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Themes of the alchemist
Themes of the alchemist
The character sketch of Santiago
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"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. …show more content…
Without faith that Santiago could succeed and without the faith of others Santiago would have been lost. If Santiago cannot believe in himself then nobody else will be able to. Santiago can only succeed to his full potential if he and others believe in him. Without their believing, Santiago will be lost. If the people that pushed Santiago did not push him then he would not have looked for the treasure, and if Santiago did not look for the treasure there would not be a book. Everything in this book happens for a reason. The theme of faith and positive thinking is the most important theme in this novel because he has to believe in himself to succeed and he has to trust that others will believe in him as well. "People from all over the world have passed through this village, son," said his father.
"They come in search of new things, but when they leave they are basically the same people they were when they arrived. They climb the mountain to see the castle, and they wind up thinking that the past was better than what we have now. They have blond hair, or dark skin, but basically they're the same as the people who live right here." Santiago’s father is saying that no matter how much Santiago travels, or how much of the world he sees he will come back the same person. Santiago’s father is an important person in his life. Without his father believing in him Santiago might not believe in himself either. Santiago seems to know what he wants in life, but with his father practically telling him it is wrong he might not succeed. Santiago needs others believing in him or he will not have the motivation to succeed in finding the treasure. Not only does Santiago need others believing in him, but he needs to believe in himself as …show more content…
well. Santiago questions whether or not he should go looking for the treasure or if he should forget the whole thing and move on.
“Even if he never got to the Pyramids, he had already traveled farther than any shepherd he knew. Oh, if they only knew how different things are just two hours by ship from where they are, he thought. Although his new world at the moment was just an empty marketplace, he had already seen it when it was teeming with life, and he would never forget it. He remembered the sword. It hurt him a bit to think about it, but he had never seen one like it before. As he mused about these things, he realized that he had to choose between thinking of himself as the poor victim of a thief and as an adventurer in quest of his treasure. "I'm an adventurer, looking for treasure," he said to himself.” Santiago believes that he is an adventurer, looking for treasure, but he may not believe in himself still. Santiago is stuck between looking for the treasure or staying home thinking of himself as the poor victim of a thief. It does not matter how many people believe in him if Santiago does not believe in
himself. The theme of faith and positive thinking is the most important theme in this novel because he has to believe in himself to succeed and he has to trust that others will believe in him as well. No one can tell an individual how to live their life, so why not believe in them and their decisions? Do not let someone’s opinion about you affect your plans for the future, or how you live your life now. You cannot be your true self if you let what others say bother you, but you also cannot succeed without you and others believing in you. You have to believe in yourself the best you can with what you have.
Santiago then sets out on yet another journey, to see the alchemist. The alchemist tells Santiago that he was going to point him in the direction of the treasure. Once again Santiago is at crossroads. He replies that he has already found his treasure, namely the money he received from the crystal shop and the chieftain, a camel, and also the woman he loves, Fatima. The alchemist reminds him that none of those were found at the Pyramids, which was his initial
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.
No one is born without a reason or purpose. While it differs from person to person, there is no greater journey than the quest to fulfill it. From a shepherd searching for the treasure of his dreams, to the son of Indian immigrants who must discover the value in the treasure of accepting in his own identity, following a Personal Legend is a significant part of one’s life. Santiago and Gogol, from the novel The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho and the film adaptation The Namesake respectively, encounter obstacles as they embark on the life altering journey to discover and fulfill their destiny. Both protagonists are faced with the challenge of realizing the importance of their Personal Legend and the quest to reach
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 Alchemist by Paulo Coelho an Andalusian boy named Santiago leaves Spain to travel to Egypt in order to achieve his Personal Legend. During his journey he meets four people, a Gypsy, a King named Melchizedek, an Englishman and an Alchemist, all of whom help Santiago along his journey towards his Personal Legend. However, only the King and the Alchemist teach Santiago lessons that he can learn from and use along his journey. The King teaches Santiago two lessons, to follow omens and that it is not always about the destination but that it is also about the journey. The Alchemist teaches Santiago to listen to his heart for guidance, what the Language of the World is and what the Soul of the World is. He eventually arrives in Egypt after
They travel together to find the treasure. Throughout the journey, Santiago encountered many difficulties and fear was one of them. This is what the alchemist told Santiago, “Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself”(Coelho 134). Fear leads to disbelief towards your dreams. People always see the negativity in action.
Santiago had it hard while he was growing up, his parents wanted him to be a preacher but he knew he was destined to be more as he could not implement his lively and traveling nature in a sacristy of a church. His way to the treasure which was bound to be his happy ever after was harder to get to as he had to give up many things. He had to promise The Gypsy Woman a tenth of his treasure he did not even have yet, give up a tenth of his flock of sheep to The King Of Salem for the knowledge he had already but was provided in a more explanatory way, getting robbed, leaving behind loved ones, working harder for something he had lost but, arguably the hardest part was to be patient, hardworking and strong which he had to implement time after time and that is what made the achievement of the treasure worth it for Santiago.
Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist is a story about a young shepherd who goes on a journey to the Great pyramids in Egypt in search of treasure to fulfil his personal legend. The boy meets people along the way who either help or hinder his ability to achieve his dreams. Through the contrasting views of The Crystal Merchant and the Englishman Santiago learns that many people pursue their personal legends only in their minds and that they all influenced Santiago’s personal legend; as a result of the characters’ outlook on life, Coelho conveys that everyone pursues their dreams either in life, or in their imagination, or through books.
Santiago is a heroic figure because he was always kind to others. He was always helping someone with something. For example: when Santiago was working at the Crystal shop, he helped the Crystal Merchant, improve his business. When Santiago was leaving the Crystal Shop, the merchant stated “You brought a new feeling into my Crystal Shop”(61). The Crystal Merchant is talking about how much Santiago has changed his business. Santiago has helped the merchant’s business by making a display case to put outside the store, cleaning all the crystal and adding new things, such as the tea. Santiago also helped an Englishman by helping him find the Alchemist. The Englishman wanted to speak to an alchemist. The Englishman stated “I need you to help me find out where the alchemist lives”(90). Because the Englishman requested for help, Santiago helped him. It took over half a day to find the alchemist, but fi...
There are countless heroes throughout literature. Their stories are all timeless and meaningful. The Alchemist, written by Paulo Coelho, is home to one of these heroes with an incredible quest. Interestingly, it is quite common to see quests and journeys throughout all literature. In the Alchemist, the protagonist, Santiago, goes through many stages of being a hero such as, call to adventure, refusal of the call, supernatural aid, crossing the threshold, and road of trials. Santiago clearly demonstrates all these stages throughout the entire novel.
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.
The Theme of “The Alchemist,” by Paulo Coelho is, always follow your dreams and listen to your heart. At the start of the novel Santiago does not know what he should do when he is confronted by his dream. But by the end of the novel Santiago completely trusts his heart to guide him though life. Santiago’s story shows him learning and living out the theme of the novel.
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.
Santiago faced a lot of difficulties in order to achieve his. When Santiago first got to egypt, he trusted the wrong person. A boy stole all his money, which he had gotten from selling his sheep. Santiago meets a crystal merchant when he had lost all his money. The merchant helps Santiago by allowing him to work for him. With Santiago’s help and ideas the Merchant started doing better than before. Santiago had a dream to travel to Egypt and find the treasure that he had dreamed of. The merchant also had a dream, however, the merchant was satisfied with what he already had and didn’t want more. Santiago had gone through a lot of situations and almost gave up on his dreams when he got robbed. He had no money to complete his