How Much Should We Let Others Shape Our Lives?

Santiago: Santiago is a shepherd boy from a small town in Spain. He is also the protagonist of The Alchemist. Santiago goes on a journey to find treasure at the Great Pyramids in Egypt. He is determined and wants to learn all that he can about the world, which allows him to overcome challenges and complete his destiny. He is very brave. Santiago takes every opportunity to learn that he possibly can.

-Santiago is the main character in The Alchemist. He has been working as a shepherd for the past two years. He is in the Andalusia region of Spain at the beginning of the novel.

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?

So far The Alchemist has presented itself as a narrative that is constructed around a protagonist following his dreams. Though, the pattern has seemed to take a dark twist by highlighting every human flaw, at least up until this point, that holds back the human spirit from achieving it’s “personal journey”. After entering a strange new world, with a population consisting of “infidels”, Santiago quickly finds himself robbed of all of his money. It seems that his weakness lies in his inability to adapt to a change in environment. Santiago has many prejudices against Tangier, such as a different language, religion, and different social norms that end up backfiring on him. It was the false comfort of a man who spoke his language that ended up leaving

In the book there are a lot of characters, but the main characters are Santiago, The Alchemist, Fatima, Englishman and the Crystal Merchant. I am choosing to write the Analysis on Santiago, he is the protagonist. Santiago is a shepherd from Spain, he kept on having a recurring dream about a treasure in the Egypt. He was determined to find his treasure and learn about the world. His parents wanted him to become a priest, but instead became a Shepherd because of his desire to travel throughout the country. Santiago was hesitant at first, but it all changed when he met a king from Salem, he explained about omens and powers of nature. This quote was the inspiration “And dreams are the language of God. When he speaks in our language,

The crystal merchant also provides Santiago some meaningful life wisdom. Santiago notices his Personal Legend after Melchizedek replied, “ It’s what you have always wanted to accomplish. Everyone, when they are young, knows what their Personal Legend is”(23). In fact, Santiago had a dream before he meets Melchizedek, he dreamed about a child who leads him

Throughout the book, Coelho addresses the attractive quality and the sense of security that wealth and acceptable social status bring. Nevertheless, he also illustrates that one must reject the lure of riches and reputation in order to attain one’s highest potential. At first, Santiago ignores his dream to travel to Egypt because of his strong desire to earn back the money that he has lost due to the robbery. As such, Santiago becomes employed at a crystal shop and works “incessantly, thinking only of putting aside enough money so that he could return to Spain with pride” (62). Instead of saving his money for a trip across the Sahara desert to pursue his dream, at this time, Santiago wishes to return to Spain to become a shepherd once again. Here, Santiago is tempted to permanently settle down and live among people. Furthermore, Santiago also encounters a group of tribesmen and becomes a prisoner along with the alchemist. When the alchemist gives up all of Santiago’s gold, Santiago gets upset and says “You gave them everything I had! Everything I’ve saved in my entire life!” (141). Santiago is frustrated because he has saved up enough to live a life luxurious back home. Although Santiago’s sacrifice of wealth is unwillingly done by another individual, it allows him to continue his path of becoming his Personal Legend as it spares his life. By sacrificing his earthly desire and obsession with fortune, Santiago’s

Throughout the book “The Alchemist”, Santiago faces many trials on his journey to Egypt to find the treasure. He is able to follow all the steps of the Hero’s Journey, starting with the call to adventure and finishing with the status quo. Santiago may have started his journey in Spain and made his way to Egypt but key points through this book include the status quo, threshold, and the abyss.

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.

He wanted to save enough money to return to Spain and buy back his flock. His dream of finding and fulfilling his “Personal Legend” long forgotten as some silly dream. But as he was packing up his things to go back to Spain, he finds Urim and Thummim, two stones the wise king gave Santiago to help him read the omens. And all the sudden, minute by minute, his dream of going home to buy a new flock and become a shepherd again is became less and less important. And then Santiago remembers that it isn't his dream. “I can always go back to being a shepherd, the boy thought. I learned how to care for sheep, and I haven't forgotten how to do so. But maybe I’ll never have another chance to get to the Pyramids in Egypt.” And with that, Santiago sets off to find his treasure. He doesn't go back to where he started, he didn't go home and relax in the “normal” like others, he chose to adventure and discover his “Personal Legend”, and his treasure. He was determined to prove to everyone, and himself, that it really was

Santiago has found that he is truly capable of doing great things and that his journey has made him accomplish so much that the journey might be his “treasure” that he is still looking so hard to find. This quote also establishes how Coelho reveals Santiago with “courage” to travel great distances in order to find a “treasure” that isn’t a fancy chest with gold inside, but the truth that Santiago is looking so hard to

As seen when Santiago gives up his flock and his true love Fatima, wanting to begin his journey in seek of the treasure. Not to mention the motifs, dreams represent the desires of Santiago wanting to pursue his goal of wanting to find the hidden treasure. As well as the theme, as he feels constantly feared “suffering is worse than the suffering itself” Santiago is anxious and not confident in himself. As a result, he remains believing in fate and god as he continues on his journey.

Santiago plays a huge role in the theme is developed throughout the story. This is mostly due to how much the reader sees how Santiago changes as the novel progresses and as he gets closer to completing his Personal Legend. In the beginning of the story it is revealed that Santiago decided to abandon becoming a priest in favor of traveling, which can be interpreted as the earliest sign of change and transformation from the main character before his real journey begins. "I found these one day in the fields. I wanted them to be a part of your inheritance. But use them to buy your flock. Take to the fields, and someday you'll learn that our countryside is the best, and our women the most beautiful" (Coelho 18). Digging into the story more only leads to more examples of how Santiago changes. One major example that

Young boy Santiago is a shepherd because he knows what he wants. In “The Alchemist” Santiago changes in many ways and learns many things from the start to the end of the book. Santiago is going to a village as a shepherd and in the meantime, he is staying in an abandoned church. When he is sleeping he keeps having a reoccurring dream, so he explains it to a gypsy woman. The woman says that he will find a treasure in the pyramids in Egypt. Later, he meets an old man that tells him that to he has to listen to omens to find his treasure. He also gives Santiago stones that will tell him what to do. Santiago sells his sheep to find his hidden treasure, however, when he is going he gets robbed, and he has to work at a glass shop to get money again. When he gets enough money to cross the desert and go to the pyramids, he meets a caravan about to cross the desert. On their way to the other side of the desert, they figure out that war is going on in the middle of the desert, so they have to stop for a long time until the war is over. Since Santiago

An instance that demonstrates this is when he meets Melchizedek, who displays his capacity to know about him, his personal history, and his thoughts without ever asking Santiago anything at all. And in turn, Santiago accepts this about the king of Salem, reflecting not too long on where he came from, but the message that Melchizedek bestowed on him instead; lessons on Personal Legends, the Soul of the World, and the Principle of Favorability --- also known as Beginner’s Luck. Even the ability of the mystical stones, named Urim and Thummim, given to him by the king to help make decisions does Santiago not question. Bringing in fantastical elements into a real world setting, all the while authorial reticence is exhibited to heighten a sense of mystery, are all characteristics of magic