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Alchemy in the alchemist essay
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The Alchemist In the Alchemist, Santiago has numerous experiences revolving around omens and dreams. The omens and dreams portray the main theme of the story, that when you pursue you dreams, you will realize your personal legend and find your treasure. These omens and dreams keep reappearing in the story as Santiago continues his journey. They help Santiago to realize and understand his personal legend. Santiago learned to understand and interpret the omens and dreams. As Santiago discovered his personal legend, it became very important for him to interpret and understand the various omens throughout the story. Another important theme in the story is that the world will help you accomplish your dreams and discover your personal legend. The …show more content…
When the stones Urim and Thummim fall out of Santiago’s pocket, he is reminded of the King and his personal legend. He decides to continue pursuing his personal legend. When Santiago decides to head to Egypt, he joins a caravan in order to cross the desert. He meets an Englishman who was seeking an Alchemist. As the characters interact and become friends, the relationship largely impacts Santiago. Both he and the Englishman have similar mind sets. This leads to discussions about omens and the language of the world. The Englishman tells Santiago that omens are not merely for following in order to achieve one’s personal legend, but they can also help a person understand the language of the world. As the story progresses and Santiago learns more about omens, alchemy, and his personal legend, he reaches a conflict. After Santiago splits up from the Alchemist he finally reaches the pyramids. Earlier in his journey his heart had told him to, "Be aware of the place where you are brought to tears. That's where I am, and that's where your treasure is." So, Santiago begins to dig, yet he doesn’t find anything. Some thieves come across Santiago and think he is hiding something. After they find the gold bar that the Alchemist had given Santiago they tell him to continue digging in hopes of finding more
Santiago replies that he was meant to save the oasis. The man then tests Santiago’s courage and tell him that if Santiago manages to stay alive till sunset the next day, then he should come find him. Santiago asks him where he could be found and the man points towards the south. Santiago realizes that the man in the alchemist. The next morning, although the oasis is attacked, all but one of the intruders were killed, thanks to Santiago’s predictions and prompt action. In payment, Santiago receives fifty gold pieces and is asked to be the counselor for the oasis.
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.
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 had been rewarded with the treasure earned when completing his journey, “In my dream there was a sycamore growing out the ruin of the sacristy… there were precious stones, gold masks adorned with red and white feathers.” (Coelho 170). Santiago was able to accomplish his personal legend, which he had to go through many stages in the journey that got him closer to completing his goal. In this final stage of his journey was a good thing to accomplish, because he’s gone through all of the stages that had been placed there to challenge and see if he actually wants to accomplish it, so he did not give up and gained trust in himself to keep going. This is an important part of the journey because this had taught him to not give up and trust in his heart to accomplish his personal legend, such as when others believe that it is hard to accomplish what they want to complete and do in their life.
In the beginning of the book, Santiago travels to visit a Gypsy who is said to be able interpret his recurring dream. As a child he had always heard stories about Gypsies capturing children, taking them to their camps and making them their slaves. These stories translated into one of his largest fears for Santiago as a child and that fear returned when he visited the Gypsy, “As a child, the boy had always been frightened to death that he would be captured by Gypsies, and this childhood fear returned when the old woman took his hand” (17). The Gypsy eventually tells Santiago that there is treasure located at the Egyptian Pyramids. Without being able to overcome his fears of Gypsies, Santiago may have never went on a journey to Egypt in order to achieve his personal legend. Another example in the book that shows Santiago overcoming his fears is while Santiago and the Alchemist are travelling towards the Pyramids. They are suddenly captured by a desert tribe at war, who mistakes them for spies. In order to save his life Santiago has to turn himself into the wind. Coelho states, “But the boy was too frightened to listen to words of wisdom. He had no idea how he was going to transform himself into the wind” (83). Two days later Santiago is standing in front of the tribal chieftains trying to turn himself into the wind. He is able to stay calm while his life is on the line and
Santiago is a young boy who fits into the flawed hero archetype. His story tells of his journey to find his Personal Legend and the many new people and experiences he encounters. Santiago is flawed in the way that he does not have enough confidence in himself to complete the task set out in front of him. He is constantly putting himself off track and avoiding what he has to do. In the beginning of his journey, he faces a setback and his money gets stolen. While finding a solution and a job, he gets distracted loses sight of his dreams. A couple months into the job, he thinks, “...Egypt was now just as distant a dream as was Mecca for the merchant…” (Coelho 58) and he glorifies his new plan to “disembark at Tarifa as a winner” (Coelho 58) with his improved flock of sheep. However, he continues his journey two years later, despite his break in confidence. When Santiago reaches the Oasis during his journey across the desert, he gets sidetracked once more by a woman. This woman’s name is Fatima. The second time they meet Santiago speaks without thinking and says, “‘I came to tell you just one thing...I want you to be my wife. I love you.’” (Coelho 98). This alone demonstrates his rash actions of an inexperienced hero who causes his dreams to be postponed. However, Santiago is also a successful hero despite his flaws. He still continues his journey, no matter what, and eventually reaches his goal. Even through
"If someone isn’t what others want them to be, the others become angry. Everyone seems to have a clear ideals of how other people should lead their lives, but none about their own.” That is one of many deep quotes that makes the reader truly think about life in The Alchemist, written by Paulo Coelho. The book is about a young boy named Santiago, who loves travel and adventure, but he does not have the money to do so. He was raised to be a priest, but decides that he would rather be a shepherd, so that he can travel. Santiago’s father gives him two spanish coins, and tells him that he will learn one day that no place is as beautiful as the one he lives in. It seems like Santiago’s father believes in him, but not the way Santiago wants him to.
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.
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.
There are many obstacles in everyday life, but none as detrimental to ones future as fear. Fear can cause people to not only avoid achieving their goals in life but it also forces them to think about it throughout every day. Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist shows that those who wallow in fear will never achieve their personal legend, and those who conquer fear will achieve anything they strive for. Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist is a commonly analyzed and criticized piece of literature. One of these articles is Rejendra Kumar Dash’s “Alchemy of the Soul: A Comparative Study of Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha and Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist”. Dash’s article is a literary criticism of the different parts of the character’s journey in The Alchemist. He talks about, in his article, how the theme in The Alchemist is found through analyzing the different parts of Santiago’s journey and what those parts mean. Another one of these articles is Lily Hasanah’s “Decision Making in Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist”. Hasanah’s article is a literary criticism of the main character in The Alchemist, Santiago. She searches for the theme in The Alchemist through analyzing the decisions, and the outcomes of those decisions, made by Santiago. Paulo Coelho provides access to his theme, for the most part, though the actions and adventures of the main character, Santiago. Although this is the method of delivery he had in mind, Dash and Hasanah view the delivery of his theme differently.
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
Through Coelho’s life experiences, journey, and obtained knowledge from experience, he has allowed himself to understand that it is very important to follow ones own dreams. Evidently in him becoming self-fulfilled, over coming the obstacle of being robbed, and finding his Personal Legend. For him to share this and give off this message to his readers, Paulo Coelho creates The Alchemist and uses the story of Santiago to bring his own experiences to life again.
“He has other things to do first. But he’s on the right track. He has begun to try to understand the desert.” (118) The two dead hawks and falcon represented death and foreshadowed a battle and also Santiago learned to interpret and understand the Soul of the World and the universal language.
They then find themselves in a war torn area. They somehow make their way out, and the alchemist tells that the rest of the trip of the trip he will have to be by himself. Santiago starts listening to the voice of the desert and the sun guiding him to the treasure hidden in the pyramids as he had already known what the Soul of the World was. He starts digging as he reached his destination,but he couldn´t find any treasure there. Shortly after, thieves appear and proceed to beat the kid up for his money.
The alchemist tells Santiago about the Soul of the universe. They get captured by the Arab soldiers during the journey and for the exchange of their lives the alchemist gives them all Santiago money and tell them he will turn into the wind in the following three days. Santiago does not trust in his self, but on the third day he prays for the wind and god and he disappears. The tribe was amazed and let him go and then they keep traveling. Then they got to Pyramid and Santiago starts digging for gold, but gets beat up by two men.