Post A for Wednesday May 21st

Cultural commentary...well, I've gone over pretty much all of the cultural aspects of The Alchemist, so I'm not sure what there is to discuss...oh wait, there is one thing. In the last week I discovered where Paulo Coelho got the title for his novel. The introduction of another character, the Englishman, brings about a whole new religion for me. Alchemy is the study of turning metals into gold...which I already knew, but what I didn't know about was that there was a whole belief around this study. Aparently, those who study Alchemy aren't only looking to make gold. What they're making is a liquid and a solid substance, the liquid part is called the "Elixir of Life" (what I'm guessing is in Harry Potter) and the stone is called "The Philosopher's Stone" (similar to Harry Potter's "Sorcerer's Stone" I'm assuming"). The stone is what makes the gold, and the liquid can cure any disease. The second thing I didn't know about Alchemy was that those who study Alchemy need to master the Language of the World, which is a language that needs no words, but that everyone can understand. So that's something that I've learned.