The Alchemist
“The Alchemist” is a novel written by Paul Coelho. This novel is about how a boy named Santiago who was once a Shepard and now is a rich man .Santiago is the protagonist of the novel. He was determined to fulfill his personal legend. There was also the alchemist, he was a two hundred year old man who understands the importance of personal legends.Melchizedek is the one who helps other people to pursue their personal legends. There are many more people that were with Santiago on his journey. Before everything started Santiago had a dream twice but he didn’t understand it.He went to someone who interpreted dreams. The old lady who interpreted told him about his dream she said (“You must go to the pyramids in Egypt. I have never
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The next day he woke up and saw a crystal shop. Santiago was interest in getting a job due to the reason he want to buy a flock of sheep. The merchant (the owner of the shop) offered Santiago to sell tea with crystal glass. He learned so many things while working at the shop. Santiago learned about his personal legend, about Arabic, how to work in a crystal shop. The merchant chose Santiago to work in a crystal shop because crystals are delicate as is a person’s personal legend and their future. Throughout the time Santiago worked there for a while until he decided to go search on his treasure. He left without saying goodbye to the merchant. Santiago wanted to be a shepherd again but the merchant told him to instead look for the treasure. (“I can always go back to being a Shepard, I learned how to take care for sheep, and I have not forgotten how it is done.”-Santiago 63) Santiago was very miserable but then he got delighted as he thought (“he’d will never in the hidden treasure until he thought he could become a shepherd again, he could become a crystals salesman again. (“Maybe the world had other hidden treasures, but he had a dream and he met the king. Which that doesn’t happened to just anyone”-Santiago 64)
"A hero is an ordinary individual who finds strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles”(Christopher Reeves) continuing to strive forward. This statement particularly adheres to Santiago, the protagonist, in the novel The Alchemist a novel written by Paulo Coelho. The primary basis of the plot line centers around Santiago, a mundane shepherd, whom obtains visions of the great pyramids of Giza venturing off in hopes of discovering a tangible treasure. The aspects of this unprecedented journey would be: his call to adventure, refusal of the call, answering of the call, supernatural aid, and finally the road of trials. With every step, Santiago follows the footsteps of every hero before him.
(Coelho 26) For example, Santiago’s first true test was to decide to leave behind his flock of sheep on the rolling hillside and follow his heart for adventure and head to Egypt in search of unknown treasure. Deep within himself, Santiago is questioning life and the meaning of it. But, it is only through a series of trials, adversities, and successes, that he comes to find his “Personal Legend”. (Coelho 26) Throughout the entire process Santiago does not lose sight of his objective, he maintained his focus on reaching the end of his goal. The qualities that Santiago personified of fate, commitment, love, and listening to the omens are what Paulo Coelho is teaching his readers to examine regarding their own “Personal
Santiago begins working for the crystal merchant and receives a good commission for selling each piece. He wants to make more money in order to buy some sheep and realizes that it will take him a year at the rate he is going. He offers to build a display case to place outside and attract more customers. The crystal merchant does not like things to change, and he resists Santiago's attempt to change things. After some reflection and discussion, he gives Santiago his approval to build the display case.
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
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.
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
Santiago is a shepherd trying to pursue his personal legend. His personal legend is the recurring dream about the hidden treasure at the foot of the Egyptian pyramids. In his dream he starts playing in a field with his sheep, when a child appeared and began to play with the animals. This was strange to him because sheep are afraid of strangers, but the sheep and children play along just fine. Then a child grabbed his hands and took him to the foot of the Egyptian pyramids. He begins his journey locally trying to find answers from a gypsy and a man named
In the book the Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, Santiago’s call to adventure was to travel the world , experience life, and find his hidden treasure. This meant he would stop at nothing until he achieved so. This troublesome stage is a period where santiago is tested to grab his dream before it leaves without him.“I’m not going to charge anything now, but I want one tenth of the treasure if you find it.”This stage was very confusing for Santiago because he didn’t know why or how foreign people knew about his personal legend. Santiago chooses to pursue his legend due to a fortune-seer’s knowledge. This significance of this stage so prominently prone to santiago’s view from the inside, he finally chose to go because he knows that everything happens
Curious, courageous, young, adventurous: these are all words to describe Santiago, the protagonist in the novel The Alchemist. In this novel, Paulo Coelho develops Santiago’s character as a young boy who goes on an adventure to find his life’s purpose. Through the hero’s journey, Paulo Coelho insists that both internal and external struggles often cannot stop people from achieving their goals, ultimately encouraging people to fulfill self discovery and understand who they truly are.
Santiago then sets out on yet another journey, to see the alchemist. The alchemist tells Santiago that he was going to point him in the direction of the treasure. Once again Santiago is at crossroads. He replies that he has already found his treasure, namely the money he received from the crystal shop and the chieftain, a camel, and also the woman he loves, Fatima. The alchemist reminds him that none of those were found at the Pyramids, which was his initial
"They come in search of new things, but when they leave they are basically the same people they were when they arrived. They climb the mountain to see the castle, and they wind up thinking that the past was better than what we have now. They have blond hair, or dark skin, but basically they're the same as the people who live right here." Santiago’s father is saying that no matter how much Santiago travels, or how much of the world he sees he will come back the same person. Santiago’s father is an important person in his life. Without his father believing in him Santiago might not believe in himself either. Santiago seems to know what he wants in life, but with his father practically telling him it is wrong he might not succeed. Santiago needs others believing in him or he will not have the motivation to succeed in finding the treasure. Not only does Santiago need others believing in him, but he needs to believe in himself as
Santiago had been rewarded with the treasure earned when completing his journey, “In my dream there was a sycamore growing out the ruin of the sacristy… there were precious stones, gold masks adorned with red and white feathers.” (Coelho 170). Santiago was able to accomplish his personal legend, which he had to go through many stages in the journey that got him closer to completing his goal. In this final stage of his journey was a good thing to accomplish, because he’s gone through all of the stages that had been placed there to challenge and see if he actually wants to accomplish it, so he did not give up and gained trust in himself to keep going. This is an important part of the journey because this had taught him to not give up and trust in his heart to accomplish his personal legend, such as when others believe that it is hard to accomplish what they want to complete and do in their life.
Santiago had it hard while he was growing up, his parents wanted him to be a preacher but he knew he was destined to be more as he could not implement his lively and traveling nature in a sacristy of a church. His way to the treasure which was bound to be his happy ever after was harder to get to as he had to give up many things. He had to promise The Gypsy Woman a tenth of his treasure he did not even have yet, give up a tenth of his flock of sheep to The King Of Salem for the knowledge he had already but was provided in a more explanatory way, getting robbed, leaving behind loved ones, working harder for something he had lost but, arguably the hardest part was to be patient, hardworking and strong which he had to implement time after time and that is what made the achievement of the treasure worth it for Santiago.
“ Where your treasure is, there also will be your heart”(159). This is what the alchemist said to the main character. The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho, tells a story of a boy named Santiago, who goes on a long journey to discover his personal legend. As Santiago goes on his journey to pursue his personal legend, he is faced with many challenges, as well as left to make difficult decisions that change him forever. As Santiago travels the world, he becomes a hero. In The Alchemist, Santiago shows characteristics, as well as archetypal characteristics that make him a hero. Santiago displays kindness, bravery and wisdom; also he is considered a hero because he displays many characteristics of an archetypal hero. He displays archetypal characteristics such as: receiving supernatural help, proving himself many times and receiving an apotheosis.
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.