Monday, November 19, 2012Nineteen years ago, almost to the day, we lost three astronauts in a terrible accident on the ground. But we’ve never lost an astronaut in flight. We’ve never had a tragedy like this. And perhaps we’ve forgotten the courage it took for the crew of the shuttle. But they, the Challenger Seven, were aware of the dangers, overcame them, and did their jobs brilliantly.

a) Star

b) Space

c) Ship

d) Time

I am an autobiographer as opposed to a fiction writer. In my case I have to remember facts and try to use my talent or my art or my creativity to tell the truth about the facts. I submit that there’s a world of difference between truth and fact. Fact 5 tells us the data: the numbers, the places where, the people who, and the times when. But facts can obscure the truth. Because I write about a time when real people were alive—I mean, it’s not as if that is a time which I can create out 10 of the full complement of my imagination—I have to get back to get the facts. But then I have to do something else in order to tell the truth of the matter.

e) Writer

f) Self

g) Person

h) Book

Daily Learning Target

I can defend, through analysis of the text, that Santiago follows the hero’s journey.

The Hero’s Journey

Review from Friday

1.How do Santiago’s thoughts and perceptions about himself and the world begin to change on pp. 42-44? Describe three things that Santiago sees now that he had never noticed before.2.The Alchemist is both a fable and an allegory. Find three examples in Part One of the moral lesson. Write down the lesson and the page number. You will use this for a later essay.3.Unspoken Language- Think about the various forms of unspoken language we experience around us every day. What gestures, facial expressions, intuitions and signals do we give and receive to guide us in our responses, actions, reactions and relationships? 4.Draw a picture representation of the story up until this point. You can draw using a comic format, stick figures, or “real” art. Include a written description of the picture representation.

The Alchemist

Finish reading to the star on page 60.

Exit Slip

1. Author Paulo Coelho says that the biggest obstacle most people face in pursuing

their Personal Legend is, “the fear of realizing the dream for which we fought all

our lives.” (viii). How does this explain the Crystal Merchant’s failure to travel to

Mecca?

2. Coelho says another on of the most common obstacles to realizing our Personal

Legend is, “the fear of the defeats we will meet on the path” (vi). When his

money was stolen in Tangier, Santiago suffered a defeat that forced him into

taking a menial job with the crystal merchant. There, while he labored for a whole

year to earn money to return to his life as a shepherd in Andalusia, Santiago

learned many lessons on everything from the art of business to the art of patience.

Coelho says that, while defeats are an unavoidable result of the mistakes we make

in pursuing our Personal Legends, “The secret of life is to fall seven times and get

up eight times” (vii). By the end of today’s reading, how do we know that

Santiago has learned this lesson of persistence, which is one of the most crucial to

the pursuit of his Personal Legend?