novel The Alchemist is Santiago. He appears to be a very curious and smart guy due to the way he thinks and acts. The past of Santiago with his parents and him attending a seminary seems to remain in his mind and affect his decisions. However, he demonstrates the ability to make good decisions at almost every time something happens in his life. I feel this is an important skill for him to have that will come in handy throughout his journey to find the treasure.  Santiago is confident in terms of knowing when to take a risk at something which he strongly feels is a part of a shepherd’s job. I predict that Santiago will be able to achieve success on his journey to find the treasure regardless of the trials that might come his way.

Overall, the novel The Alchemist seems to have an interesting plot with an exciting climax still yet to come. The protagonist, Santiago right now is deciding whether or not to believe his dream might become his reality. The novel highlights the importance of being able to persevere even when the opportunities of creating a better future for yourself, means that you will have to through various trials. 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS JOURNAL

By: Moira Gesland

By only reading the first 20 pages of the novel, it is evident that Santiago is an adventurous boy. His parents wished for him to become a priest however, like any smart man, Santiago denied what his parents wanted and followed his own path. The Alchemist is a beautifully written novel with great detail and description. It was easy for me to understand the context and visualize what is happening. So far, I am enjoying the book. It’s written in a third person’s perspective which is interesting because the reader is aware of what is happening in different places at different times however, I prefer a first person’s perspective because it’s interesting to see how the protagonist interprets his reality and know what and how the protagonist thinks and reacts in situations.

I find the book interesting. I am usually not the biggest fan of introductions because I find them long and boring however, I was intrigued by the way this book was written and the great story that came along with it. By reading the synopsis and the first 20 pages, I can already tell that this book is going to be interesting and fun to read. I enjoy books that involve adventure, drama and fantasy and therefore I look forward to reading and analyzing the rest of this book and finding the bigger picture and understanding the author’s words. I also look forward to seeing how this book will evolve and become something more than just the 20 pages I have read. The book is separated into two parts and I am eager to figure out why. I also wonder why they are distinguished into these two parts.

 It would be interesting to see Santiago have a love interest because he is already interested in someone practically before the story even begins. I’d like to see how their relationship evolves throughout the novel or if their relationship even evolves at all. If not, I wonder if he would meet someone else. I am curious to know who Santiago meets on his quest and what each person means to him. So far Santiago has only met the merchant’s daughter (Who he hasn't seen in almost a year) and the fortune teller. The fortune teller is more than certain that Santiago’s dream about finding treasure in Egypt is true. I have a feeling that Santiago’s dream does come true and he therefore goes on a quest to find the treasure from his reoccurring dream.

Overall, I am so far enjoying this book very much. I look forward to finding out what happens in the next two parts. I also look forward to seeing how each character evolves. The Alchemist is a great book. It is beautifully written and fun to read. Just be reading the first 20 pages, I’d recommend this to anyone I know because it’s a classic novel that I am sure everyone will love.

First Impression

by: Nicole Massad

Written by Paul Coehlo in 1988, The Alchemist is a novel revolving around the adventure of Santiago, a shepherd who is looking for a treasure in the Egyptian pyramids after experiencing two of the same dream. He encounters a gypsy who can interpret these dreams. She requested that she get a part of the treasure if he finds it, which foreshadows the outcome. Besides that, Santiago is looking for the merchants daughter because he wants to marry her.  

After reading the first twenty pages of The Alchemist, I realized maybe the book choice was not the best. So far, the thing that has been most paid attention to are sheep. The main thing I really got out of the book at this point is that Santiago is a shepherd and owns sheep. The author also felt the need to explain the back story of exactly the man is a shepherd, which was not important in my opinion and could have been summarized in a few sentences rather than a whole page.  

The literature is extremely boring in my opinion, and I was getting frustrated hearing about his sheep so many times.  I am still unsure why him being a shepherd is so important, knowing that the book is about treasure in the pyramids. I can see potential in the story, and I am hoping that it gets better, but I found that the introduction was just being dragged on with unnecessary, repetitive details such as his sheep which were mentioned over thirty times. These repetitive details annoyed me more than it should and took away from the story because every time it was said, I could not help but think about how irritating it was to hear about the same thing over and over again.  I found the book to be quite boring so far, and I wanted to stop reading after only two pages. The imagery and description was not effective and I could not get myself to picture the scene. Some parts of the book were unclear to me, but that may be my fault because I was not completely engaged in the book or paying attention to it as much as I could have.   

To conclude, I can imagine this book progressively getting more interesting, and I am looking forward to hearing more of the story with the treasure and the gypsy. I feel that the gypsy will be an important part later on, and I can see her causing a conflict. I can also imagine that the merchants daughter will change the course of Santiago's life, and possibly move him away from being a shepherd, resulting in him abandoning his beloved sheep to be with her. I am hoping that The Alchemist elaborates on the point of the story more, and I have high hopes that it will improve.