Saturday, October 11, 2008

In The Alchemist, Melchizedek tells Santiago the fable of the oil and the spoon. Santiago believes he understands the moral of the story. What do you...

Melchizedek
speaks to Santiago and tells him a wiseabout a boy wishing to gain wisdom, so he goes to speak
with a wise man. The man has the young boy carry a spoonful of two drops of oil around the mans
house before he will speak with him. The first time, the boy returns with the oil and is still
refused, so he does it again, this time observing the house in more detail. Santiagos
interpretation of this tale is that, regardless of how much a shepherd may want to travel, he
must still look after his sheep.

The parable, however, seems to convey a
deeper meaning about appreciation and observation than that. I believe that in the parable, the
oil represents small details and things in this life. While there are many important things,
they are often small, insignificant details or events that we cling to, and they cause us to
miss the greater scheme of things around us, much like the boy failed to observe the house the
first time around. In order to be truly happy, then, we must...

No comments:

Post a Comment

How is Joe McCarthy related to the play The Crucible?

When we read its important to know about Senator Joseph McCarthy. Even though he is not a character in the play, his role in histor...