Themes
Alchemy and Evolution
As the book's title indicates, alchemy is the main theme. Alchemy is change. On a literal level, alchemy describes the transformation of base metal into precious gold. The process of alchemy is a force of nature, and it is not an easy transformation. Natural power turns base metal into gold, but in order to do so it takes a very long geologic time and exerts a tremendous amount of pressure and heat.
The alchemist is a person with rare, mysterious knowledge, who knows how to speed up that natural process and use special tools to create gold from lead. From the beginning of this story, Santiago is clearly interested in evolving and experiencing change. He learned language and religion through studying at the seminar, but he is dissatisfied with the learning that happens through books. He chooses to become a shepherd because he wants to travel.
After Santiago's mysterious dream, he decides to travel to the pyramids in order to pursue his destiny. All along the journey he is faced with challenges, danger and difficulties, but he continues to learn, change and grow. This fable tells the story of his encounters as he attempts to follows his dream and undergoes his own personal process of transformation or alchemy.
Santiago eventually discovers his destiny, but it is only as a result of taking the risks and doing the work required of him. The transformation of lead into gold is a metaphor for the inner growth and refinement that Santiago becomes engaged in. He is changed and alchemized over the length of his journey. The Sahara desert and the brutal, conflicting tribal members represent the pressure and heat that are a necessary part of his transformation.
By the end of the story, Santiago has been compl...
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... their instincts. They depend entirely on the shepherd to lead them to food and water, whereas Santiago is motivated to think for himself as he proceeds on his journey. The sheep will get their food and water as long as a shepherd guides them. Santiago will get his treasure and discover his destiny, as long as he continues to develop his ability to think and find out for himself.
While Santiago is working in the crystal merchant's shop, Santiago's journey appears to end for a year. He thinks that when he earns enough money he will return to Spain. At the end of that year, however, he has undergone a certain amount of personal growth. At the last minute, he decides not to go back but to continue on his way toward reaching his dream. Perhaps his conviction to reach for his destiny is strengthened by witnessing the crystal merchant's reluctance to follow his own dream.
In conclusion, Santiago’s journey had different stages that got him closer to achieving his personal legend. Overall the Hero’s Journey of santiago was about him going through challenges and for him to trust in his heart. This can also be compared someone when wanting to accomplish something but then you would think you won’t be able to accomplish it. Clearly, he has been able to complete his journey through stages which had also got him closer to the end every time he has accomplished one of the stages, so the stages are also there so when passing a stage you will be able to keep going without any
He notices the book was so strange because it talked about the mercury, salt, dragon, and king. However, there was one idea that all things are the manifestation of one thing only. It also contains the most important text in the literature of an alchemy contained only a few lines, and had been recorded on the surfaces of an emerald. The book that attracts Santiago interest was the stories about the famous alchemists that dedicated their entry lives to purifying metals. The alchemist believed if a metal were heated for many years, it would free and became individual properties. Since the languages with which all things communicated, the soul of the world allowed them to understand anything on earth. They called that discovery the master work. The boy learned that the master works consist with two parts, which is the liquid portion knows as the Elixir of Life, which use to cure an illness and kept the alchemist from getting older. While the others is solid parts is called the Philosopher’s stone. It was an important thing to turn any metal into gold. Santiago became more excited to learn in alchemy when he heard about gold. Unfortunately he became lost, when he wanted to learns how to achieve the master
Curious, courageous, young, adventurous: these are all words to describe Santiago, the protagonist in the novel The Alchemist. In this novel, Paulo Coelho develops Santiago’s character as a young boy who goes on an adventure to find his life’s purpose. Through the hero’s journey, Paulo Coelho insists that both internal and external struggles often cannot stop people from achieving their goals, ultimately encouraging people to fulfill self discovery and understand who they truly are.
Santiago thinks about his discussion with the old man. He is annoyed that the old man was right about his being on the verge of giving up just as he finds his destiny. Wandering around the city, he approaches a ticket seller, but he does not buy a ticket to Africa, where he knows the Egyptian pyramids are. He knows that he could buy a ticket with the money he could make from selling only one of his sheep. As he stands at the ticket window, he decides to go back to shepherding his flock. He muses that neither the old gypsy woman nor the old man understand what it means to have a flock of sheep depend on them.
Santiago, a young shepherd form Spain, repeatedly had a dream about a child leading him to The Pyramids in Egypt. He was confused about these experiences until he met The Gypsy Woman, who enlightens him about personal legends, how everyone has one destined and how some follow the path to the finale and some give up or ignore realizing theirs. Santiago, being a brave
Paulo Coelho’s novel, The Alchemist follows the ventures of Santiago, a young shepherd from an Andalusian town in Spain. He disobeyed his father’s wish to enroll at a seminary to become a Catholic priest; instead he became a shepherd in order to fulfill his dream to travel throughout the country, in fact the world. Throughout the novel, his character changes while he is on a journey to find his Personal Legend and to find his treasure that would make him rich. In the novel, he changes constantly and he somewhat represents mankind.
In The Alchemist there were obviously many characteristics,one of them being hard work. In this work hard work was displayed as putting effort but also making your mind also work hard. For example Santiago showed this by helping the crystal merchant expand and make his shop popular as it was when he first opened it. Before that event he was a shepherd and of course that required a lot of work. For example, he made his internal self work hard when he embarked on the journey, and he had to thoroughly understand the meaning of his heart. He had to understand what his hearts reactions were. It was mentally telling him fear, love, understanding among other things.
There are countless heroes throughout literature. Their stories are all timeless and meaningful. The Alchemist, written by Paulo Coelho, is home to one of these heroes with an incredible quest. Interestingly, it is quite common to see quests and journeys throughout all literature. In the Alchemist, the protagonist, Santiago, goes through many stages of being a hero such as, call to adventure, refusal of the call, supernatural aid, crossing the threshold, and road of trials. Santiago clearly demonstrates all these stages throughout the entire novel.
I enjoyed watching Santiago grow and learn from the experiences he gained through his journey to find treasure in Egypt. I found I couldn’t stop reading “The Alchemist” soon after I began. I had to keep reading about Santiago’s journey and his adventures.
In The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho continuously shows how Santiago conquers fear and is greatly rewarded for it. In order to get his treasure and achieve his personal legend he must first travel through the well-known dangers of the desert. It is an extremely expensive trip that many do...
Will Santiago go after his dream? In The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, Santiago has had the same dream twice. He takes it upon himself to discover what this dream means and where the treasure in the dream is located. The people and challenges he faces along the way all present him with a sacrifice. When trying to achieve his goal, Santiago sacrifices his sheep, Fatima temporarily, gold, and time.
The Alchemist conveyed the up-most truthful meaning of santiago’s personal legend by teaching him the soul of the earth. This stage helped santiago and the Alchemist are talking doing what your personal legend is and also doing exactly what your personal legend desires are when they speak in terms of listening to one’s heart. “Whenever your heart is, that is where you’ll find your treasure. Santiago takes initiative on his dreams and pursue them regardless of love affairs and the hurt that comes along with it. The stage encouraged and also motivated santiago to find his treasure and make a better life for fatima and
In The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho an Andalusian boy named Santiago leaves Spain to travel to Egypt in order to achieve his Personal Legend. During his journey he meets four people, a Gypsy, a King named Melchizedek, an Englishman and an Alchemist, all of whom help Santiago along his journey towards his Personal Legend. However, only the King and the Alchemist teach Santiago lessons that he can learn from and use along his journey. The King teaches Santiago two lessons, to follow omens and that it is not always about the destination but that it is also about the journey. The Alchemist teaches Santiago to listen to his heart for guidance, what the Language of the World is and what the Soul of the World is. He eventually arrives in Egypt after
In The Alchemist Paulo Coelho presents a character, Santiago, torn between following tradition and his Personal Legend. Santiago tries to live true to his Personal Legend, which is a path pursued by those who strive to fulfill their purpose in life. Yet throughout the novel tradition, a motif, presents itself as a roadblock holding Santiago back from reaching his dreams. Coelho juxtaposes tradition against Personal Legend to illustrate its purely individual nature and the necessity of the acceptance of change to reach one’s dreams and goals.
Have you ever encountered problems while trying to fulfill a goal in your life? In the book The Alchemist, written by Paulo Coelho, a shepherd boy named Santiago overcomes obstacles to reach his personal legend. Throughout the book Santiago encounters many friends to help him fulfill his destiny. Santiago encounters many problems throughout the story. He overcomes them with the help of his friends and his wife-to-be. These problems shape Santiago into a dignified man of many traits.