Teaching The Alchemist: A Unit Plan for 10th Grade English, Exams of Literature

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The Alchemist

Unit written by:

Gene Brunak

Introduction to Unit

Concerns have been expressed about the pessimistic nature of the body of works widely available and taught at the sophomore level ( Of Mice and Men , Night , Animal Farm , Lord of the Flies , to name a few) – and the dearth of material that might provide a more optimistic perspective on things for the 10th^ graders.

The Alchemist (by Paulo Coelho) would appear to be an opportunity to offer a story which provides hope, while also offering 10th^ grade students a contemporary example of something other than a “Western” perspective (in an academic year which frequently viewed as a “survey of world literature”). Having been translated into 41 languages, the novel has captured the imagination of a wide audience beyond the United States; it could serve to help our students as they become “citizens of the world”.

The Alchemist deals with universal themes (duty versus passion, loving and losing, being taken advantage of) that many high school students (indeed, many people) faces on a regular basis.

The beauty of this novel is that its perceived “simplicity” can (a) engage reluctant readers, and (b) be a “springboard” for advanced readers (who can be encouraged to read other works of “magical realism” that are available to PPS students, including (but not limited to) Gabriel Garcia-Marquez’s 100 Years of Solitude , Isabel Allende’s The House of the Spirits , Toni Morrison’s Beloved ; students can also be encouraged to read other Coelho works ( Veronika Decides to Die is highly recommended for more sophisticated readers – similar thematically to The Alchemist , it examines the “will to live”, but also deals with suicide, mild sexuality). The Alchemist is also very cinematic (its film rights having been purchased by Laurence Fishburne); the film adaptation of Veronika Decides to Die is slated to premier in 2010.

In addition to exposing students to a richly rewarding novel and the literary tradition on magical realism, the unit helps students to develop close reading and analysis skills, particularly with theme and character. And because of the personal nature of the narrative, the unit also asks students to improve their narrative writing abilities, which are assessed at various times throughout the unit and on the culminating assessment. Unlike many others in this guide, this unit actually has two final assessments with the other one being a personal, independently designed project that synthesize the students’ knowledge of the novel. Like Santigo, the protagonist in The Alchemist , your students will embark on a journey that I hope is a satisfying and enriching one.

Stage 3: Learning Plan – The Alchemist

Activity Title Priority Standards Page

Lesson #1: “Magical Realism” – “Very Old Man”

10.12. Differentiate among the different types of fiction: 10.15. Evaluate how literary elements (are used to establish mood, place, time period, and cultures, and contribute to the development of its theme.

Lesson #2: Pre- Assessment

10.09. Identify and analyze the development of themes 10.10. Identify the qualities the character, and analyze the effect of these qualities 10.18.10. Exclude extraneous details and inconsistencies. 10.18.11. Reveal the significance of, the subject and events. 10.18.12. Develop a commonplace, specific occasion as the basis for the reflection

Lesson #3: Metaphorical Journeys

10.18.11. Reveal the significance of, the subject and events. 10.18.12. Develop a commonplace, specific occasion as the basis for the reflection

Lesson #4: Choices and Consequences

10.09. Identify and analyze the development of themes 10.10. Identify the qualities the character, and analyze the effect of these qualities

Lesson #5: Intro to Novel

10.07. Draw conclusions about reasons for actions/beliefs and support assertions 10.09. Identify and analyze the development of themes 10.10. Identify the qualities the character, and analyze the effect of these qualities 10.12. Differentiate among the different types of fiction: 10.15. Evaluate how literary elements (are used to establish mood, place, time period, and cultures, and contribute to the development of its theme.

Lesson #6: Dialectical Journal

10.07. Draw conclusions about reasons for actions/beliefs and support assertions 10.09. Identify and analyze the development of themes 10.10. Identify the qualities the character, and analyze the effect of these qualities

Lesson #7: Philosophical Chairs

10.07. Draw conclusions about reasons for actions/beliefs and support assertions 10.09. Identify and analyze the development of themes 10.10. Identify the qualities the character, and analyze the effect of these qualities

Lesson #8: Children’s Book

10.09. Identify and analyze the development of themes 10.10. Identify the qualities the character, and analyze the effect of these qualities

Lesson #9: Mandala 10.09. Identify and analyze the development of themes 46

Activity Title Priority Standards Page

10.10. Identify the qualities the character, and analyze the effect of these qualities

Lesson #10: Found poem

10.09. Identify and analyze the development of themes 10.10. Identify the qualities the character, and analyze the effect of these qualities

Lesson #11: Story map 10.18.10. Exclude extraneous details and inconsistencies. 10.18.11. Reveal the significance of, the subject and events.

Lesson #12: Narrative Elements

10.18.10. Exclude extraneous details and inconsistencies. 10.18.11. Reveal the significance of, the subject and events. 10.18.12. Develop a commonplace, specific occasion as the basis for the reflection

Culminating Assessment #1: Personal Narrative

10.18.10. Exclude extraneous details and inconsistencies. 10.18.11. Reveal the significance of, the subject and events. 10.18.12. Develop a commonplace, specific occasion as the basis for the reflection

Lesson #12: Parable of the Elephant

10.09. Identify and analyze the development of themes 10.10. Identify the qualities the character, and analyze the effect of these qualities

Culminating Assessment # Alchemist Project

10.09. Identify and analyze the development of themes and other TBD by student

Lesson # 16 Unit Reflection

10.09. Identify and analyze the development of themes 78

Resources 79

Lesson #1 magical realism” – “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings”

Duration: 90 min.

Priority Standards: 10.07, 10.12, 10.13, 10.

Overview: The Elements of Literature anthology (4th^ course), which every 10th^ grade student district wide should have access to, contains the short story “A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings” by Gabriel Garcia-Marquez. Marquez, along with receiving a Nobel Prize, is credited with popularizing the genre of “magical realism”. The genre has come to be associated with writers from Latin America; Brazilian Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist is another example. Because of its complex - and unusual - nature, many students will need the teacher’s help in arriving at an understanding.

Materials: Elements of Literature – 4 th^ Course (Holt), Edward Scissorhands clip

Hook: If you have access to the film Edward Scissorhands , the first fifteen minutes makes for a perfect introduction to the concept of magical realism. It starts with a grandmother telling her daughter about where snow comes from. In a seeming non sequitur, she says it’s about “scissors,” but with this line, she takes us into a world that is both magical and realistic, tinged with myth making. Continue to play as these two worlds collide when Peg’s Avon Lady meets the fantastical Edward. End the film after Edward has been introduced to Peg’s house and family. Ask students to write the beginnings of a definition of “magical realism” from just this clip. Steps / Procedures:

1. Begin reading the story “The Very Old Man …” aloud with students. The language and setting will seem difficult to students at first. Pause the reading once they have brought the old man back to their house and put him in the coop.
2. Hand out the sheet with the description of “magical realism.” Divide the text into three sections – intro/background, characteristics, and themes – and assign each student one section. It’s a pretty scholarly article, so encourage them to mark up the text and talk with their classmates about their sections. Ask students to prepare a brief summary of their section, along with questions they have. Next, ask students to identify what they have seen in Edward Scissorhands and/or the story so far that seems like magical realism according to the article.
3. Continue to read the story, though you may want students to read it aloud in pairs or groups and independently at times. Afterward, you may want to direct students to discuss the accompanying questions, especially those that relate to the theme.
4. This story can also serve as a discussion for how “magical realism” has influenced art in the United States, including many films* ( Pan’s Labyrinth, Like Water for Chocolate. A more recent example would be Terry Gilliam’s film The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. Though teachers clearly should use careful discretion, cinema can be an effective way to engage many of today’s “screen- savvy” students; selecting a film that focuses on similar themes (rather than the film adaptation of the work itself) can be used to reinforce key ideas and concepts, and help a student recognize a writer’s style. There is a film version (though not widely available) of this story – Garcia-Marquez wrote the screenplay.

Magical Realism

A literary mode rather than a distinguishable genre, magical realism aims to seize the paradox of the union of opposites. For instance, it challenges polar opposites like life and death and the pre-colonial past versus the post-industrial present. Magical realism is characterized by two conflicting perspectives, one based on a rational view of reality and the other on the acceptance of the supernatural as prosaic reality. Magical realism differs from pure fantasy primarily because it is set in a normal, modern world with authentic descriptions of humans and society. According to Angel Flores, magical realism involves the fusion of the real and the fantastic, or as he claims, "an amalgamation of realism and fantasy". The presence of the supernatural in magical realism is often connected to the primeval or "magical’ Indian mentality, which exists in conjunction with European rationality. According to Ray Verzasconi, as well as other critics, magical realism is "an expression of the New World reality which at once combines the rational elements of the European super-civilization, and the irrational elements of a primitive America." Gonzalez Echchevarria believes that magical realism offers a world view that is not based on natural or physical laws nor objective reality. However, the fictional world is not separated from reality either.

Background

The term "magical realism" was first introduced by Franz Roh, a German art critic, who considered magical realism an art category. To him, it was a way of representing and responding to reality and pictorially depicting the enigmas of reality. In Latin America in the 1940s, magical realism was a way to express the realistic American mentality and create an autonomous style of literature.

Characteristics of Magical Realism

Hybridity—Magical realists incorporate many techniques that have been linked to post- colonialism, with hybridity being a primary feature. Specifically, magical realism is illustrated in the inharmonious arenas of such opposites as urban and rural, and Western and indigenous. The plots of magical realist works involve issues of borders, mixing, and change. Authors establish these plots to reveal a crucial purpose of magical realism: a more deep and true reality than conventional realist techniques would illustrate.

Irony Regarding Author’s Perspective—The writer must have ironic distance from the magical world view for the realism not to be compromised. Simultaneously, the writer must strongly respect the magic, or else the magic dissolves into simple folk belief or complete fantasy, split from the real instead of synchronized with it. The term "magic" relates to the fact that the point of view that the text depicts explicitly is not adopted according to the implied world view of the author. As Gonzales Echevarria expresses, the act of distancing oneself from the beliefs held by a certain social group makes it impossible to be thought of as a representative of that society.

Authorial Reticence—Authorial reticence refers to the lack of clear opinions about the accuracy of events and the credibility of the world views expressed by the characters in the text. This technique promotes acceptance in magical realism. In magical realism, the simple act of explaining the supernatural would eradicate its position of equality

Lesson #2 Pre-Assessment for The Alchemist

Duration: 90 minutes

Standards: 10.18.11, 10.18.

Overview: This is an opportunity to identify students’ strengths and weaknesses in the two areas that this unit will explore: personal connections to literature and personal narrative writing.

Steps:

1. As with any pre-assessment, it is important that students know that there is no risk with this assignment. They are expected to do their best in order to give the most accurate picture of their current skill levels.
2. Ask students to complete part one of the assessment where they make connections to famous characters from mythology and other sources. This section can be completed in pairs or small groups: this may help those students who may not know some of the names on the list. The goal of this part is only to start students making the connection between literature and their own lives.
3. You may want to read the story of Icarus aloud and answer any questions about it, but the narrative writing should be completed independently.
4. When their assessments are returned, be sure to give them an opportunity to reflect for themselves on their current abilities with the identified standards.

Pre-assessment for The Alchemist

Part One: When we read, we consciously or unconsciously make connections to the characters and stories we read. Nowhere is this more apparent than in mythology, legends, fables, and Biblical stories. Stories like these have been around for centuries because people across time and cultures continue to connect to them. Below is a chart of some characters that you may know from stories you have heard or read. Choose any 2- and write a brief description of how you might relate to the story.

Character What Happened? Your Connection? Pandora She was told to never open a box she was given. Curiosity got the better of her and she opened it and all the evils – pain, illness, death – flew out into the world. Whoops. Phaeton Son of the Greek god of the Sun, he desperately wanted to show off to his friends and so he made his father let him drive the sun by himself. He was too weak to hold it and he burned half the earth and died when he crashed Cinderella She worked all day for her evil stepmother and dreamed about something better. She got her wish when she married the handsome prince. Happily ever after….? Adam and Eve

They were given free reign of the Garden of Eden, so long as they didn’t eat the apple of the Tree of Knowledge. They did. They got kicked out of the best place on earth. Three Little Pigs

Moving out on their own, two of the piggies built their houses too quickly with lost-quality building materials and got eaten by the wolf. The third used bricks and survived to tell the tale Odysseus After fighting for 10 years in war, he spent another 10 years trying to get home to his beautiful wife and grown son only to find a bunch of guys living in his house uninvited. Luke Skywalker

Hangs out for most of his life on a desert planet until he finally gets to travel and he learns about the Force, the evil empire and his bad dad.

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Lesson #3: Metaphorical Journeys

Duration: 90 min.

Priority Standards: 10.20, 10.

Overview: This is a low-stakes exercise, but generally high interest for students (it’s about them!). Through a series of scenarios, students are asked to consider their response to each situation; afterwards, the teacher offers a “metaphorical” explanation for the situation, and what the student’s responses might indicate about their attitude.

*This is just an example of many “psychological” exercises (some can be found in the book “Kokology”), which can serve as icebreakers – but shouldn’t be overused).

Materials: Handout of quizzes and “answers”

Steps / Procedures:

1. Ask students to prepare to write their responses to a series of questions based on a hypothetical journey they will be taking, lead by the teacher
2. Once students are ready, ask them to clear their minds, so that they can visualize the scenario that the teacher will describe – students will be asked to be as specific as possible in their descriptions. Read the following questions to quiz # and allow students time (usually 30 seconds or less) to write their description
3. Then, the teacher can provide the metaphorical “interpretation” – though the emphasis is on fun (and the results shouldn’t be taken too seriously), this is a lighthearted way to introduce the idea of story as an allegory for life experiences (again, preparation for reading The Alchemist), and literary experiences serving as metaphors. All are subject to interpretation, but frequently a symbolic translation can be agreed upon based on common experiences.
4. Now that kids know what it’s like, you may want to do Quiz #2. They may have even more fun with the second one.
5. Since dreams and metaphor play such a large role in this novel, you may want students to keep a Dream Journal throughout the duration of the unit. If so, this might be a good place to introduce and assign it. Instruct students to focus mostly on the images and metaphors that appear in dreams.
6. Next, you will want to either remind or introduce students to the concepts of The Hero’s Journey. Most likely they will have had some familiarity from previous years’ study, but you can use the sheets that follow as a reminder or a quick introduction. Be sure that they can trace the journey of a character from a movie or a story they know.
7. Last, ask students to do a quickwrite about a metaphorical journey they have taken: trying something new, going to a new school, reaching a milestone, etc.

Metaphorical Journey Quiz

1. Journey stage #1: You are on standing on a hill, looking over a valley. Describe what you see.
2. Journey stage #2: You descend into the valley, and come upon a road – describe it
3. Journey stage #3: You travel the road, and are joined by an animal. Identify the animal; then, describe where that animal is in relation to you
4. Journey stage #4: You come to an obstacle – describe it; then, explain how you pass it
5. Journey stage #5: You encounter a body of water – describe it; then, describe how you “interact”, if at all, with it

Interpretations for Journey Quizzes

Key to Quiz #

Stage #1: Your view of the valley describes your outlook on life

Stage #2: Your description of the road reveals how you see life’s journey

Stage #3: Your animal, and its associated characteristics, symbolize your ideal mate (where it is in relation to you is how you view the relationship)

Stage #4: Your obstacle is how you view life’s obstacles – similarly, how you pass it represents how you approach problem solving

Stage #5: Your “water” is how you view intimacy and sexual relations; how you interact with it.

Key to Quiz #2:

The desert and camel theme symbolizes the journey toward personal independence. Specifically, this scenario reveals your feelings about parting with someone you love. Your answers show how you might react when the time comes to go your separate ways.

1: The words you spoke to the camel reveal what you might say to yourself when you realize love has been lost.

2: The person you encountered here could be someone who has helped or comforted you in the past or one you might turn to in times of need.

3: Your feelings upon reaching the town are your true feelings about finally getting over a lost love.

4: The new rider is a person toward whom you feel a secret rivalry, jealousy, or resentment.

Dream Journal

Throughout our study of The Alchemist, you ought to try to spend time paying attention to your dreams; the best way to do this is through a dream journal. At least once a week, try to complete an entry of a particularly vivid dream; usually, this is most effective if you write an entry as early in the morning as possible.

Date Description Images and Metaphors Meaning?