Santiago Coelho's The Alchemist

One of the main theme’s in The Alchemist is following your dreams and taking risks. This message is repeatedly shown throughout the story plot, with having the main character follow his desire, or in this case, Personal Legend. “The boy had remembered his flock, and decided he should go back to being a shepherd.” (Coelho, page 28) Santiago at first is not willing to travel to Egypt to find the treasure, due to the safe and pleasant life he has now. “The boy felt jealous of the freedom of the wind, and saw that he could have the same freedom.” (Coelho, page 30) However, he rethinks his choice, and chooses to leave behind the life as a shepherd despite the danger. This signifies Santiago courage and determination to try a new life. “Although

     After teaching the boy a lot about the journey he will go through, the king gave him omens to follow. Santiago sells his sheep, and travels to a town on his way to Egypt. He finds a man that could take him past the desert to Egypt. So the boy gives him the money that he got for the sheep. When the man shows Santiago the town for a little Santiago loses him in a crowd of hundreds shopping in the markets, and loses all his money. The boy learns not to trust anyone, and is told that there are many thieves in that town.

As Santiago continues his journey, the author places the theme of love and unity of nature. He alludes to the liveliness and hope the heart naturally creates to empower this encouraging tone. He shares that, “your heart is alive. Keep listening to what it has to say” (147). The idea that the heart can speak conveys hope not only to Santiago, but also to the readers reading The Alchemist. Once again creating this peaceful, hopeful tone in the novel. Paulo also uses personification in the story to embody a lively, hopeful tone. He phrases his sentences like “the wind’s curiosity arouse”(147) to spark ideas and obtain an optimistic tone. Not only does the description of the wind, as if it was 3 year old seeing snow for the first time, connect with readers, it also uses word choice that intrigues readers and brings in reader’s focus. Paulo Coelho does a marvelous job at perfectly describing scenes that allow readers to connect but also read in this hopeful

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 profound themes of love, Personal Legend, and the Soul of the World presented throughout The Alchemist render it an auspicious novel because of their meaning and depth. Santiago learns about his Personal Legend, love, fear and the Soul of the World along his journey and becomes a much more knowledgeable individual. Santiago learns the importance of following his Personal Legend and listening to his heart through the alchemist and his feats in the oasis and the desert. He learns about how fear must be overcome, and

INP Essay: In the novel The Alchemist, written by Paulo Coelho, the author reveals the character through his journey to find his destiny in the deserts of Egypt. Santiago, the main character, is a shepherd herder that leaves what he knows to achieve his dreams and find his purpose. Santiago then finds that his journey to find himself is dangerous and longer than he expected. Santiago, a very curious man, continues to ask about his heart in the beginning of this passage.

The protagonist in this novel is the main character, Santiago Shepherd. He is known for traveling to find his personal legend and learning life lessons during his journey. Santiago’s qualities of being a dreamer and chaser is how I can relate to him. Santiago strives to achieve his personal legend and continues to not give up. I can relate to Santiago because when I set a goal and standard for myself, I do not give up until I have reached it. Santiago was given everything and was happy as a shepherd until Melchizedek (King of Salem) came along and challenged Santiago to go find his personal legend and purpose in life. I can relate my life to Santiago’s life because growing up, I have always had everything I wanted and it always came so easy to me until I was rejected from a program is when I acknowledged that getting what you want is not easy and hard work is required. Just as Santiago thought getting to Egypt would be easy, he had to work hard in order to get there by earning enough money, similar to me where I was constantly buried in books to get to where I wanted to be. There were moments just like Santiago had where he wanted to give up, I felt the same way but I continued to push and not give up. Coelho includes many beliefs, values and ideologies into this novel, sending readers a positive message. Spirituality is a value that is mentioned throughout the “The Alchemist”, involving Allah; “But that disaster taught me to understand that word of Allah: people

The story informs us that alchemy is another way to understand the language of the universe. The englishman was telling Santiago that all an alchemist does is dedicate their life to try to find the Soul of the World through the Emerald Tablet, a hard task because it only has a few inscribed lines that they must decipher. It shows it is just as difficult as Santiago's personal legend because of all the setbacks and difficulties he encounters.

The Alchemist In Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist; Santiago’s intelligence, determination, and love all help him on his journey. These characteristics were developed by people that came into his life at the right time. Intelligence helped him to understand the soul of the world. His unbreakable will motivated him to whatever he had to do in order to achieve his personal legend. Fatima, the girl he loved, gave him the necessary love and support that he needed in order to continue on his journey.

M.M. said that “The Alchemist” played an inspirational role in her life. “Usually your treasure is under your head but you do not recognize it until you do a journey of self-discovery.” She said that she felt the novel reflected over her past 15 years. Reading it, she had a new appreciation for following one’s early

The book The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho is about following your dreams, it explains what a personal legend is and how it can affect someone's life. The book is about a shepherd who is following his personal legend and how different characters of the book can help him. The concept of personal legend is depicted through Santiago and Fatima.

The pungent smell of chestnut trees fills the air as his knees grow tremulous, insecurities filling his mind of the future. For years he has ambled the trails on this island, but now he began to crawl, slowing losing hope of being able to reunite with mankind after the devastating shipwreck that set him off course. A swallowtail butterfly enters his peripheral vision, nonetheless his wife’s favorite insect, and it is no doubt it a sign. He must keep moving. Alike to this harried individual and his determination to keep moving after being reminded of his family, author Paulo Coelho illustrates similar traits in characters as well as the same principles throughout his works of art. In the novel, “The Alchemist,” Coelho utilizes the significant motif of omens to direct Santiago’s journey and leave a valuable message in the mind of the reader as well as Santiago’s.

I would defiantly recommend this book to a friend or a family member. I fervently enjoyed “The Alchemist,” and I think that most people would enjoy reading about Santiago. The novel is universal in its ability to tell a story and

The Alchemist is a novel written by the Brazilian author Paulo Coelho, originally written in Portuguese in 1988 and later translated to English in 1993, which follows the journey of Santiago on his quest to not only follow his Personal Legend, but also to discover a world full of changes and transformations. Looking at this story at first glance might give you the feel that it will be about a boy on a quest filled with the expected trials that test his heart, strength, and character. Elements like this are present, however, the story makes the reader think deeply about the motif dealing with following the signs the universe gives. This is due to various symbols and motifs, one having to do with omens, that Santiago and many characters

Alchemist is already explained in the story as it is the ability to purify your soul, listen to your heart and speak the language of the world. The title is, then, to show us, the readers, that anyone can achieve his/her dream by possessing the characteristics of alchemist as exactly as the shepherd boy, Santiago.