How we cite our quotes: (Part.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Maybe the church, with the sycamore growing from within, had been haunted. It had caused him to have the same dream for a second time, and it was causing him to feel anger toward his faithful companions. (1.25)
BOOM. Hope you ran for cover, because the anvil of foreshadowing just came crashing down. All signs point to Egypt in the dream, but here Santiago has the intuition that it is the church that's trying to send him a message. Turns out, the treasure is buried at the church, which means that he had been in the right spot from the start.
Quote #2
He thought for a moment that it would be better to pay her fee and leave without learning a thing, that he was giving too much importance to his recurrent dream. (1.47)
Touchy moment, here: if Santiago obeys this impulse, he risks becoming like a sheep who doesn't think about his life or future and just goes along looking for comfort. (Soft, wooly comfort.) Luckily, believes in the power of dreams—especially clearly prophetic ones.
Quote #3
"You came so that you could learn about your dreams," said the old woman. "And dreams are the language of God." (1.48)
The gypsy lady is getting pretty mystical here, but we think she's trying to tell Santiago that he should pay attention to his dreams because they are one of the ways that God or the universe communicate with us. (Remember that next time you dream that Ryan Gosling is making you breakfast.)