Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist

Some may refer to The Alchemist as a best-selling novel written by Paulo Coelho which explains the ideas of having a dream, or Personal Legend, and going through obstacles to conquer it. The book starts off like any other, introducing and describing the main characters, in this case Santiago is the first to share the interest of peers reading the story. He is said to be a small town shepherd boy who will do anything for his flock of sheep. In the opening scene of the story, Santiago takes his flock to an abandoned church and lies down under a sycamore tree hoping to get some rest. He is soon woken up from a disturbing dream which foreshadows further into the story of his own Personal Legend. Later in the book, Santiago is faced with multiple tests to be successful in finding his treasure. “Remember that wherever your heart is, there you will find your treasure” (Coelho 15). Paulo continues to add characters in the book that help Santiago throughout his journey.

The book I read is called The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. The Alchemist is about a boy from Spain, whose name is Santiago and is a shepherd. The book tells how he gets around countries, and how he deals with his problems and how he solves them. It shows how he follows his dreams, and who helps him along the way.

Some people in the book assisted Santiago on his guide, but the Alchemist inspired him to not give up. He said, ‘“At that point in their lives, everything is clear and everything is possible. They are not afraid to dream, and to

In addition to the merchant offering him a job, he enlightened Santiago that "every blessing ignored becomes a curse" and the necessity of carrying out his Personal Legend (Coelho 60). Santiago was prodded by the crystal merchant to continue on and not give up too soon. Along with the merchant not letting him give up, the Alchemist explained to Santiago that, “There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure” (Coelho 146). Demonstrating that, rather than physical barriers, it is just his inner fear that is preventing him from moving forward. After resuming his journey through the desert, Santiago sensed the elemental energy in the stillness of the desert and felt drawn to it since it appeared to be "old and wise" (Coelho 76).

Santiago is a shepherd boy who finds enough courage in himself to follow his heart and his long awaiting dream. Santiago is conflicted between either to follow is heart or his mind. He acknowledges that if he follows his mind and becomes a shepherd boy for the rest of this life the agonizing pain of “What if...” would haunt him for the rest of his existence. However if he follows his heart then the question of “What if….’ would be answered and he would realize the fate of his future. The Alchemist "The fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself... no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams. 134 Santiago is torn between taking risks or staying safe, he is frightened that if he takes a risk than he will suffer.

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.

The blazing hot spotlights flick on. The theatre is silent, allowing me to hear the pounding of my heart. Heat radiating off of the light panels warms my face. I grin from ear to ear and whisper to myself, “I will remember this.” It was the friday night show of the orchesis concert, Mrs. Good had sat us down to tell us a story about a past student. Her student, Margaret, loved performing and lived for the rush of adrenaline when she stepped foot on stage. During her senior show, she whispered to herself, “I will remember this.” Fast forward three years, Margaret was walking through the quad of her college campus, the sun peered out behind the clouds and the angle the the sun hit her face brought back a rush of emotions and memories. We were all told this because she wanted us to never forget the feeling we got when we performed. “If you are rushing through the dance moves or caught up in the moment, pause and breathe, remember why you are on the stage in the first

Despite this knowledge he knows that the outcome is worth the risk. After taking this journey he soon reaches the oasis. After traveling through the desert for many days and nights, this place is a paradise for Santiago. He fits in well with the society at the oasis and begins to create a life for himself there. He meets a girl, gets a job interpreting omens, and becomes a wealthy man. When it comes time to leave he experiences a new kind of fear. Not a fear of danger or death, but a fear of loss. He fears that if he leaves he may not return to his life that he loves so much and holds so dearly. When he gets the option to leave he confronts the difficult decision with something his tour guide told him. The guide said, “Because I don’t live in either my past or my future. I’m interested only in the present. If you can concentrate always on the present, you’ll be a happy man” (88). This allowed Santiago to continue with his journey knowing that he is responsible for fulfilling his personal legend and not staying out of fear of loss. The Arab tribal camp is Santiago’s next stop in his journey. He is captured along with the alchemist, who promises them that in three days Santiago will become the wind and destroy the camp. This causes him to panic out of fear for another time, even with all he has learned. He is now experiencing the most crippling fear yet, the fear of failure. This type of fear is so bad because it causes people to not

The alchemist is a well written book that accurately describes every concept about life and explains it through a story. The Alchemist is a book about a shepherd named Santiago, who discovers his personal legend and receives help from others to help achieve his Personal Legend and learns many major life lessons along the way. Santiago gets advice that when life puts him down, keep getting back up and to focus on the task at hand, which is Santiago’s own personal legend. Along the the journey, Santiago receives help from many different characters but only three characters who helped him the most throughout his quest for his Personal legend is the alchemist, the Old King and the Englishman. The best advice a reader is able to gain from this story is the advice the the Old King taught Santiago, which is” there is only one thing that makes achieving a dream impossible to achieve, the fear of failure” which means is to never be afraid of failures and to follow your own path God has laid out for you because if you are too afraid to pursue your personal legend, meaning if people are too afraid to take risks to make their own life better than it already is now, then they will not have the opportunity to accomplish their own goals. In Coelho's The Alchemist, Santiago learns the Soul of the World through experience, patience, time and help from the Old King, the Englishman and the alchemist.

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

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.

The alchemist: A man who resides in Al-Fayoum Oasis. He possesses a powerful magic and saves lives because he sees through to the soul of the world. He is the one who points the direction of the treasure to Santiago.

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?

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

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.