Obstacles In The Alchemist

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In The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, Santiago’s journey to fulfill his Personal Legend is marked by four obstacles that test his ambition, love, diversions and defeats, and fear of accomplishing his goal. The Alchemist is a physical and mental journey taken by Santiago, a young shepherd, in his quest to find treasure hidden near pyramids in Egypt. Along his odyssey, Santiago meets several meteors who guide him to listen to his heart and persevere. When Santiago achieved his Personal Legend, he realized the true valuable treasures in life are wisdom, love, and belief in yourself. Coelho’s introduction to The Alchemist explores the four obstacles all heroes face to fulfill their Legend: Everything you want to do is impossible, you will hurt everything and …show more content…

He is considering abandoning his journey just to stay with his love. Fatima promises she will wait for Santiago to come back and spend eternity with her. She promises to wait as long as it takes for him to complete his Personal Legend so he can come back and marry her. Fatima knows that real love does not hold people back, therefore she doesn’t want to hold Santiago back from his journey. Fatima tells Santiago that if she is truly integral to his dreams, he will return to her someday (Coelho, 97). This stage is now Santiago overcoming the second obstacle of love that every hero faces in pursuing their Personal Legend. Santiago’s third obstacle is the fear he has in facing the defeats he will face on his path. The fear is that everything he has fought for so far, like leaving the love of his life, will all be for nothing if he can’t complete his quest successfully. Santiago’s encounter with the crystal merchant, who fears change and failure, encourages him not to give into the fear because it will not get him anywhere. "I'm afraid that if my dream is realized, I'll have no reason to go on living" (Coelho

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