In life, everyone meets people who influence them and change their life. This is also true in Paulo Coehlo’s The Alchemist. The Alchemist is a tale of Santiago, a young shepherd who partakes on a journey to find treasure and fulfill his Personal Legend. On his path he meets a crystal merchant and the alchemist; both of these men teach him, support him on his journey, and change his life. One of the first characters that impacts Santiago after he begins his travels into Africa is the crystal merchant. After Santiago’s money is stolen by a thief, he is employed by the merchant for almost a year, giving him the financial means to continue on his journey. During their year together Santiago learns to speak Arabic and becomes familiar with the …show more content…
For instance, Santiago is quick to make changes to the crystal shop in order to attract more customers, but the merchant is reluctant. He says “I don’t much like change… we two have to live with our mistakes.” (53) He is a devoutly religious man, and he is aware his Personal Legend is to go on the pilgrimage to Mecca. However he stays in his crystal shop because it is the idea of going to Mecca that keeps him alive, and without his dream life would be pointless. This contrasts sharply with Santiago, who knows the only way he can live is by traveling to the pyramids and achieving his goals, no matter how daunting or unsure the path gets. The merchant sums up the discrepancy between himself and Santiago well when he says “You’re different from me, because you want to realize your dreams. I just want to dream about Mecca.” (55) Despite their different mindsets, the crystal merchant is a crucial part of Santiago’s story, encouraging him and teaching …show more content…
The alchemist knows all, understands the Soul of the World, knows the Master Work and has already achieved his Personal Legend. The alchemist comes into Santiago’s story to teach the boy how to become all he can be, and lead him to his Personal Legend. The alchemist tests and tutors Santiago with trials, such as being confronted about his omen, finding life in the desert, and turning himself into the wind. But due to the alchemist’s teachings, Santiago is able to accomplish these tasks. The alchemist says many wise things, such as “Before a dream is realized, the Soul of the World tests everything that was learned along the way.” (132) and “Listen to your heart. It knows all things, because it came from the Soul of the World, and it will one day return there.” (127). The alchemist teaches him lessons about the interconnectedness of everything, and that only fear will hold him back from his destiny. In their travels together, the alchemist leads Santiago to the pyramids and because of the alchemist, the boy himself becomes an
The crystal merchant had few customers, but once the crystal was cleaned, a larger crowd was attracted to his storefront. Santiago would receive a much needed meal, as well as a job offer. Freshly cleaned crystal attracted many customers, which caused the crystal merchant to offer Santiago a full-time position, with pay. Like an alchemist, Santiago went from being in poverty, to being successful. Santiago also turned a negative into a positive for the crystal merchant. The crystal merchant’s shop did not appear inviting to potential customers, but Santiago rectified it, which in turn, caused the shop to receive more customers and generate a greater profit. Santiago is a metaphorical alchemist. He turns the worst into the best, just as an alchemist turns base metals into gold.
Santiago lives in Spain and has always wanted to go and travel to see his country, he also understood the countryside and the language of the sheep. This was able to help him make his way to Egypt. His status quo was
Santiago worked for the merchant for one month, selling crystals. This matters because he has learned how to sell crystals to buyers and has helped the merchant with income and also learned how to speak a different language that can help him communicate with others and the way he can interact with them. " The boy’s presence in the shop was an omen, and. as, time passed and money was pouring into the cash drawer, he had no regrets about hiring the boy”(Page 54). Santiago gets robbed of his money and this leads to meeting the crystal shop owner.
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.
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
TBD In literature, and also in reality, our dreams and "destinies" are a lot more complicated to accomplish than we originally think. Most of the time our dreams are layered with obstacles that we must overcome to achieve what we want. While these obstacles prove to be difficult to deal with and rise above they teach us lessons that we need to learn in order to fulfill our potential. Obstacled teach us how to grow and adapt, the key to overcoming them is using them to your advantage and learning everything they have to offer you.
pg 67”.later on the boy continues his journey riding the caravan through the desert, learning and understanding the soul of the world he comes to an understanding of the world, that there's more than we could ever know that only the world itself knows, He talks with the englishmen coming to the conclusion “if either of us had joined the caravan based only on personal legends,but without understanding ‘that’ language, this journey would have been much more difficult pg 82” The most dramatic shift is Santiago reflecting on his past and how he comes to understand who he is and what his journey's purpose is. Santiago first reflects upon when he was a shepherd and what that meant to him. Wondering why it was his journey, he realizes that it was but a step towards what he wanted. He didn't want to be a shepherd, he simply wanted a journey.
In The Alchemist, Santiago embarks on a transformative journey from a humble shepherd to a confident person. This story delves into Santiago's inner growth and understanding of his Personal Legend, highlighting important moments and characters that shape his character development. Through mentorship from the Crystal Merchant, experiences with the caravan, and guidance from the Alchemist, Santiago becomes a confident seeker of his destiny. As Santiago's journey unfolds, his encounters with the Crystal Merchant impart crucial lessons. The Crystal Merchant serves as a mentor to Santiago, offering guidance and wisdom.
To achieve his personal legend, the merchant taught him of the “language without words. and omens”(Coelho 58). The women had been able to keep him on the right path and the language without words had contributed in keeping him safe. The crystal merchant also taught Santiago to speak Arabic. When Santiago had first arrived in that foreign country he was not able to speak the language, but over time the crystal merchant was able to teach him to speak it fluently.
The Alchemist is his mentor throughout his journey that gives him advice throughout the journey and helps him become more stoic and the alchemist instows wisdom into Santiago that within itself improves him as a person. This wisdom helps Santiago find his inner self and connect to himself in a way he learns to go towards his own wishes and why he chooses to make certain decisions for himself, he learns to understand himself and what he wants and what will improve him on the journey, not anyone else. The alchemist's teachings allow Santiago to find himself and follow his
Through his journey, Santiago represents the search for fulfillment and the discovery of one’s purpose. Santiago starts as a boring shepherd’s boy, comfortable with his existence and life. Then at the end turns into an alchemist who understands the language of the world. Santiago gained great knowledge about the connectedness of all things, the importance of courage in adversity, and the fulfillment that comes with achieving and chasing your dreams. His transformation and journey are a reminder that living and chasing one’s personal legend takes more than what you thought was possible.
The merchant also allowed Santiago to get close to the Soul of the World, as Santiago's ideas to expand the crystal store were beneficial to each other as they came from Santiago's heart and allowed the merchant to attain more
Through their interactions, Santiago learns the importance of following his Personal Legend from the crystal merchant's own unfulfilled dreams. The crystal merchant tells Santiago that when he was young, he wanted to go to Mecca. Santiago then asks him why he doesn’t go to Mecca now, and the crystal merchant replies with, "Because it's the thought of Mecca that keeps me alive. That's what helps me face these days that are all the same, these mute crystals on the shelves, and lunch and dinner at that same horrible café. I'm afraid that if my dream is realized, I'll have no reason to go on living."
Angelina Jolie once said she believes in the phrase ‘what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’ because “our experiences, good or bad, make us who we are”. By overcoming difficulties, we gain strength and maturity.” In The Alchemist by Paul Coelho, Santiago transforms from a humble shepherd to a confident alchemist because of his experiences from his journey of self-actualization in pursuing and understanding his Personal Legend. Along the way, his mentors helped him develop his character to become a man who fulfills his life’s mission. While he learns about the importance of fulfilling your Personal Legend through perseverance and determination through the crystal merchant and Fatima, Santiago learns the importance of knowledge through the