The Alchemist

“You can always turn a bad kisser into a good one,” Laura Prepon. Santiago, the main character of Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist leads a modest and ordinary life as a shepherd. Santiago travelled constantly, exploring the Andalusian terrain. In his travels, Santiago met a woman who interpreted his dreams, and told him his treasure would lie in Egypt at the pyramids. However, Santiago believed that the dream interpreter was a phony, and he continued to herd his sheep. Soon after, he exchanged words with the King of Salem, and Santiago was once again told to venture to Egypt in order to find his treasure. After careful consideration, Santiago sells his precious sheep and begins his journey. An alchemist, somebody who turns lead

Often in life, difficult obstacles pop up all the time that seem to distract people from following their own personal legends. If one is able to overcome these obstacles and take valuable lessons out of the experience, they will become an even better person than before. In the novel The Alchemist, written by Paulo Coelho, Santiago is able to overcome harsh obstacles and learn valuable lessons from his experience. He goes on a life-altering journey to Egypt in order to achieve his personal legend, leaving behind his life of shepherding to broaden his horizons and find treasure. Santiago is faced with many challenges along the way that leave him ready to abandon his quest, but he is ultimately able to continue moving forward and finally achieve

The Alchemist is a novel first published in 1988 by Brazilian-born author Paulo Coehlo. It has sold more than 65 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best selling books of all time, and has been translated in over 60 languages. The book follows an adventurous shepherd boy named Santiago who has recurring dream leads him on a journey to find hidden treasure. The book begins Santiago has the same troubling recurring dream, when sleeping under a sycamore that grows out of the ruins of a church, of a child telling him to seek treasure at the base of the Egyptian pyramids. After a gypsy tells him to go to Egypt once hearing his dream, a strange old man appears, claiming to be the King of Salem, tells him it is his

- When Santiago was in the pyramids then he was robbed again by the thieves that brought him to a near death experience.

There was a time in my life when I rejoiced this subtle, innocent concept from an international bestselling book - “when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” I read the book twice and also listened to its audio book. Many students in the class might have also read this simple, inspiring book. It is “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho.

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 Alchemist,” written by Paulo Coelho is an inspiring and magnificent novel that narrates the story of a young shepherd named Santiago. The protagonist experiences a dream that advises him to go to the Egyptian pyramids in order to find a hidden treasure. Throughout his journey, he encounters significant people that helps him to find his treasure, such as the king Melchizedek, the crystal’s merchant, the alchemist, and Fatima. In order attain it, he needs to find himself and learn through the experiences life offers him. As every protagonist in their respective story, Santiago has to transcend through The Hero’s Journey that depicts the events that every hero has to succeed.

While yes, Santiago did face many obstacles and challenges on his way to find the treasure, the main conflict of the story is not an external one, but an internal one. Santiago’s inner turmoil between choosing either to make sacrifices and take risks in order to complete his Personal Legend or settling for the comforts and treasures he already had was the key problem in the story. This also validated Santiago not only as the protagonist, but also as his own antagonist. There were many instances in which the story could have been cut short if Santiago had not taken a leap of faith. From the very beginning, upon meeting Melchizedek, he had been reluctant to make the decision between what he was accustomed to, his flock, and what he wanted, the

1. a. When Santiago began his journey, he had beginner's luck and used it to the best of his ability. After Santiago gave 1/10 of his flock of sheep to Melchizedek, his friend who was housing his sheep, agreed to buy the remaining sheep. The king of Salem related his luck to the "Principle of Favorability."

In the beginning of his journey, the merchants unwillingness showed Santiago that he did not need an exterior force to push him towards his dreams, just his self-belief. Then, the Englishman taught him that as long as he had determination and wanted something, the Soul of the World would guide him to it. While crossing the desert, Santiago’s attention to all the components instilled the message to notice all details in life. Fatima’s leniency towards Santiago leaving showed that no matter how far a couple is, true love prevails, as Santiago eventually returned to Fatima at the end. The final lesson Santiago learned from turning into the wind and circling back to his beginning, was that no matter how impossible a dream or task seems, if you have faith and drive it will lead you to success. The combination of Santiago’s newfound confidence, faith, and focus made him a wiser, more mature person that differs from the young, uncertain boy he was

Last year I got woman’s MVP for track, a title I worked day and night for, a title I not only hurt my body to get but had to go through tedious and intense physical therapy for, and even though this was an award I wanted so badly ,that my body went numb when my name was called, I looked to the back of the room for my boyfriend, because he is the one who truly makes me happy. Forget about the awards, the first place medals, yeah they were nice but nothing compared to the happiness he gives me. In Paulo Coelho’s novel the Alchemist, a young man named Santiago leaves his  shepherd life to follow his personal legend, which eventually leads to him finding his treasures. The thought of a personal legend is important to the world because it keeps

Human as a subject will be applied throughout the analysis of both stories. It will be used to address the notion of one’s ability to interpret the underlying religious themes in each story. Thought provokes human identity and it is essential to the

The universal language is full of words of assistance and guidance, scattered throughout the world and time. Many individuals, such as the Englishman, believe that luck and coincidence are the words of the universal language, while, in fact, its words are that of omens. The many omens that Santiago experiences, such as the thief in Tangier and the hawks swooping in the desert, led Santiago on his journey to achieve his own Personal Legend.

This can be used to show two boys who lead completely different lifestyles just because of their religion. It highlights how where you are born and your circumstances are predetermined. In this book we see a child who is brought up in a wealthy family with a Father who is high ranking according to the Nazi’s, contrasted to a young boy who is be discriminated due to his religion.

In Paulo Coehlo’s The Alchemist, the alchemist is asked, “Why are you an alchemist?” His response is simply, “I’m an alchemist because I’m an alchemist.” It is as straightforward as that. I am a theatre artist. There is not a cute story about how I saw a show when I was younger and was inspired; it is simply who I am to the core of my being. I am fortunate that my time in theatre has brought me to places like Cincinnati Music Hall’s stage, the mainstage at Playhouse in the Park, the Guignol Theatre at the University of Kentucky, and other theatres that lend themselves to being name-dropped. However, the theatre that I have done that has most shaped my worldview and molded who I am as a person has happened in the most unlikely of places: dormitory