The Alchemist Is Santiago A Hero

Often in works of literature, the main protagonist is force to go through hard task in order to learn a lesson about society or themselves. In the end, the protagonist is often seen as a hero for doing something that would be considered uncommon or untraditional by those in their society. In novels like The Alchemist, published in 1988 by author Paulo Coelho, Santiago is a young shepherd who is oblivious to the fact that he is a hero because he doesn’t seem to have the characteristics of a hero, he isn’t idolize by the community or hasn’t made any drastic changes in his life - he is a shepherd with no aspirations or dreams for change. However, this all changes when Santiago is faced with a recurring dream, he has no choice, but to pursue his

Personal Legend. Santiago shows the characteristics of being a Hero, because he has a dream and he can easily connect with the reader, he keeps on believing in himself and pushing himself to achieve his personal legend, and finally he helps the Crystal Merchant with his shop.
Santiago lives a very simple and ordinary life as a shepherd who roams the cities and towns of Spain in hopes of finding adventure. Santiago spends his days, reading books and roaming the land he has become accustomed to. Coelho used the idea of following one’s dreams in order to connect Santiago to the reader. He knew that at some point everyone has had a dream or a goal that they would like to achieve, but they need a little push and that's when the Old King of Salem comes into the story, he pushes Santiago to pursue his Personal Legend and goes on to say that, “Whoever you are, or whatever it is that you do, when you really want something, it's because that desire originated in the soul of the universe. It's your mission on earth.” (22-23). As a result of this, Santiago decides to leave everything he had grown accustomed to and a life of tradition to pursue his dream. He has to make the grueling decision of leaving his parents, the girl he claims to be in love with and his sheep to go on an arduous journey.
On his first day in Africa, Santiago is stunned and overwhelmed by the unfamiliar terrain.

He doesn’t speak the language or know how the people in Africa act; he just knows that his treasure is in Egypt. His innocence and lack of awareness causes him to trust a young Arab boy, who ends up stealing all the money Santiago had, “The boy wanted to believe that his friend had simply become separated from him by accident.” (41) As a result, this causes Santiago to feel helpless and incapable of continuing his personal legend. He sees no point in continuing his journey and decides that he wants to go back to being a shepherd in Spain. However, Santiago remembers the Old King of Salem and his advice on following one's journey. He decides that he wants to continue in order to complete his Journey and not end up like the Baker, who awaits for a chance to accomplish his own journey. For this reason, Santiago is a hero because when tough obstacles come his way, he continues in hopes of finishing his journey and returning back home to his ordinary life and to the Merchant’s

Daughter.
In spite of being robbed on his first day in Africa, Santiago still wishes to continue his journey to the Egyptian Pyramids. He doesn’t want to let the Old King of Salem down by deciding that he will give up on his dreams because of an obstacle that could easily be resolved, therefore, Santiago seeks for a job. Santiago decides to help the Crystal Merchant to make some money by cleaning glass cups. Santiago quickly shows his leadership skills when he “Sensed that he was going to make a decision...he had cleaned all the glasses in the window, and, as he was doing so, two customers had entered the shop and bought some crystal..”(48). He knew that the Crystal Merchant was a bit hesitant about hiring him because he was a total stranger in a strange land. Although this may be true, Santiago continues to show the Crystal Merchant of his ability and leadership skills when it comes to working in the Crystal Shop.
To conclude, Santiago would be considered a Hero because he is a person that the reader can connect to, he always believes in himself even in doubt and because he has great leadership skills.

Santiago may not seem like the ideal hero, but he is one because he followed his dream and stepped out of his comfort zone. He got the chance to see the world and meet new people, he experienced what it felt to fall in love with someone, what it felt like when you were lied to and beaten up - he had the chance to experience things he never felt before, he left who whole life in Spain just for a chance at finding treasure, but along the way he didn’t expect such

outcomes.