Assignment
I hope you have started reading The Alchemist. Read this carefully and begin browsing the NCC library for information.
Research paper guidelines- Broad subject: A Close Reading of Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist
1. Your first assignment will be creating a working bibliography which is a list of 10 possible sources that you will later read and takes notes from.
2. Next assignment will be about an academic critical essay (available online) on the novel written by a scholar.
3. You will also show how closely you have read the novel when you answer detailed questions about the text in HW 3.
4. You will then be ready to create a complete draft of the essay including a Works Cited page. This page includes what you actually cited, not the bibliography.
5. You will revise, if necessary, and submit the final version at the end of the semester.
Sample titles and topics below to help you, but you are free to come up with your own.
1. Santiago, the Boy, Becomes a Man: The Alchemist as a Journey of Radical Self Transformation
2. Role of Omens and Places in The Alchemist
3. Crossing the Borders of Religions into the World Soul in The Alchemist
4. Physical and Spiritual Alchemy in Coelho's The Alchemist
5. Use of Magic in The Alchemist
6. Characters Santiago Meets and Their Relevance in his Journey in The Alchemist
7. When Reality is Magical: The Philosopher's Stone in The Alchemist
8. Secret of Happiness in The Alchemist
9. The Alchemist as a Love Story
10. Daoist, Buddhist and Platonist Symbols in The Alchemist
Begin by reading pages 171-186 in The Alchemist book which includes a reader's guide and interview with Coelho and find a useful quote. Make a list of key words like alchemy, omens, Islam, Andalusia, Fatima, Daoism that you may use to do some research. Use the Nassau Library page to browse materials for the bibliography. Talk to a librarian.
Your focus must be an analysis of the novel, not the life of the writer or general reception of the book; however, you should include one short paragraph about Coelho and say a little about the book's popularity in your introductory paragraph. Next, you should develop your thesis paragraph where you will describe the book's general plot and then write your thesis. This paragraph should reflect your title and explain your perspective.
Your goal is to include at least 3 secondary (outside the novel) and 3 primary source (from the novel) quotes. Everyone must find one quote from the prescribed essay. Learn to incorporate the quotes into your writing; use parenthetical citations. You must write at least 4 full pages (1000 words) and a 5th Works Cited page in MLA style.