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The Alchemist By Paulo Coelho

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The Alchemist
Paulo Coelho was born in Rio de Janeiro 1947. He had expressed a passion for writing that his parents despised. He later was enrolled in multiple mental institutes and he managed to escape three times. He was finally released at the age of twenty and he got admitted to law school for his parent’s sake. He soon dropped out and engaged in drug abuse and lived like a hippie. He eventually went on a spiritual pilgrimage in Spain which changed his life. He had written the book Pilgrimage afterwards but it was the novel The Alchemist that got him his fame.
The Novel falls under a classic fable. The Novel had always brought up that if you believe in your dreams you can achieve them. That idea has drawn numerous readers globally making …show more content…

While Santiago was traveling through the desert, he encountered a tribal war erupt. He had learnt it was a holy war between two clans and that it may last months. This kept him from his destiny for a while making him lose sight of his dream.
The Alchemist uses the idea that omens can help anyone reach their far fetched dreams. Omens are riddles or cipher keys that can help decipher the language of the world. They helped Santiago understand his true calling and guided him to his destiny. An example of an omen would be, when the bandits beat up Santiago and mentioned the church he had been in the night before he met the king. It was in that church that Santiago found his treasure and fulfilled his destiny. Paulo Coelho calls it seeking ones personal legend.
The culture background is something that made The Alchemist unique. Most of the novel is based on the Islamic cultures and beliefs. Santiago learns more about the word “Maktub”. The word really interested Santiago and he asked the crystal merchant what it meant. The crystal merchant replied “You would have to be born Arab to understand.” This show how significant such words are in the Arab community. What the word translated meant on the other hand was “It is …show more content…

It is in the church that Santiago gets a vision which leads him on his journey. On the other hand it is faith he has to abandon to go and follow his dream. He was to become a priest but he wanted to travel so instead he became a shepherd. He had valued his destiny more than his faith showing that he must sacrifice his ways to reach where he is destined to be.
The characters had introduced new beliefs and traditions to Santiago. When he was with the crystal merchant he had learned how to speak Arabic and understand Islam. When Santiago had arrived at Egypt he was in a market full of people chanting prayers at certain times of day. The market place was the place Santiago found Islam and considered is a savage custom.
The farther Santiago went in pursuit of his dreams the more challenging they became. As the plot progresses new obstacles kept arising. The novel has a fable like tone. It seems like it is telling a story about a

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