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Where else does Coelho detail the physical setting to lend meaning to events in The Alchemist?

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The more detailed description of the physical setting make it easier for readers to connect to the story, because readers can imagine a real location where the events occur. In addition, the rich details about Morocco contrast with the calm life of Andalusia and show how far Santiago will go in pursuit of his dream. Frustration and Seneca'

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The village where Santiago meets Melchizedek is described in a way that shows the regular day-to-day lives of other citizens in Santiago's world. In particular, the shopkeepers whom he deals with show a lively but normal life that contrasts with later locations and show how far Santiago goes in pursuit of his dream.

Across the strait of Gibraltar, Santiago encounters an unfamiliar land and quickly falls into a trap by losing all his money. The experience emphasizes Morocco as an unfamiliar and unfriendly place at first, but later Santiago sets up a successful life for himself in business with the crystal merchant. He could very well have stayed in Morocco for the rest of his life had he not recognized that this wasn't the terminus of his journey. It seems that this is meant to contrast with his life in Andalusia and to show that the fact that someone finally...

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adapts to the unfamiliar and finds success in a place doesn't mean that it is the end of their journey. It is not enough to be able to adjust to a difficult and challenging circumstance, and the author wishes to use this location as a way to show that people need to fearlessly keep pursuing their desires.

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Coelho describes the ruined church where Santiago spent the night with his sheep very well. He gives explicit visual imagery so that the scene is imprinted in the reader's mind. This is the place where the boy has his dream about going to the Pyramids. When Santiago finally does get to the Pyramids, the leader of the robbers (after stealing Santiago's gold and nearly beating him to death) tells the boy that he, too, once had a dream about finding treasure, but he was not about to embark on a long journey because of a dream. He goes on to describe the place he saw in his dream, and the reader (because of Coelho's vivid imagery in the earlier chapters) is able to recognize the location based on the robber's words.

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