1. Santiago became a shepherd rather than a priest as his parents had hoped. Why is this so significant to the story? What advantage does being a shepherd offer him?
2. How does Santiago’s experience as a shepherd help him throughout his journey to Egypt?
3. Melchizedek tells Santiago that he often appears in people’s lives just at the moment they are about to give up on their destiny. What is your take on destiny, and have you ever had a moment similar to what Melchizedek speaks of?
4. Consider the desert as a teacher. What does Santiago learn from the desert in The Alchemist?
5. What are your thoughts on the final scenes of The Alchemist (becoming the wind & reaching the pyramids)?
6. What is the significance of Santiago losing his entire life’s savings and possessions three separate times throughout the novel?
7. Reflect on this quote from page 134 “My heart is afraid that it will have to suffer,” the boy told the alchemist one night as he looked up at the moonless sky. “Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself.”
8. What is a “Personal Legend?” How does one find their own Personal Legend? What is your own Personal Legend?
9. The Alchemist talks about a “universal language;” the language of the world. What is this language? How is it different from spoken language? Why would people’s “fascination with pictures and words” cause people to forget the universal language? What are the consequences of forgetting it?
10. What’s a quote from Part One that stuck with you? Why does this quote feel significant to you?
11. What’s a quote from Part Two that stuck with you? Why does this quote feel significant to you?
12. How can you apply the concepts in this book to the principles of DEI that we are studying this month?