Friday, 7 August 2015

What are Santiago's first impressions of Tangier, and how do they differ from Spain in The Alchemist?


Santiago's first impressions of Tangier are ones of bewilderment. He still has some of his old
cultural preconceptions as he watches people go about their daily lives. What is unfamiliar to
himsmoking hookah, Islamic daily prayer, men holding handsstrikes him as the actions of
infidels. He saw none of this when in his familiar Spanish pastures. This cultural relativism
makes Santiago distrust the people and his surroundings. As the narrative states, "The boy
felt ill and terribly alone. The infidels had an evil look about them." Everything he
experiences upon arriving in Tangiers makes him feel far from home, from the fact that he cannot
speak the local...

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