1. Point of View

 

Definition: the perspective from which a speaker writes or recounts a narrative or presents information

 

Quote: ""It is I who dared to do so," said the boy (Santiago). He was reminded of the image of Santiago Matamoros (himself) mounted on his white horse, with the infidels beneath his hooves."

 

Commentary: This book is told in the third point of view. This means that the narrorator is not one who is a character in the story. You never truly know what Santiago was thinking or feeling because he was not telling the story.

 

 

2. Foreshadowing

 

Definition: a literary device in which a writer gives an advance hint of what is to come later in the story. Foreshadowing often appears at the beginning of a story or a chapter and helps the reader develop expectations about the coming events in a story.

 

Quote: “And this is my interpretation: you must go to the Pyramids in Egypt. I have never heard of them, but, if it was a child who showed them to you, they exist. There you will find a treasure that will make you a rich man.” (Coelho, 14, 20-23)

 

Commentary: Coelho uses this as a form of captivating the audiences attention through the use of the supernatural, but he has not given away the entirety of the plot, and therefore it is not a legit phrase in the story to give away the ending.

 

 

3. Personification

 

Definition: giving something non-human characteristics

 

Quote: "The boy felt jealous of the freedom of the wind..." (28)

 

Commentary: Coelho uses this device because it allows him to connect a nonhuman force to an issue in human life.

 

 

4. Metaphor

 

Definition: a figure of speech in which a term or phrase is applied to something to which it is not literally applicable in order to suggest a resemblance.

 

Quote: "The desert is a capricious lady, and sometimes she drives men crazy." (71)

 

Commentary: In the context of this quote the metaphor was used to define the importance and establish the understanding of how dangerous the desert is, by expressing the fact that everyone needed to listen to him carefully and follow his directions. This is effective because when comparing the desert to a capricious lady, which means that the woman is erratic and sudden, he is expreesing exactly how tricky the desert can be and providing a comparison widly understood.

 

 

5.Symbolism

 

Definition: the use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities

 

Quote: "When you are unable to read the omens, they will help you to do so."

 

Commentary: The use of symbolism is used throughout the entirety of the book, everything that takes place is either registered as a good omen or a bad one.