Critical Thinking and Old Man

Directions: In complete sentences, answer the following questions. Be thorough in your responses. These are critical thinking questions, which means you will have to go beyond what is written in the story…you need to INFER. Your grade will depend on your thoughtful and insightful answers. Answers should be at least 2-3 complete sentences in length. Prologue and pages 3-10 (stop at the asterisk) 1. Why does Coelho open with the modified myth of Narcissus? How does the new version differ from the original one? How does it change the myth’s meaning?
What might the author be suggestion about how we perceive ourselves and the world? 2. The novel opens with Santiago thinking about his sheep. What does he observe about their existence? How might the sheep symbolize the way some people live their lives? How does his observation that they “have forgotten to rely on their own instincts” foreshadow what might be coming in the novel? 3. To what degree is Santiago’s father’s observation about travelers (page 9) true about Santiago? Pages 10 (start after the asterisk)- 25 (stop at the asterisk) 1. Why does the old fortune teller say that Santiago’s dream is difficult to interpret? Why is Santiago suspicious of her? 2. The old man tells Santiago a story about a miner and an emerald. How does it connect to Santiago’s situation? What does the old man mean when he says that “treasure is uncovered by the force of flowing water, and it is buried by the same currents? ” What does this quote have to do with the story of the miner and the emerald? 1) By telling the new version he wants to tell his own interpretation of narcissus.
The original version is about finding inner beauty but Coelho’s version is about finding meaning of life and the life’s purpose. The difference is because it leaves out how the lake cared about to much of its beauty and less about there people. The new one reflects upon the positive outcomes as the original has a negative term. The suggestion is made through the book where Santiago had to see what the world looked like and he gave up a his parents dram and followed his own dreams no matter what.