Similarities Between Englishman And Fatima

The characters that I have chosen to write about are The Englishman, The Crystal Merchant, and Fatima. The Englishman is well-educated, ambitious and new coming alchemist. He likes adventure and because of this he is crazy enough to join a caravan in search of the alchemist. Along this adventure we find out that he isn't really big on talking. Due to the face that the Englishman and Santiago share a commitment to pursuing their Personal Legends, they quickly become friends. The Crystal Merchant serves as an important friend to Santiago. He is also someone who has become complacent and given up the pursuit of his Personal Legend. He is a good man who is devoutly religious and kind enough to take Santiago in. He fears pursuing his dream to make a pilgrimage to Mecca because he thinks he will have nothing to

live for once he’s achieved his dream. Fatima is an important character in Santiagos mind. Fatima is defined by her beauty and her willingness to wait for Santiago while he pursues his Personal Legend. Her primary duty in life consists of gathering water from the local well, and she says as a woman of the desert she realizes that men must leave the women they love for long periods. I feel writing about these three characters really will describe Santiagos journeys.

The first character I have chosen is The Englishman. The Englishman is a man that Santiago runs into on his journey to find treasure in the pyramids of Egypt. The Englishman studies alchemy, and he helps Santiago by introducing him to it. The Englishman believes in omens. He is a scholar and philosopher. "All his life and all his studies were aimed at finding the one true language of the universe." (p. 68) He imparts this wisdom to Santiago. When a caravan shows up going to Egypt, the Englishman says it is a good omen, “there’s no such thing as coincidence” (p. 75). Santiago is most interested in the book that tells the stories of the alchemists and he listens to the Englishman’s stories. The Englishman gives him another piece of the puzzle in finding his personal legend. Santiago discovers that he cannot be what he is not. Santiago considers this and even tries to learn this way, but he soon finds that books do not speak to him: the world does, through omens and the Language of the Universe. The Englishman has impacted Santiagos future because he introduces him to the important concept of alchemy called, The Soul of the World. He teaches Santiago the value of learning and how it influences someone life. The Englishman has influences my future because I understand how their are omens all around us and if something is for you it won't be passed up.

The second character that I choose to do is The Crystal Merchant.

Working for the merchant is not very pleasant. The man is grouchy and always complains, but he is fair to Santiago. Santiago wants to build a cabinet to display crystal for customers who pass by to see. The merchant is insecure about change. Santiago learns that change is necessary for success and if one never changes, one never moves forward. The second thing that he learns is not to put off something one intends to do. The merchant tells how he is a devout Muslim but he has never made the pilgrimage to Mecca, because he was always afraid to trust his shop with anyone. Santiago also comes to realize that he has to listen to and identify the clues and omens around him. The Crystal Merchant impacts Santiagos journey and life because he learns many things. He learns how to deal with crystals, the language without words, omens, learned the Arabic language and he learned to take chances even thought the odds are against his favor. This character impacts my life because he also teaches me that omens are all around us and also to take chances when your the lowest and the odds are not in your

favor.

The third character I choose is Fatima. Fatima doesn't get a lot of attention in this book. She is the love interest of Santiago. Having no personal legend of her own, she convinces Santiago that his personal legend is more important than being together. Only after he fulfills his destiny should he return to her. She teaches Santiago that their love will lack meaning if Santiago doesn't realize his own destiny first. Fatima literally sets Santiago free. Her acceptance that Santiago had to live life before their relationship could begin is symbolic in many ways, but most noticeably it allows Santiago the opportunity to realize that his love for Fatima is true. On his journey, he has learned about the love of the Universe and the love of friendship, but it is through Fatima that he will learn the love between a husband and a wife. Fatima influenced Santiagos future decisions because she does not stand in the way of his Personal Legend and insist that he seeks it out and then comes and find her. "We are afraid of losing what he have, whether it's our life or our possessions or our property. But this fear evaporates when he understand that our life stories and the history of the world were written by the same hand."