THE DEVIL AND MISS PRYM

-PAULO COELHO-


Background of the Author:
Paulo Coelho is one of the most beloved authors of our time. With sales of more than 75 million copies worldwide, his books have been translated into 61 languages and published in 150 countries. He is the recipient of numerous prestigious international awards, among them The Crystal Award by The World Economic forum, France's Chevalierde I'ordre national de la Lgion d'Honneur and Germany's Bambi 2001 Awards. He was inducted at the Brazilian Academy of letters in 2002. Mr. Coelho also writes a weekly column syndicated throughout the world.


I. SETTING OF THE STORY

1. Where did the story happen?
- The setting of the story is in the village of Viscos.

2. When did the story happen?
- The story happened in the year 2000.

3. Do you like the setting of the story? Why?
- The setting has sort of strange things and events in it. It's scary because there was a stranger who went to the village and right after his arrival there, murder cases were increasing. Perhaps, I didn't actually want to be in that setting.

4. How did the setting contribute to the atmosphere?
- The setting contributes a lot for the story because the story was just all about the strange and weird state of the village of Viscos.


II. PLOT

1. What is the main problem of the story? How was it solved?
-The main problem was the villagers didn't know who the stranger was and what his motive on the village is. And as long as the stranger is not arrested, many people living in the village are missing and oftentimes, found dead.
2. If you were the main character. Should you have done the same thing? Why or why not?
-If I were Chantal Prym, I probably won't do the same, because honestly, I am not that courageous to risk my own life in searching for the stranger which I do not know exactly what he can do to me and what plans he had in his mind.

3. What events made the story realistic?
- The story is realistic because as far as we know, there are lots of unecessary violence or problems that came up in a village. Murder and diseases are in fact many common nowadays.

4. What is the most interesting part in the events of the story?
-For me, the most interesting part was the last part of the novel. Because in this part, Berta already knew that it wasn't the fault of the stranger on why the people were missing. There was a virus who went up and killed the people. And for the stranger, he had a mission: to search for the answer to the question, "Are human beings, in essence, good or evil?"


III. CHARACTERIZATION

1. Who are the main characters? Describe them.

MAIN CHARACTERS

Chantal Prym- A girl who searched for the identity of the stranger
- She had a flashback of her memory

Stranger - the peculiar man who had a mission in the village of Viscos

Grandmother Berta - in Chantal's memory, her grandmother warned her about the stranger and his mission.


2. Who are the other characters?

OTHER CHARACTERS

- The people whom the stranger encountered: workers, policeman, priest, little girl, landowner, military men, religious persons etc.

3. Who among the characters do you like best? Why?

-The character I liked best was Chantal Prym, because she is very courageous and probably, can become a good leader when she grows up.

4. Do you like or dislike the main character? Why?

-Obviously, I like the main character Chantal because on the latter part, I said that she was my most liked character in the story.

5. Is there any change in the attitude of the main character?

-On the first part of the story, Chantal is a kind of girl that easily judge people but as the story goes, she learned to know first the person before she says something to them.

6. What are some of the reasons that may influence the change in the in the attitude of the main character?

-The stranger greatly influenced the realizations of Chantal when it comes to being judgemental.


IV. POINT OF VIEW

What point of view did the author use in narrating the story? Give some lines to illustrate the answer.

The author used the omniscient narration. An ‘all knowing’ kind of narration is very commonly found in works of fiction written as third person narratives. The author has a full knowledge of the story's events and of the motives and unspoken thoughts of the various characters.

“Chantal smiled, gave her a kiss, and turned her back on Viscos for the last time. The old woman was right: there was no time to lose, though she hoped that her life would be very long indeed.”


V. THEME

1. What is the central idea of the story?
- “Are we good or are we bad? How do we deal with these contradictions?''
The book tries to answer the question that haunts our minds and hearts whenever we are in distress or sufferings, are we good or are we bad ? the story capers around a small remote village. The families live like one big family. There is love and peace till the Devil arives. The stranger or the devil proposes to offer the villagers bars of gold only if they can kill one of them within a week. The message is sent to the village through an orphan miss prym. Its the transition in thoughts of villagers. Its the Devil taking over the good. An old widow ( Bertha ) is chosen to be killed because she is old, an has no family.The most interesting and important characters in the story are the Stranger, Miss Prym and the old widow Bertha. The Stranger was once a noble man with a normal family. Something that happened in his life has changed him to Devil so powerful.The book is deep in meaning; It teaches one to believe in nature.It also makes man responsible for all the actions happening around him. It makes one realise, most of what is already known, but never realised. Its the age old fight between Good and Evil beautifuly potrayed with refernces to Bible and religion including the Last Supper. The story is typical of Coelho’s works, since it raises fundamental questions related to our very existence. It’s an emotional saga about the daily struggle between good and evil, within our souls. It inspires us to reflect on the choices we make and dares us to triumph over challenges to accomplish our dreams.

2. What main idea/message does the author want to convey?

-Paulo Coelho's sinister fable, his 10th novel dealing with religious and ethical dilemmas, is full of caustic fun, supernatural chills, religious pondering, and scathing critiques of human nature--a dark and delightful tale. . The story is typical of Coelho’s works, since it raises fundamental questions related to our very existence. It’s an emotional saga about the daily struggle between good and evil, within our souls. It inspires us to reflect on the choices we make and dares us to triumph over challenges to accomplish our dreams.

3. Do you think the ideas or values affect our dealings with our fellowmen?

- Yes, because the idea of the story connotes our distinct characteristics as human beings.


VI. PERSONAL REACTION

1. Do you like the ending of the story?
- Yes, because the stranger had realized that people have both good and evil in them, it’s ultimately a matter of choice.

2. What values could you derive from the story?
values – not being judgemental, kind and good to people around you and also to be courageous to fight for what you think is right.


VII. SUMMARY

A stranger arrives in the seemingly idyllic mountain town of Viscos and offers the villagers a devil's bargain: kill an innocent person in the next three days and the man will give the village a wealth in gold. The man, it turns out, is a former gun-runner whose family was murdered by the same guns he sold, and ever since, he has been obsessed with testing the limits of human decency. He chooses the local bartender, Chantal Prym, to witness the gold treasure herself, and Chantal finds herself caught in the middle of this diabolical offer. Worse, the town, led by a greedy priest, decides to accept the deal, and Miss Prym is at the top of the list of sacrificial lambs.


VIII. LANGUAGE GROWTH

1. VOCABULARY

a. Indignantly - filled with or marked by indignation; decently
He walks and speaks indignantly.

b. Flecked - to color as if by sprinkling with flecks; streak or spot
The curtains have foam-flecked designs.

c. Consciousness - the state of being characterized by sensation, emotion, volition, and thought; the quality or state of being aware especially of something within oneself.
The man weakens the woman’s consciousness.

d. Opposed - to place over against something so as to provide resistance, counterbalance, or contrast; to place opposite or against something.
Rein didn’t want to oppose the teacher’s thoughts.

e. Futility - a useless act or gesture; the quality or state of being futile.
Futility is just like uselessness. So don’t act futile.

f. Gesture - a movement usually of the body or limbs that expresses or emphasizes an idea, sentiment, or attitude.
Our gestures create the impression of others toward our attitudes.

g. Broach - any of various pointed or tapered tools, implements, or parts; to break the surface from below.
I didn’t mean to broach.

h. Dreadfully - extremely bad, distasteful, unpleasant, or shocking.
Van acts dreadfully nowadays.

i. Astonished - to strike with sudden and usually great wonder or surprise.
I was too astonished to speak.

j. Trigger - to initiate, actuate, or set off by a trigger.
He probably wants to trigger.