Themes In The Alchemist

Social isolation is a social issue where people avoid contact with one society. They are commonly seen nowadays preventing people from interacting with another as well as creating reliable relations, abating any chances for one to realize their destiny. This negative spiral immensely affects the opportunity for people holding a feeling of love and community toward others.

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.

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 Alchemist was written by Paulo Coelho and it was first published in 1988. It was originally written in Portuguese and has since been translated in 67 different languages. It has sold over 65 million copies worldwide and was awarded “Best Fiction Corine International Award” in 2002. It follows a story of a boy named Santiago who is following his personal legend. The Alchemist has many archetypal themes and symbols including wise old men, women, and the nature around him.

The Narrator explains that people can’t always do things they would like to do. In the novel, Santiago runs into dilemmas, but improvised to still continue his

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.

The second half of the book begins Santiago after he has spent a month working for the crystal merchant. He offers to build a display case for some crystals. However, the merchant declines stating that people will knock over the stand. Santiago sees himself as an omen and tells the merchant that he should take advantage of the beginner's luck while he has it. Time passes and business has increased. One day Santiago overhears a tourist complaining about thirst after climbing the hill. Santiago then suggests that they sell tea out of the glasses. He sees this as an opportunity to make extra money from tea and glass sales. A year passes and business is good Santiago can afford plenty of sheep, but he realizes that instead of returning home he

There are many obstacles in everyday life, but none as detrimental to ones future as fear. Fear can cause people to not only avoid achieving their goals in life but it also forces them to think about it throughout every day. Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist shows that those who wallow in fear will never achieve their personal legend, and those who conquer fear will achieve anything they strive for. Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist is a commonly analyzed and criticized piece of literature. One of these articles is Rejendra Kumar Dash’s “Alchemy of the Soul: A Comparative Study of Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha and Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist”. Dash’s article is a literary criticism of the different parts of the character’s journey in The Alchemist.

The Theme of “The Alchemist,” by Paulo Coelho is, always follow your dreams and listen to your heart. At the start of the novel Santiago does not know what he should do when he is confronted by his dream. But by the end of the novel Santiago completely trusts his heart to guide him though life. Santiago’s story shows him learning and living out the theme of the novel.

The Alchemist, a novel written by Paulo Coelho teaches us about the importance of self-discovery and exploration by taking us through the journey of a young Andalusian shepherd, Santiago. Paulo Coelho was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on August 24th 1947, to Pedro Quiema Coelho de Souza, an engineer, and his wife, Lygia, a homemaker. Paulo early on had dreamed of an artistic career and then after his surroundings in Jesuit school, he discovered his true vocation was to be a writer (Coelho 195). Upon telling his mom, she told him that his father was an engineer, a reasonable and logical man and had a clear view of the world. At the age of 16, Paulo’s opposition against following a traditional path led to his parents committing him into a mental institution (Paulo Coelho). To satisfy his parents, he enrolled in law school. However, it led him to mental illness and failing his career. After many years, he gave a shot at his dream profession and started to write. Paulo wrote The Pilgrimage: Diary of Magus which described his experiences and his discovery that the extraordinary occurs in the lives of ordinary people. He was the recipient of numerous international awards, amongst them the Crystal Award by the World Economic Forum. The Pilgrimage was published in 1987 and The Alchemist was published in 1988, a year after. Both novels appeared on the best sellers list but The Alchemist continued to sell more copies than any other book in Brazilian literary history. The Alchemist,

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

As Santiago continues to find his Personal Legend, and travel he begins to feel lost without his sheep. Santiago spent his entire life with his sheep, and never had a real home. However, when traveling without his sheep for the first time, it becomes clear that Santiago’s sheep symbolize his home: “When I had my sheep, I was happy, and I made those around me happy” (42). Homes represent a place for comfort and happiness. Santiago spent all his time with his sheep, and never had a single place he called home. Since homes provide a place of happiness and comfort, and so Santiago’s sheep do the same, the sheep symbolize Santiago’s home. Santiago longing his sheep or being in a familiar place explains how his mind is not entirely focused on completing his Personal Legend. Santiago needs to let go of the strings that hold him back from his goals if he wants to continue. As Santiago works with the crystal merchant, these ties to home begin to sever. When Santiago leaves the merchant, he does not say goodbye. Santiago learns to move on without looking back for his own benefit, and strengthens his grasp on the idea

The death of self is chosen as the subject of study in Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist for research purpose. The self to the characters in this novel is shadowed in the name of searching destiny and pursuing dream. The study of self is not an easy task. The self concept is discussed below on the basis of some references and the novel, The Alchemist.

In the novel there are four important characters that Santiago met through his voyage to the Pyramids. Most of the characters are flat and static in the story, because they never grew as characters. The people that Santiago meets along the way are either wise, so they have no development in the story, or they never grow from the

Paulo Coelho’s THE ALCHEMIST has universal themes. He draws our attention towards various themes such as fate and fare, destiny, warfare, dreams, hopes and love. Focussing on fulfilling our own PERSONAL LEGEND, our ultimate goal in life but many people are not able to pursue it. Alchemist is all about pursuing the goals. According to The Alchemist, Personal Legends serve as the only means by which an individual can live a satisfying life. As we see when Santiago must give up his flock and leave Fatima, material success and even love pose obstacles to him achieving his Personal Legend and must be delayed or ignored altogether. Even Alchemy entails coaxing metal to achieve its own Personal Legend to turn into gold. As a result, the idea that