The Alchemist Paulo Coelho Analysis

The president. An astronaut. A spy. A movie star. A veterinarian-- Everyone has their lives planned out when they’re a child. People dream of doing the most impossible things; however, most people never even start to pursue that dream. Practicality wins out and people gradually begin to compromise their dreams until it reaches a point where it is impossible. In the Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho, a young shepherd boy stakes everything he’s worked for on his dream of discovering a great treasure. On the way, the boy learns some universal truths of the world. Coelho uses metaphors and similes to show that to achieve a dream one must never give into fear and always stay true to oneself and therefore one’s dream.

Coelho first uses a metaphor to

show the importance of staying focused on a goal no matter what obstacles a person faces. He does so through the imagery of a desert caravan. Santiago, the shepherd boy, sets his sights on the pyramids, and the caravan he joins while on that mission sets its sights on a desert oasis. Though it faces hardship, the caravan’s destination never wavers, but the course sometimes does: “No matter how many detours and adjustments it made, the caravan moved toward the same compass point. Once obstacles were overcome, it returned to its course, sighting on a star that indicated the location of the oasis” (77). Coelho uses this as a metaphor for Santiago’s quest. It shows the determination involved in pursuing a dream. The caravan always stays true to its destination, it always “moved toward the same compass point,” that reflects what Santiago does throughout the book: Just like the caravan Santiago makes many “detours and adjustments” such as being robbed, spending weeks wandering through the desert and working at a glass shop for a year to gain enough money to continue his journey. Though all these detours may seem pointless, Santiago does all of them in pursuit of his one mission, the treasure. It would have been easier for him to have given up than to have continued at almost any point. Moreover, it would have been even easier for him to have never embarked on his quest in the first place. However, if he had not faced all these hardships, he would not have been able to accomplish his dream. Just like how the caravan makes it to the oasis, against all odds, Santiago goes to the pyramids and finds his treasure. Without that constant sense of what they wanted, they would have given up-- they would not have achieved their goal if they had not stayed true to themselves and their dreams.
Coelho uses other literary devices such as similes to reinforce his message of staying true to oneself and not worrying about anything else in order to achieve a dream.

As Santiago continues his journey, he begins to have more things to lose, such as the love of his life or the fortune he gains. So naturally, he finds it hard to continue because he fears that he could potentially lose it all. The man helping him finish his journey, the Alchemist, gives him this piece of advice:

“Don't think about what you've left behind," The alchemist said to the boy as they began to ride across the sands of the desert. "If what one finds is made of pure matter, it will never spoil. And one can always come back. If what you had found was only a moment of light, like the explosion of a star, you would find nothing on your return”. (126)

The Alchemist compares a passing phase to the temporary “explosion of a star”, to help Santiago understand that if what he values is that true or a “pure matter”, it will be there when he gets back. This shows the readers that when pursuing a dream, they should not worry about what they could lose because if they do lose something, it was not something worth caring about anyway. Coelho is trying to say that when pursuing a dream, a person’s primary concern would be the pursuit of that dream, not the fears surrounding

it.
To achieve a dream, one has to only keep that dream in mind and ban all fear. Santiago’s last challenge is to turn himself into the wind. At first he is afraid, but then the alchemist gives him this piece of advice:“There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure” (141). If a person is afraid of even embarking on a journey, they cannot finish it. In order to fulfill a true dream, a person cannot let what others think or the dangers that may lie ahead stop them, otherwise they will never achieve that vision. Sometimes it is easier to live an ordinary life because it is predictable, there is less left up to chance, there is less to fear. If one chooses to go that route, it compromises their dreams, what Coelho is saying is that people should not let that fear stop a person from living out their dreams. A person cannot achieve a dream if they are afraid-- to achieve a dream one only has to stay true to one’s self and that dream.
In spite of all of the distractions and fears that threaten Santiago’s mission, he always stays true to himself by never losing sight of his dream. Coelho uses these metaphors and similes to demonstrate that the only way to achieve dream is to believe in oneself and never give in to fear. Sadly, nowadays, most people do not take that advice. Children who wanted to be the President, a spy or a movie star become an accountant or a storage clerk, because usually practicality wins out. What the Alchemist shows us is that if someone truly wants to be the President, that person should never let anything deter them from that pursuit. After all people’s lives are short- too short for anyone to be wasting away their time on something ultimately that cannot make them happy.