The Alchemist By Paulo Coelho

In the second section of The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, my favorite part was the fact that Santiago was realizing that he had the wrong dream in mind. This can be expressed through the quote, “ He had worked for an entire year to make a dream come true, and that dream, minute by minute, was becoming less important. Maybe that wasn’t really his dream.” Santiago got mixed up along the way and thought that he should be saving for more sheep, when he realized that what he really wanted was a trip to the pyramids. My least favorite part of this section was that the merchant had really little faith in Santiago's ideas to increase business. His religious beliefs get in the way and he keeps saying, “ Maktub” which means it is written. The merchant

claims that the way they meet and the way that they run their business has been predetermined and no amount of Santiago's ideas will change that. I really support Santiago’s decision to leave the crystal merchant and leaving him with some advice. The new thing that happened during this section is that the crystal merchant and Santiago made a new business venture. They began to sell tea and opened up a cart.
The topic that was most outstanding too me was Santiago’s ambition. The message of this section is that everything is worth hard work and determination if you want it bad enough. I think that the author might have included this in the story too show that everyone has the potential to fulfill their dreams, even a young shepherd. The theme of The Alchemist is that you should live to pursue your dreams and not someone else's. This theme relates to my life right now because I have been recently helping others reach their dreams and not considering mine. I am now taking time too help myself reach my full potential.
The quote that stood out to me the most was, “ Maybe because that wasn’t really his dream.” This quote fits into the story because it shows that Santiago’s dream has changed and he has strayed from his path a little. This is a key part in anyone's journey too their dream. It is normal to go astray but you will always have a moment when you refocus your life on your dream, that is what happened to Santiago. The entire story of The Alchemist is Santiago’s journey to pursue his Personal Legend. Santiago’s journey has an impact on those around him so his realization that he has started has given others the inspiration to pursue their dreams.
The action that Santiago is taking too take a step closer to his Personal Legend is somewhat like what I have been doing this school year. I decided to do something for myself by stepping outside of my comfort zone and applying to a new school. This school offers many things that will lead me to my dream career. Like Santiago I have had many setbacks and detours on my long road to this point. At times I thought that I wanted to do something different but in the end my dream career has always been it. I hope that at the end of my journey I turn out to be as successful as Santiago.