Examples Of Vanity In The Alchemist

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In the book, "The Alchemist", vanity is shown as a necessity in the novel in order to reveal the true thoughts of each characters. These moments of vanity explored in, Santiago almost going back to Spain, Melchizedek's fear of being forgotten, and The Alchemist expectations of Santiago. The first sign of Vanity is when Santiago is coming upon a decision of whether or not to go back to Spain or continue his journey. He's having a conversation with the Crystal Merchant in Arabic and it makes him think back to before his Personal Legend had started " There had been a time when he thought that his sheep could teach him everything he needed to know about the world" (Coelho, Coelho, Clarke 1993). This shows the close-minded thoughts that Santiago once had …show more content…

Although Melchizedek's actions were of pure heart, his desire for praise reveals a selfish aspect of himself. Finally there's the vanity in the Alchemist's expectations of Santiago knowledge of the language of the world. When Santiago questions his own ability to turn himself into the wind, the Alchemist replies with "Then you'll die in the midst of trying to realize your Personal Legend" (Coelho, Coelho, Clarke 1993). This shows the unnecessary danger that the Alchemist puts Santiago through to test and prove that what he's learned so far was a vital for him to reach the pyramids. This approach Is very aggressive but it unveils the overwhelming belief of Santiago that The Alchemist has to bet his own life on the abilities of Santiago. The novel shows that someone can’t move forward in life unless they relinquish themselves of their own narrow-minded thoughts and become open to new ones, however having a slight amount of vanity helps a person gain belief of their capabilities to progress in their journey because a small dose of vanity is essential to gaining conviction in not only finding but seizing a Personal

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