Conflicts In The Alchemist

596 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Literary analysis of the alchemist

The Alchemist is a book that's mainly about spirituality and finding your Personal Legend. This book offers and explores themes that make you question a lot of things about yourself and about the world. The conflict, along with the theme, shapes the way the book makes you view the world after you read it. There are many themes in this piece of literature. For example, it teaches you to always follow your dreams and to always to always take note and take action on your said dreams. In my opinion and from what I've read, The Alchemist a recurring theme throughout Santiago's journey to fulfilling his Personal Legend. What i made from out of the theme was to follow your dreams and to listen to what your heart wants. Santiago learns …show more content…

The main one that shows up a lot in the book is the power of making your own decisions vs. the power of fate. Santiago goes through a lot of internal conflicts, causing his heart to become fearful of suffering. The main conflict as i said is the power of making your own choices versus the power of fate. The Alchemist teaches Santiago how to make his own choice, and not rely on fate, for fate can screw you over. Santiago is forced to become one with the wind when the alchemist only gives him two choices, which introduces Man vs. Nature. The alchemist gives him the choice to either be killed by the tribesmen or to show them what Santiago and (the alchemist believes i santiago to be able to “become” the wind as so to speak.) After three days, the boy learns to talk to the wind, and the sun to try and get them to help him become the wind. He tells them about his dreams and about the woman he loves. One more internal conflict that the boy goes through is his love for Fatima. He doesn’t want to go after his dreams, in fear of losing her. The alchemist reminds him that she is a woman of the desert, and that she will wait for him, in faith that he’ll come

Show More
Related

  • Oppositions: An Analysis of Juxtaposition in The Alchemist

    569 Words  | 2 Pages

    In The Alchemist Paulo Coelho presents a character, Santiago, torn between following tradition and his Personal Legend. Santiago tries to live true to his Personal Legend, which is a path pursued by those who strive to fulfill their purpose in life. Yet throughout the novel tradition, a motif, presents itself as a roadblock holding Santiago back from reaching his dreams. Coelho juxtaposes tradition against Personal Legend to illustrate its purely individual nature and the necessity of the acceptance of change to reach one’s dreams and goals.

    Read More

  • The Journeys of Survival in Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist and Yann Martel's Life of Pi

    1468 Words  | 3 Pages

    Santiago and Pi both discover new ways to understand the meaning of life on their journey: they realize their strengths and weaknesses, they communicate with other living things, they tackle their agitation with logic, and their faith in God strengthens. Santiago understands himself as he discovers on his journey, his purpose of life, which is achieving his personal legend, while Pi discovers his evil side, a side, which he never thought he would ever release. In The Alchemist, Santiago learns through his adventures of life as a shepherd, making him understand himself and the world better. He meets an old man, who claims to be King of Salem.... ... middle of paper ...

    Read More

  • Examples Of Greed In The Alchemist

    1466 Words  | 3 Pages

    When reading How to Read Literature Like a Professor along with The Alchemist, or any book for that matter, readers are able to dig deeper between the lines and come to conclusions that are not so obvious. Knowing how to digest literature can prove to be helpful since connections inside and outside of the text can easily be seen. The Alchemist sends us different messages throughout the end, leaving the reader to decide if the message is to follow our Personal Legends, or to realize it is just a dream. After reading How to Read Literature Like a Professor thoughts are directed to the follow your Personal Legend since Foster tells us to use Biblical clues to unearth the truth, as well as character actions that point to certainty. When you have an extra reading device to help interpret, the text seems to come alive. Through Fosters ideas I have come to the conclusion that the alchemist referred to on the cover of the book is not the alchemist that we meet in the center of the novel, but rather Santiago and becoming an alchemist is his personal

    Read More

  • Curiosity In The Alchemist

    1009 Words  | 3 Pages

    “And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it” (Coelho 23), these are the words an old king spoke to Santiago. This phrase constantly runs through Santiago’s mind while on his search for his treasure. Santiago, the novel’s protagonist, begins as a quiet sheep herder who has a recurring dream about being transported to the pyramids in Egypt by a child. Once Santiago met the old king, he decides to pursue his dream, find his treasure, and realize his destiny. Throughout The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, Santiago embodies curiosity, determination, and a naive nature through events that occur while on his search for his treasure.

    Read More

  • The Alchemist as a Monomyth

    1931 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...In conclusion, we can say that after applying Joseph Campbell's theory of The Monomyth on The Alchemist; it is noticeable that despite The Alchemist being a postmodernism wok of literature, the author Coelho used all major patterns of the hero's journey of ancient myth in his novel and this developed Santiago's journey from an ordinary one into an archetypal one.

    Read More

  • Overcoming Problems in The Alchemist

    617 Words  | 2 Pages

    Have you ever encountered problems while trying to fulfill a goal in your life? In the book The Alchemist, written by Paulo Coelho, a shepherd boy named Santiago overcomes obstacles to reach his personal legend. Throughout the book Santiago encounters many friends to help him fulfill his destiny. Santiago encounters many problems throughout the story. He overcomes them with the help of his friends and his wife-to-be. These problems shape Santiago into a dignified man of many traits.

    Read More

  • The Journey Through Adversity In The Alchemist By Paulo Coelho

    1221 Words  | 3 Pages

    First of all, the author shows that through persevering through adversity anyone can achieve their dreams. During the book Santiago continuously faces problems that he will have to overcome to achieve his Personal Legend. In this scenario, Santiago is in the city of Tangier when he is suddenly robbed of all of his money, by a thief who promised to take him to Egypt. However instead of thinking of himself as a victim of a thief he decides that “I’m an adventurer, looking for treasure” (34). Santiago was able to persevere through a situation that many people would not have been able to overcome and not able to continue their journey. Being able to persevere through

    Read More

  • Comparison of "The Alchemist" and "The Book Thief"

    1260 Words  | 3 Pages

    The two books by Markus Zusak and Paulo Coelho tells the stories of two characters, Liesel Meminger and Santiago, each in their own respective stories. In The Alchemist, Santiago’s story is a much lighter tale with an overall optimistic and adventurous air. He journeys from Spain all the way to Egypt and back before his adventure ends. Zusak’s The Book Thief, sharply contrasts Coelho’s story with the much darker and dangerous world of Nazi Germany.

    Read More

  • Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist: Synthesis Essay

    1287 Words  | 3 Pages

    There are many obstacles in everyday life, but none as detrimental to ones future as fear. Fear can cause people to not only avoid achieving their goals in life but it also forces them to think about it throughout every day. Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist shows that those who wallow in fear will never achieve their personal legend, and those who conquer fear will achieve anything they strive for. Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist is a commonly analyzed and criticized piece of literature. One of these articles is Rejendra Kumar Dash’s “Alchemy of the Soul: A Comparative Study of Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha and Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist”. Dash’s article is a literary criticism of the different parts of the character’s journey in The Alchemist. He talks about, in his article, how the theme in The Alchemist is found through analyzing the different parts of Santiago’s journey and what those parts mean. Another one of these articles is Lily Hasanah’s “Decision Making in Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist”. Hasanah’s article is a literary criticism of the main character in The Alchemist, Santiago. She searches for the theme in The Alchemist through analyzing the decisions, and the outcomes of those decisions, made by Santiago. Paulo Coelho provides access to his theme, for the most part, though the actions and adventures of the main character, Santiago. Although this is the method of delivery he had in mind, Dash and Hasanah view the delivery of his theme differently.

    Read More

  • The Alchemist Archetypes Essay

    1566 Words  | 4 Pages

    Santiago is a young boy who fits into the flawed hero archetype. His story tells of his journey to find his Personal Legend and the many new people and experiences he encounters. Santiago is flawed in the way that he does not have enough confidence in himself to complete the task set out in front of him. He is constantly putting himself off track and avoiding what he has to do. In the beginning of his journey, he faces a setback and his money gets stolen. While finding a solution and a job, he gets distracted loses sight of his dreams. A couple months into the job, he thinks, “...Egypt was now just as distant a dream as was Mecca for the merchant…” (Coelho 58) and he glorifies his new plan to “disembark at Tarifa as a winner” (Coelho 58) with his improved flock of sheep. However, he continues his journey two years later, despite his break in confidence. When Santiago reaches the Oasis during his journey across the desert, he gets sidetracked once more by a woman. This woman’s name is Fatima. The second time they meet Santiago speaks without thinking and says, “‘I came to tell you just one thing...I want you to be my wife. I love you.’” (Coelho 98). This alone demonstrates his rash actions of an inexperienced hero who causes his dreams to be postponed. However, Santiago is also a successful hero despite his flaws. He still continues his journey, no matter what, and eventually reaches his goal. Even through

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Santiago In Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist

    799 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Alchemist conveyed the up-most truthful meaning of santiago’s personal legend by teaching him the soul of the earth. This stage helped santiago and the Alchemist are talking doing what your personal legend is and also doing exactly what your personal legend desires are when they speak in terms of listening to one’s heart. “Whenever your heart is, that is where you’ll find your treasure. Santiago takes initiative on his dreams and pursue them regardless of love affairs and the hurt that comes along with it. The stage encouraged and also motivated santiago to find his treasure and make a better life for fatima and

    Read More

  • The Hero's Journey In The Alchemist By Paulo Coelho

    1053 Words  | 3 Pages

    He first struggles internally when he wants to understand the dream he is having repeatedly. During the call to adventure in the hero’s journey, Santiago heads to an old gypsy in order to understand the dream he has. However, after listening to the interpretation, Santiago decided to “never again believe in dreams” because the gypsy only told him things he had already known (Coelho 17). This internal struggle, which sets the stage for the rest of Santiago’s struggles, had restrained Santiago for some time because he wasn’t able to pursue his personal legend if he didn’t believe in it, However, he later overcomes this struggle and continues on his path to achieving his personal legend. Santiago struggles internally later when he meets with the chief of a camp in the desert who tells him that he wants to see him turn into the wind. The alchemist, a man Santiago met to help him achieve his personal legend, told the chief that Santiago will be able to turn himself into the wind to show his powers, and if he can’t, “[they’ll] humbly offer [them] [their] lives” (Coelho 145). Santiago has never turned himself into the wind, so he has to dig deeply within in order to find the

    Read More

  • The Alchemist Quotes

    790 Words  | 2 Pages

    "If someone isn’t what others want them to be, the others become angry. Everyone seems to have a clear ideals of how other people should lead their lives, but none about their own.” That is one of many deep quotes that makes the reader truly think about life in The Alchemist, written by Paulo Coelho. The book is about a young boy named Santiago, who loves travel and adventure, but he does not have the money to do so. He was raised to be a priest, but decides that he would rather be a shepherd, so that he can travel. Santiago’s father gives him two spanish coins, and tells him that he will learn one day that no place is as beautiful as the one he lives in. It seems like Santiago’s father believes in him, but not the way Santiago wants him to.

    Read More

  • The Fear Of Fear In The Alchemist, By Paulo Coelho

    743 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout the novel, Coelho uses symbolism to teach the reader many lessons about dreams. The most powerful lesson that was taught was that fear must be overcome in order to achieve a dream. Some symbolic characters he has used are the crystal merchant, the Englishman, and the alchemist. First of all, the first symbol used to convey the lesson that Coelho was trying to teach is the crystal merchant. Santiago met the crystal merchant after he was robbed.

    Read More

  • The Theme of “The Alchemist,” by Paulo Coelho

    513 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Theme of “The Alchemist,” by Paulo Coelho is, always follow your dreams and listen to your heart. At the start of the novel Santiago does not know what he should do when he is confronted by his dream. But by the end of the novel Santiago completely trusts his heart to guide him though life. Santiago’s story shows him learning and living out the theme of the novel.

    Read More

More about Conflicts In The Alchemist

Open Document