Essay On The Alchemist

1. What do you think Santiago will do with his life after he travels back to Egypt for Fatima?

(Coelho 118). This shows that he learns how to be patient and wait for good things to happen, rather than wrecking havoc. Santiago is also motivated by good, to find his treasure, and along the way he gets all sorts of treasures, like helping to fix the crystal merchant's business and

The Alchemist, a novel written by Paulo Coelho teaches us about the importance of self-discovery and exploration by taking us through the journey of a young Andalusian shepherd, Santiago. Paulo Coelho was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on August 24th 1947, to Pedro Quiema Coelho de Souza, an engineer, and his wife, Lygia, a homemaker. Paulo early on had dreamed of an artistic career and then after his surroundings in Jesuit school, he discovered his true vocation was to be a writer (Coelho 195). Upon telling his mom, she told him that his father was an engineer, a reasonable and logical man and had a clear view of the world. At the age of 16, Paulo’s opposition against following a traditional path led to his parents committing him into a mental institution (Paulo Coelho). To satisfy his parents, he enrolled in law school. However, it led him to mental illness and failing his career. After many years, he gave a shot at his dream profession and started to write. Paulo wrote The Pilgrimage: Diary of Magus which described his experiences and his discovery that the extraordinary occurs in the lives of ordinary people. He was the recipient of numerous international awards, amongst them the Crystal Award by the World Economic Forum. The Pilgrimage was published in 1987 and The Alchemist was published in 1988, a year after. Both novels appeared on the best sellers list but The Alchemist continued to sell more copies than any other book in Brazilian literary history. The Alchemist,

The crystal merchant spends his life wallowing in fear and anxiety and does not let himself grow or move from the spot he made for himself thirty years ago despite the clear logistical option of going to Mecca and seeing his wife once more. The merchant and Santiago share parallels as the merchant’s reluctancy to leave his spot due to overwhelming anxiety parallels Santiago’s inability to move forward due to one bad experience that left him broken and broke. After living with this merchant and working for him for so long, the boy realizes he needs to move forward despite any negative experiences. Bad things happen sometimes, but he realizes no good comes out of staying in one spot just to ease the pain of one small event over the course of your entire life. Therefore, Santiago’s direct speech and physicality near the merchant had forced him to view and face his fear

Not before long, Santiago meets a crystal merchant. Trying to run away from his Personal Legend once again, he gets a job at the

     Santiago needed money and food, so he asked a man who owned a crystal shop, if he could clean all his crystal pieces for some food and money. The man liked the Santiago’s work, so gave him some food, and told him he could work for him if he wanted to. Santiago took the job, and ended up working

Similarly, Fatima teaches Santiago how love and determination will allow you to achieve your dreams. They meet when Santiago and the Englishman are waiting around the well hoping to find the Alchemist. Santiago falls in love with her instantly and is willing to drop his dreams to stay with her. Fatima, however, says “Maktub, if I am really a part of your dream, you’ll come back one day” (Coelho 71). This reinforces the concept of fate for Santiago and pushes him to continue his journey because of her reassurance.

Throughout the story, Santiago goes through stages of his journey that may be considered tedious, such as his time spent with the crystal merchant. However everything he experiences is all part of the fulfillment of his destiny. After Santiago has his life’s savings robbed, he is at one of his lowest points. However, just as He is about to give up on his Personal Legend, something gives him faith, “No hope, no adventure, no old kings or Personal Legends, no treasure, and no Pyramids. It was as if the world had fallen silent because the boy's soul had… ‘I can give you the money you need to get back to your country, my son," said the crystal merchant’”(pg. 32). This shift in the boy’s fortune is marked by Coelho with the repeating phrase “Personal Legend”. During his time with the crystal merchant, Santiago learned many valuable lessons, thus fulfilling his Personal Legend to a greater extent. These lessons include the need to take advantage of things while the opportunity is presented; shown when Santiago expands the

“I want to stay at the oasis,” the boy answered. “I’ve found Fatima and as far as I am concerned, she’s worth more than treasure.” Everyone knows what they want to do, but they are afraid of hurting those around them by abandoning everything in order to pursue our dream. Some do not realize that love is something to impel us, not something that will prevent us to go further. Those that genuinely wish us well want us to be happy and are prepared to accompany us on that journey. After hearing the Alchemist’s predictions and Fatima saying that he should go, Santiago decided to accompany the Alchemist and pursue his personal legend. Santiago overcame his problem when his father told him he can not travel, and he also perused his personal legend and did not hurt Fatima.

The Crystal Merchant plays a very important role in Santiago’s journey and also the time spent in Tangier. The Crystal Merchant owns a shop and he doesn’t really believe in “Personal Legends” because he believes after he achieves his dream that he will have nothing else to live for. The Crystal Merchant opens Santiago’s eyes into seeing the result of not fulfilling your dreams.

When Santiago arrives in Tangier he is robbed by a thief and is forced to find work from the locals. He meets a crystal merchant and gets hired to work for him. Santiago convinces the merchant to take some risks in his business. This advice pays off and Santiago becomes a rich man in just a year. Santiago stars to gain confidence in his decisions and decides to use his earning to pursue his personal legend. Santiago soon joins a caravan crossing the Sahara desert and meets an Englishman who is studying to become an Alchemist. On the trip Santiago and the Englishman don’t converse much but Santiago still ends up learning a lot

Soon after, Santiago is forced to work for a crystal merchant in the hopes of replacing his lost money and continuing on his quest. He works for the merchant for eleven months and during this time, continues to think less and less of his Personal Legend. He becomes skilled in this practice and begins to work towards instead, replacing his flock of sheep and returning to his past lifestyle. During this time, Santiago perceived reaching the pyramids as an impossible feat claiming “Egypt was now just a distant dream for him” and that, like a mirage, it would always be just out of his reach (56). In this way, Coelho shows that Santiago’s morale is lessening. The more that he stays at the crystal shop, the more he sees his treasure as a mirage instead of a physical object.

The Alchemist is a journey of exploration and self-discovery as we follow the main character, Santiago, a young shepherd who lives in Spain, on a journey to fulfill his personal legend. The novel shows us wisdoms and gentle reminders of how to change our lives from what they may be today into the life we have always dreamed of.

Crystal merchant: Owns a crystal shop in the city of Tangier. He has lived there thirty good years in selling and buying crystal pieces. It is this shop, where Santiago works before continuing his journey.

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?