Who Is Santiago In 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

Throughout the book, Coelho addresses the attractive quality and the sense of security that wealth and acceptable social status bring. Nevertheless, he also illustrates that one must reject the lure of riches and reputation in order to attain one’s highest potential. At first, Santiago ignores his dream to travel to Egypt because of his strong desire to earn back the money that he has lost due to the robbery. As such, Santiago becomes employed at a crystal shop and works “incessantly, thinking only of putting aside enough money so that he could return to Spain with pride” (62). Instead of saving his money for a trip across the Sahara desert to pursue his dream, at this time, Santiago wishes to return to Spain to become a shepherd once again. Here, Santiago is tempted to permanently settle down and live among people. Furthermore, Santiago also encounters a group of tribesmen and becomes a prisoner along with the alchemist. When the alchemist gives up all of Santiago’s gold, Santiago gets upset and says “You gave them everything I had! Everything I’ve saved in my entire life!” (141). Santiago is frustrated because he has saved up enough to live a life luxurious back home. Although Santiago’s sacrifice of wealth is unwillingly done by another individual, it allows him to continue his path of becoming his Personal Legend as it spares his life. By sacrificing his earthly desire and obsession with fortune, Santiago’s

Throughout The Alchemist there were many twists and turns as well as changes to the main character Santiago. He had to adapt to the different ways of life in each place he visited, and had the tenacity to never give up on his journey even when times became tough, i.e. when he was robbed. Santiago started out as a shepherd, happy with how life was, maybe a sense of wanting more; later he encountered a king, gypsies, and others along the way who literally wanted him to follow his dreams because they could change a person’s life. He had to take risks and leave everything he had known behind to follow something he knew little to none about. When Santiago wanted to stay within his boundaries, he was pushed by the people he met which enabled him

Throughout the book “The Alchemist”, Santiago faces many trials on his journey to Egypt to find the treasure. He is able to follow all the steps of the Hero’s Journey, starting with the call to adventure and finishing with the status quo. Santiago may have started his journey in Spain and made his way to Egypt but key points through this book include the status quo, threshold, and the abyss.

Not before long, Santiago meets a crystal merchant. Trying to run away from his Personal Legend once again, he gets a job at the

He wanted to save enough money to return to Spain and buy back his flock. His dream of finding and fulfilling his “Personal Legend” long forgotten as some silly dream. But as he was packing up his things to go back to Spain, he finds Urim and Thummim, two stones the wise king gave Santiago to help him read the omens. And all the sudden, minute by minute, his dream of going home to buy a new flock and become a shepherd again is became less and less important. And then Santiago remembers that it isn't his dream. “I can always go back to being a shepherd, the boy thought. I learned how to care for sheep, and I haven't forgotten how to do so. But maybe I’ll never have another chance to get to the Pyramids in Egypt.” And with that, Santiago sets off to find his treasure. He doesn't go back to where he started, he didn't go home and relax in the “normal” like others, he chose to adventure and discover his “Personal Legend”, and his treasure. He was determined to prove to everyone, and himself, that it really was

Santiago,the boy who was born in a priest’s family and was put up to become a priest.But ever since he had been a child,he had wanted to know the world ,and this was much more important than knowing about God and learning about mans’ sins.He summed up courage and told his father that he want travel all over the world and learn.He is a humble shepherd whose desires are few–he wants to be free to roam with his sheep, to have some wine in his wineskin and a book in his bag. Fate intervenes, however, in the form of the recurring dream of a great treasure hidden thousands of miles away at the base of the Egyptian Pyramids. When Santiago meets melchizedek, a strange wise man who claims he is a king from a far-off land, he decides to seek his treasure. The next day, Santiago sells his sheep and embarks to Africa to pursue his dream.

Have you ever wanted something so bad that you would do whatever it takes to get that thing? You put it all on the line just to achieve that goal? I'm sure all of us have had a goal that we really aspire towards. It takes a lot of hard work, but in the end you are glad you did because you have reaped your reward. This is what Santiago in “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho and Krakauer in “Into Thin Air” by Jon Krakauer have to do in their books.

The Crystal Merchant plays a very important role in Santiago’s journey and also the time spent in Tangier. The Crystal Merchant owns a shop and he doesn’t really believe in “Personal Legends” because he believes after he achieves his dream that he will have nothing else to live for. The Crystal Merchant opens Santiago’s eyes into seeing the result of not fulfilling your dreams.

His personal legend was to make a pilgrim to Mecca, but he fears pursuing his dream because he thinks that he will have nothing to live for once he has achieved his dream. One thing to get out from the crystal merchant was his conservative way of life. His doesn’t like changes and stays at the same spot throughout his life. There are many times in life in which I were afraid to step out and take the risk. I remember when I was seven, my mom signed me up for ballet and piano lessons.

To begin, Santiago works his hardest and makes everything around him better for money to Egypt. For example, while Santiago is at the crystal merchant shop, he needs money to continue his Personal Legend, so he works hard for the rest of the day: "I can work for the rest of today...I need money for Egypt tomorrow "(49-50). When he makes as many good changes to the shop as he can, he makes everything around him is better so the crystal merchant can have good business. In other words, Santiago strives to be his greatest to achieve his dream. To conclude, rather than not trying his best, he uses his knowledge to

“No matter what he does, every person on earth plays a central role in the history of the world. And normally he doesn't know it,” Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist. Everyone has an impact on someone’s life, some greater than others. In The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho, Santiago meets several people on his journey to find his treasure, however, the person who made the biggest impact on his life is Melchizedek, King of Salem; he convinced Santiago to go on a journey to find his treasure, and he taught him how to read and follow the omens. King Melchizedek has greatly impacted Santiago’s life.

There is many characters in The Alchemist with very different personalities or way of thinking. The protagonist, Santiago is a very curious and adventurous that is dedicated to find the treasure of the Egyptian Pyramids. Santiago’s father is a kind, unadventurous person who wanted Santiago to be a priest but also supported his dream of becoming a shepherd. Melchizedek is the king of the city of Salem that helps people that are trying to find their dream with the magical powers he holds. The Alchemist is a very old man that is a extremely powerful alchemist that lives in Al-Fayoum Oasis.

The crystal merchant assimilated his ideas into Santiago as an example of a person that required a mentor but did not possess one, revealing the effects of not achieving a Personal Legend, which helped Santiago to succeed. The crystal merchant becomes hopeless because of his own lack of action to ever make a pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca, and assumes that fantasizing triumphs over reality so that it gives purpose to life. Moreover,

Crystal merchant: Owns a crystal shop in the city of Tangier. He has lived there thirty good years in selling and buying crystal pieces. It is this shop, where Santiago works before continuing his journey.