Brief Summary: The Alchemist

I believe he takes what he tried to teach him more seriously. I thought this was a big quote and statement for Santiago’s destiny. I believe at the beginning of the book Santiago was not at Free will even though he chooses to become a Shepard instead of a priest. Santiago later in the book meets the Crystal merchant which he grows to love and respect. Even though Santiago enjoys his time at the store his still wants to follow his personal legend. At all time during this book I felt Santiago controlled his free will and made choices to continue forward. He had several obstacles and but we able to be worked through. He experienced theft, love and to be humble along his way to the pyramids. All these obstacles are not easy on life and for him to handle in one journey is amazing. Santiago made a big consequence when he met the love of his life. Even though she told him she was going to wait for him he still didn’t want to. She only will marry him if he completes his journey to the pyramids. This could have been a big lose for him but he never lost track of his destiny. Another example that Santiago showed free will was when he meets the Alchemist and he teaches Santiago about being

Santiago is having trouble parting with the life he has built for himself as a shepherd. The old king thought it most appropriate to tell a parable in order to ease Santiago in his decision to follow his Personal Legend. “The secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world, and never to forget the drop of oil on the spoon.”(Coelho 35). What the king was try to tell Santiago was that you can travel the world without parting with what you have built for yourself. This was able to give Santiago some piece with his decision to sell his sheep and set out on something new.

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.

Santiago made a reasonable sum of money working for the crystal merchant, and decided it was time to abandon his job to continue his search for his treasure. Along the way, he was halted by a tribal war in the desert and forced to stay in an oasis. During his visit he met a young woman named Fatima. After only a few interactions, Santiago decides he wants to marry this woman, “‘I came to tell you just one thing,’ the boy said. ‘I want you to be my wife. I love you’(Coelho, 95). What once was negative became positive. Santiago’s journey had been paused multiple times, and he was stuck in an oasis instead of venturing to the

During his journey, Santiago faces the obstacle of overcoming his fear of defeat. This challenge of his fear of defeat is what is significant to Santiago’s growth. As Santiago arrives in Morocco, he was robbed by a stranger and left with nothing in a strange place. Yet, over time Santiago found a job with a Crystal merchant and, “…he had been working incessantly, thinking only

14) Earlier in the story, the alchemist told Santiago "when you possess great treasures within you, and try to tell others of them, seldom are you believed." At the end of the story, how does this simple lesson change Santiago’s life? How does it lead him back to the treasure he was looking for?

To begin his long journey, Santiago meets a wise old king name King Melchizedek. He is in a local market when the king walks up and asks Santiago what he is reading. The king continues to say that the book he is reading is important but irritating because it describes the characters inability to choose their own Personal Legend. When Santiago asks where this mysterious stranger is from, King Melchizedek replies with “I am from many places, but I was born in Salem as I am the king there” (Coelho 64). Accepting his statement as true, Santiago continues the conversation allowing them to eventually talk about his dream of the Pyramids. The king wants to help Santiago, but for a price of six sheep. Before leaving with Santiago’s sheep he shares, “’The secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world, and never to forget the drops of oil on the spoon’” (Coelho 32). His message to Santiago reminds him that by following his dream he will witness beautiful sights and people, but that he should always remember the purpose of his travels. Leaving it at that, the king pointed Santiago in the direction to follow his dream.

Santiago also demonstrates exceptional resilience throughout the book. One example of this is when he sells his flock and travels to Egypt. Once arriving in Tangier he is immediately robbed by a thief, leaving him with no money. Rather than sulking and giving up, his resilient attitude guides him to looking for an opportunity to better his situation, which leads him to finding the crystal shop. Hear he puts all his effort into doing his work as best as he could, eventually leading to great financial success.

Santiago starts his journey relying on his good luck, but when he arrives in Tangier, he is stolen from. The alchemist tells him

The significance of this quote is Santiago was giving up on his dream, and going back to spain, to get the treasure. Santiago remembered what the old king said about not stopping dreaming and follow the omens. When he remembered what the old king said, instead of of going

Upon his arrival, a thief steals all his money, which caused him to work in a crystal shop with a merchant in order to earn the money back. The merchant was someone who long ago had dreams of his own, however gave up on them because he did not want to leave the crystal shop, which symbolizes his comfort zone. While working with the merchant, Santiago learns that for the sake of achieving one's dreams, changes and risks are necessary, and that the only thing that could stop a person from realizing his dreams, was the person itself. After long months of work, Santiago joined a caravan that was crossing the Sahara desert. There, Santiago meets the Englishman, a intelligent man that Santiago looked up to.

In Paulo Coelho’s novel, The Alchemist, we take part in the journey of Santiago. Santiago, whom is a young shepherd boy, longs to travel further then the Andalusian fields that he travels with his sheep. When Santiago takes to becoming a shepherd instead of a priest, he thinks he is following his heart. He soon has a recurring dream that then takes him on journey to the Egyptian Pyramids to find a treasure. Along Santiago’s journey he faces many different challenges, like being robbed that then forces him to have to work at a crystal shop which then leads him to meeting an Englishman on his way across the desert where they have to deal with warring tribes which eventually leads to Santiago meeting the Alchemist and finding love.

He also told him that the treasure was at the pyramids. Santiago was surprised to hear this because the gypsy woman had told him the same thing. This gave him a lot more confidence and hope for the rest of his journey. He knew that if he followed the path that God had paved for him, he would be in good

“When someone makes a decision, he is really diving into a strong current that will carry him to places he had never dreamed of when he first made the decision.”

Santiago finds his treasure at the place where he first dreamt of. The ending, then, can be interpreted as Santiago needs to go in a difficult situation and time to gain the knowledge or wisdom.