The Longest Journey Is The Journey In Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist

A spiritual journey is not all about the discovery, more importantly it is about uncovering the inner nature of one’s being. In the light of, a spiritual growth which is seen in Santiago's character due to the fact, he was not centered on the journey itself. Instead, he was engaged with the meaning of the atmospheric elements along the way which directed his path with a sense of purpose. During Santiago's journey he will learn about the interconnectedness of the surrounding world through the omens of nature that will reveal a hidden message about of the soul of the world. Additionally, Santiago learns along his travels that his personal legend is the essence of his life as well as, the purpose of his existence to fulfill his individual legend

The first two obstacles that Santiago faces are that his father tells him he can not do something that he wants to do and that he wants to pursue his personal legend, but he does not want to hurt those that he loves. For example, Santiago’s father said, “The

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?

The Gypsy women tell Santiago to follow his dream and go to Egypt. Santiago, still not confident about going to Egypt, meets a man claiming to be the king of Salam. This man echoes the dream interpreter’s opinion and tells Santiago that it is his personal legend to journey to the pyramids and that he should sell his flock of sheep and set off to Tangier. This man said, “…people are capable, at any time in their lives, of doing what they dream of.” (23) This shows that you just have to have confidence and you can do what you dream of. Santiago takes the man’s advice and sells his flock of sheep and goes to Tangier.

Although a hero seems like a faraway distant character who possesses a unique ability that saves humanity, an everyday citizen in society holds the ability to impact the lives of others can become a hero. In the novel, The Alchemist, the protagonist, Santiago, travels as a shepherd but ultimately, follows The Hero’s Journey Archetype. As Santiago pursues a journey for treasure and self-knowledge, Santiago faces several difficult challenges and character-defining moments that assess his ability to succeed. Coelho depicts Santiago as following the stages of the Hero’s Journey Archetype such as The Mentor, The Abyss, and the Return to the World. Thus, Coelho employs The Hero’s Journey Archetype to demonstrate the

He was having the same dream for a few weeks, and he knew that the dream had some type of meaning. He dreamt of finding his treasure in the Egyptian pyramids. Santiago knew that he needed to find his treasure, but he also knew that he would have to leave a lot of things behind if he went on this journey. Santiago finally made the decision to go on this mission. During his journey, Santiago learned a lot more about what was affecting his life and the things he needed to do in order to find his treasure.

Two books can seem completely different from each other when judged by characteristics such as genre, plot, and theme. However, if people were to look at the books together and as a whole, they might notice one striking similarity between the two. That striking similarity is known as the hero’s journey. First observed and documented by Joseph Campbell, the hero’s journey is a concept in which heroes, or people who commit actions for the greater good, follow a three-step cycle known as departure, fulfillment, and return. At the first stage of the hero’s journey, the hero receives a call to an adventure that takes him from the comforts of his home. Next, at the most important stage of the hero’s journey, the hero begins to experience life

'Suddenly, [a] child took me by both hands and transported me to the Egyptian pyramids' (page 13, Alchemist) Santiago explains, thus exposing the second aspect and giving our quester somewhere to go. Number three, 'a stated reason to go there' (page 3, HTRLLAP), is exposed along with aspect two. Santiago continues telling his dream, the child telling him that 'if you come [to the pyramids], you will find a hidden treasure' (page 13/14, Alchemist). Money and treasure are big motivators in literature, helping Santiago in making his decision to quest or not. That's only half the battle. The biggest reason stated is our quester being 'jealous of the freedom of the wind' and that with this quest he 'could have the same freedom' (page 28,

To begin his long journey, Santiago meets a wise old king name King Melchizedek. He is in a local market when the king walks up and asks Santiago what he is reading. The king continues to say that the book he is reading is important but irritating because it describes the characters inability to choose their own Personal Legend. When Santiago asks where this mysterious stranger is from, King Melchizedek replies with “I am from many places, but I was born in Salem as I am the king there” (Coelho 64). Accepting his statement as true, Santiago continues the conversation allowing them to eventually talk about his dream of the Pyramids. The king wants to help Santiago, but for a price of six sheep. Before leaving with Santiago’s sheep he shares, “’The secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world, and never to forget the drops of oil on the spoon’” (Coelho 32). His message to Santiago reminds him that by following his dream he will witness beautiful sights and people, but that he should always remember the purpose of his travels. Leaving it at that, the king pointed Santiago in the direction to follow his dream.

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.

Soon after, Santiago is forced to work for a crystal merchant in the hopes of replacing his lost money and continuing on his quest. He works for the merchant for eleven months and during this time, continues to think less and less of his Personal Legend. He becomes skilled in this practice and begins to work towards instead, replacing his flock of sheep and returning to his past lifestyle. During this time, Santiago perceived reaching the pyramids as an impossible feat claiming “Egypt was now just a distant dream for him” and that, like a mirage, it would always be just out of his reach (56). In this way, Coelho shows that Santiago’s morale is lessening. The more that he stays at the crystal shop, the more he sees his treasure as a mirage instead of a physical object.

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

        In the same way, Santiago faces numerous obstacles along his journey as well. On his journey when Santiago arrives in tangier, he meets a boy who is his age who speaks Spanish and offered to help him get to the pyramids. When they were about to leave the bar owner grabs Santiago and tells him something. “The boy push the owner aside and pulls Santiago outside with him” and tells him that “the owner wanted Santiago’s money” (Coelho, 37). But the owner of the bar was

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

Santiago finds his treasure at the place where he first dreamt of. The ending, then, can be interpreted as Santiago needs to go in a difficult situation and time to gain the knowledge or wisdom.