The Alchemist Paulo Coelho Analysis

The president. An astronaut. A spy. A movie star. A veterinarian-- Everyone has their lives planned out when they’re a child. People dream of doing the most impossible things; however, most people never even start to pursue that dream. Practicality wins out and people gradually begin to compromise their dreams until it reaches a point where it is impossible. In the Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho, a young shepherd boy stakes everything he’s worked for on his dream of discovering a great treasure. On the way, the boy learns some universal truths of the world. Coelho uses metaphors and similes to show that to achieve a dream one must never give into fear and always stay true to oneself and therefore one’s dream.

Coelho first uses a metaphor to

As Santiago continues his journey, he begins to have more things to lose, such as the love of his life or the fortune he gains. So naturally, he finds it hard to continue because he fears that he could potentially lose it all. The man helping him finish his journey, the Alchemist, gives him this piece of advice: “Don't think about what you've left behind," The alchemist said to the boy as they began to ride across the sands of the desert. "If what one finds is made of pure matter, it will never spoil. And one can always come back. If what you had found was only a moment of light, like the explosion of a star, you would find nothing on your return”. (126)

The Alchemist compares a passing phase to the temporary “explosion of a star”, to help Santiago understand that if what he values is that true or a “pure matter”, it will be there when he gets back. This shows the readers that when pursuing a dream, they should not worry about what they could lose because if they do lose something, it was not something worth caring about anyway. Coelho is trying to say that when pursuing a dream, a person’s primary concern would be the pursuit of that dream, not the fears surrounding