preview

The Alchemist And The Color Purple Comparison

Good Essays
Open Document

A journey is the act of traveling from one place to another. In the book The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho and the film The Color Purple, journeys are about learning and growth. The journeys teach Santiago, the protagonist of the book, and Celie, the protagonist of the film, about themselves and the society in which they live in. It was easily shown that both works have similarities and differences. Both protagonists embark on a journey giving them obstacles they have to conquer in pursuit of their personal legend. Celie hopes to one day be free and live a life in which she can be happy. In her life she faces abuse from her husband and father. On the other hand, Santiago goes out to achieve his personal legend hoping that one day he will see the …show more content…

The book and the film both talk about how one pursues their personal legend, however each work takes a different viewpoint on it. To start with, the book by Coelho focuses on a shepherd named Santiago who goes out to pursue his personal legend. He had a dream about finding treasure but it was until he met Melchizedek, the King of Salem, he decided to pursue it. The King of Salem told him “…whoever you are, or whatever it is that you do, when you really want something, it's because that desire originated in the soul of the universe. It's your mission on earth" (Coelho 24). When Melchizedek said this, it sets Santiago on a journey of spiritual discovery. The king teaches Santiago that his dream about the pyramids is a calling. He should go out and visit them. Likewise, Celie has a goal in life too. She hopes to one day be free and reunite with her sister and children. She is unhappy in the environment she lives in but she is hopeful that the future would lead her to happiness. To add on, a common conflict both the protagonists in the book and the film …show more content…

Celie has Shug Avery to help overcome fear. Shug Avery teaches Celie to be confident and love herself for who she is. Throughout the film Celie tends to cover her mouth while smiling or laughing because she finds her smile and teeth unpleasant. One day, both women sat and talked for a while. Shug Avery told Celie to look in the mirror and smile without covering her mouth. For once, Celie was satisfied with what she saw in the mirror. Furthermore, Santiago has many mentors along the way such as the crystal merchant, the Englishman, the King of Salem and the alchemist. All of these characters taught Santiago many lessons telling him to not be afraid of fear but to take risks. For example the alchemist told Santiago, “Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself” (Coelho 134). The alchemist teaches Santiago to take risks and to not waste his time having regrets. He teaches Santiago that it’s better to fail than to wonder how it feels to fail. Live in the moment rather than worry about what happened in the past or what’s going to happen in the future. Just live in the present. Additionally, as a result of all of Celie’s hard work, she attains happiness. Because of Shug Avery, Celie slowly gains confidence and stands up to her husband. In fact, she left him. She is now an independent woman

Get Access