Themes Of King Arthur And 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

The phrase used by the narrator implies that even when times are difficult, a person who has faith and commitment will achieve its goal. Just like the novel, Santiago runs into numerously difficult situations when trying to find the destination to the treasure he dreamed of.

A king was expected to sit on his throne, give demands to his people and rule his kingdom. It is unheard of for a medieval King to charge around on his horse and organize knights or to look for the Holy Grail. According to the information that has been given; King Arthur has fought in twelve battles. However, based on the facts, these battles took place in so many different times and places that it would have been impossible for one man to participate in all of them. The actions of King Arthur do not correspond with the typical actions of a king because after the death of his mother, Merlin (the powerful wizard) took him away. Merlin gave young Arthur away to Sir Ector, who raised young Arthur as his son. However, Sir Ector did not know that young Arthur was the son of Uther Pendragon (King of Britain). Eleven years later, the young Arthur ends up pulling the sword out of the stone and becomes the king of Britain. For a kid to pull the sword out of the stone subsequently and being crowned after that event is very extraordinary.

The proverb “All roads lead to Rome” refers to the fact that many different routes can lead to the same result. Likewise, the path to one’s destiny depends on the person. For example, Tony’s journey to his destiny in Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me, Ultima is different than Paikea’s in Witi Ihimaera’s Whale Rider. Their destinies are different, but their destinies are inevitable events, regardless of the path they take to achieve it. However different their journeys may be, there are always certain elements that are universal among all journeys to destiny.

All stories consist of a similar structure of stages, ranging from using a couple to all twelve, that help the protagonist in their journey to better themselves or others. The sole concept of this is called a Hero’s Journey. Now in The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, the whole plot is based off of the hero’s journey. The protagonist, Santiago, goes through all twelve stages in his quest to reach his personal goal which ultimately makes The Alchemist a great example for the hero’s journey. In the book, Coelho introduces Santiago as a boy who is a shepard that was raised to be a priest. He is pleased being a sheep herder but is also fond of wanting to travel and dreams of finding a treasure. This starts off the “ordinary life” stage thus followed

Alfred Lord Tennyson’s, The Coming of Arthur is a long poem that explains a fragment of King Arthurs journey to becoming the king of Cameliard. In this writing the author takes scenes that may require a long description and sums them up in under ten lines, while scenes that need less detailed descriptions are explained in over twenty lines. An example of this would be the stanzas where Arthur and Guinevere get married. These stanzas could easily be summed into ten or less lines but Tennyson decides to take care with his words in this scene and explain all he can. The reason the wedding scene is so heavily descripted is because it is a representation of how far Cameiliard has come and a celebration of its strong beginning. This idea can be explored through events that caused the wedding, the significance of the wedding scene, its hidden symbols in the text and its foreshadowing to a great reign.

Arthur Leander was a character who appeared briefly in the novel, Station Eleven. He was a middle aged actor who died on stage during his performance in the play King Lear. Arthur was additionally insecure in relationships. He went through three divorces in his lifetime, in which the first two ended due to Arthur cheating on his wife. Furthermore, Arthur was said to be (quote about playing the role of Arthur). Arthur’s character traits in Station Eleven defined who he was as a person.

The film King Arthur differs in a great propensity with the traditional Arthurian tale. The elements which represent the medieval society and which forms the key aspect of the traditional tale, have not been included. The Holy Grail, a vital motif that is persistent in the traditional tale of King Arthur is dropped from the cinematic representation of the tale. The film differs from the tale on multitudinous accounts, for instance there is an absence of the love affair between Lancelot and Guinevere in the movie. Moreover, the film chooses to not include Camelot, Avalon and Mordred. Important characters like Mordred, the archetypical villain in the traditional tale of King Arthur is not ascribed to any significance in the film. The character of Guinevere is indispensable in the Arthurian legend as well as in the movie. However, the very characteristic of Guinevere is represented in a dynamically polar opposite fashion in both the traditional tale of King Arthur and the movie. Contrary to the ancient tale, Guinevere is no damsel in distress in the movie. The representation of Guinevere in the movie as a warrior queen who partakes in the war along with King Arthur is emblematic as it does not depict the character of a woman in the light of the gender typicality. It is an important alteration that the movie chooses to make from the traditional tale.

When directly looking at King Arthur stories, one can see a theme of redemption which makes these legends so enjoyable. The idea that a peasant boy with next to nothing can rise up in status and become a king of an entire nation is what makes this legend so appealing. After Sir Kay failed to pull out the sword Arthur, "put out his right hand softly and drew it out as gently as from a scabbard"

The early childhood of King Arthur seems to be the foundation of the epic journey of his life. Even though his achievements as a child were brief, they were extremely important to King Arthur’s outlook on life, as well as character. As an optimistic squire, King Arthur had hopes of one day overcoming his social standing. He received his wish when he unknowingly pulled the magical sword out of the stone.

Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist tells the story of Santiago, a young shepherd living in an abandoned church in a small Andalusian town, who is stripped of his comfortable and safe lifestyle after an encounter with Melchizedek, an Islamic king who tells him of his “Personal Legend” (21). Melchizedek points Santiago in the direction of his treasure only after taking one-tenth of his money, giving him two stones, and a lesson on reading omens. Throughout his journey, Santiago meets new friends, has everything stolen from him three times, and travels the vast and unknown Sahara Desert all while achieving personal growth and an understanding of his life’s meaning. His journey leads him to an Oasis

Although King Arthur is one of the most well-known figures in the world, his true identity remains a mystery. Attempts to identify the historical Arthur have been unsuccessful, since he is largely a product of fiction. Most historians, though, agree that the real Arthur was probably a battle leader of the Britons against the Anglo-Saxons in the sixthth century. In literature, King Arthur's character is unique and ever changing, taking on a different face in every work. There is never a clearly definitive picture that identifies Arthur's character. It is therefore necessary to look at a few different sources to get better insight into the character of Arthur, the once and future king.

The Alchemist is a journey of exploration and self-discovery as we follow the main character, Santiago, a young shepherd who lives in Spain, on a journey to fulfill his personal legend. The novel shows us wisdoms and gentle reminders of how to change our lives from what they may be today into the life we have always dreamed of.

If the name of King Arthur is mentioned, I suppose what comes to mind is not so much one person as a whole array of characters and themes, a montage so to speak. Of course we do think first of the King, the magnificent monarch of a glorified or idealized medieval realm. But we think also of his Queen, of the fair and wayward Guinevere, we think of his enchanter, Merlin, who presided over his birth, who set him on the throne, who established him there in the early and traveled days of his reign. There were the knights of the Round Table, vowed to the highest ideals of chivalry, and the greatest of them, Sir Lancelot, who, of course, has a tragic love affair with the Queen. There is another great love story, that of Tristan

King Arthur isn’t a strong leader! Everyone believes that King Arthur had a perfect kingdom and that he was a strong and brave leader and could face any danger and come back alive. In King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table by Roger Lancelyn Green, King Arthur has trouble making crucial decisions in the story and lets his emotions get the best of him during drastic times, during the trial of Guinevere he let Lancelot escape with her even though he knew Lancelot would show up, he let his emotions get the best of him when he heard the rumors of Lancelot and Guinevere being together because he was scared of the truth of them actually being together, he doesn’t listen to the warnings of Merlin when he says that Guinevere would bring the end to his kingdom. King Arthur is a weak Leader!