The Hero's Journey In The Alchemist By Paulo Coelho

The boy, Santiago, was driven to find a lost treasure. He was forced to leave his life as a shepherd and his home. He traveled a across a continent in search of his treasure. Joseph Campbell proposes that most works of literature follow one basic structure called a monomyth or the hero’s journey. In the novel The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, Santiago is a Joseph Campbell hero, because he follows the path laid out in The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell.

The hero’s journey begins with a call. The hero must be called into action otherwise there would be no story. Santiago was called into action by himself. "I had the same dream twice... a child said to me 'if you come here, you will find a hidden treasure'". Santiago already had

a desire to travel. He had left his home and his training to become a seminary because he did not want to be tied down. Even still he struggled with the decision to accept the call. This step laid out by Mr. Campbell is the most important stage of the journey. All hero’s struggle with this choice, and Santiago is no different. “The levanter was still getting stronger, and he felt its force on his face. That wind had brought the Moors, yes, but it had also brought the smell of the desert and of veiled women. It had brought with it the sweat and the dreams of men who had once left to search for the unknown, and for gold and adventure- and for the Pyramids. The boy felt jealous of the freedom of the wind, and saw that he could have the same freedom. There was nothing to hold him back except himself. The sheep, the merchant’s daughter, and the fields of Andalusia were only steps along the way to his Personal Legend. The next day, the boy met the old man at noon. He brought six sheep with him.” Struggling with the choice to leave and leaving anyway is one of the reasons the hero of the story is a hero. Giving up everything that is safe and comfortable should never be easy. Santiago does not want to leave his sheep, or to give up his chances at marrying the merchant’s daughter. Sacrifices make are what make a hero a hero.

A trademark of the hero’s journey are trials. Often times, they come in the rule of threes. Joseph addresses that a piece of literature may seem that it holds more than just three, but that ultimately only three are important. He suggests that no matter how many obstacles our hero overcomes only three are important.

These trials are distinguished from the effects of them. Ultimately two trials will give our hero something, be it aid, knowledge, or an object, that will be vital to their success at completing the final trial. The Alchemist is no different. Santiago faces many hardships and hurdles in his quest for treasure, but only a couple are necessary. “The following night, the boy appeared at the alchemist’s tent with a horse. The alchemist was ready, and he mounted his own steed and placed the falcon on his left shoulder. He said to the boy, ‘Show me where there is life out in the desert. Only those who can see such signs of life are able to find treasure.’ They began to ride out over the sands, with the moon lighting their way. I don’t know if I’ll be able to find life in the desert, the boy thought. I don’t know the desert that well yet. He wanted to say so to the alchemist, but he was afraid of the man. They reached the rocky place where the boy had seen the hawks in the sky, but now there was only silence and the wind. ‘I don’t know how to find life in the desert,’ the boy said. ‘I know that there is life here, but I don’t know where to look.’ ‘ Life attracts life,’ the alchemist answered. And then the boy

understood.” This is what could be identified as the first trial. The Alchemist bids Santiago to find life in the vastness of the desert. Santiago gains a few crucial things upon completion of this task. The most important effect being the companionship of the Alchemist. Had the Alchemist not accompanied Santiago, our hero would not have gotten far. He needed wisdom gained through the Alchemist to complete his final task, turning into the wind. That was the first of the two trials that Joseph Campbell identifies our hero will need to complete. The next hurdle that Santiago had to face was an internal struggle. While living in an oasis, Santiago had fallen in love with a woman named Fatima. Our hero did not feel the need to continue his quest for treasure as he felt he had already gained a priceless treasure. “‘You have told me about your dreams, about the old king and your treasure. And you’ve told me about omens. So now, I fear nothing, because it was those omens that brought you to me. And I am part of your dream, a part of your Personal Legend, as you call it. That’s why I want you to continue toward your goal. If you have to wait until the war is over, then wait. But if you have to go before then, go in pursuit of your dream. The dunes are changed by the wind, but the desert never changes. That’s the way it will be with our love for each other. Maktub,’ she said. ‘If I am really part of your dream, you’ll come back one day.’ The boy was sad as he left her later that day. He thought of all the married shepherds he had known. They had a difficult time convincing their wives that they had to go off into distant fields. Love required them to stay with the people they loved. He told Fatima that, at their next meeting. ‘The desert takes our men from us, and they don’t always return,’ she said. “We know that, and we are used to it. Those who don’t return home become a part of the clouds, a part of the animals that hide in the ravines and of the water that comes from the earth. They become a part of everything… they become the Soul of the World. Some do come back. And then the other women are happy because they believe that their men may one day return, as well. I used to look at those women and envy them their happiness. Now, I too will be one of the women who wait. I’m a desert women, and I am proud of that. I want my husband to wander free as the wind that shapes the dunes. And, if I have to, I will accept the fact that he has become a part of the clouds, and the animals, and the water of the desert.’” Fatima realizes the need for Santiago to continue. She knows that finding his treasure is not merely a matter of financial gain, but a matter of a much more spiritual reward. She urges Santiago to follow his Personal Legend, even though it would take him from her. The importance of this is deeper than just becoming a stronger person. Meeting Fatima and falling in love reopened our hero to love. Had Santiago not been open to love, he would not have been open to the Soul of the World. Being open to the Soul of the World gave a way for him to accept the Hand That Wrote All. The Hand That Wrote All, be it a god or fate or anything else, wrote the Master Work of the universe. The Master Work was the ability of miracles to happen, and Santiago needed a miracle to turn into the wind. Only through loving Fatima and the openness that being in love brought, was Santiago able to understand that miracles lay within everything.

After overcoming these challenges Joseph Campbell identifies that our hero, in this case Santiago, will have to overcome one final challenge.

This final test will be the biggest our hero faces and will require the culmination of all the knowledge gained throughout their adventure, termed the Supreme Ordeal. In the case of The Alchemist, the Supreme Ordeal is when Santiago is forced to somehow turn himself into the wind. “‘What is an alchemist?’ he asked, finally. ‘It’s a man who understands nature and the world. If he wanted to, he could destroy this camp with just the force of the wind.’ The men laughed. They were used to the ravages of war, and knew that the wind could not deliver them a fatal blow. Yet each felt his heart beat a bit faster. They were men of the desert, and they were fearful of sorcerers. ‘I want to see him do it,’ said the chief. ‘He needs three days,’ answered the alchemist. ‘He is going to transform himself into the wind, just to demonstrate his powers. If he can’t do so, we humbly offer you our lives, for the honor of your tribe.’ ‘You can’t offer me something that is already mine,’ the chief said, arrogantly. But he granted the travelers three days.” To accomplish this feat, Santiago needs to pull together all of his knowledge on the inner workings of the Soul of the World, part of which had been gained through his first two trials, otherwise he would forfeit his life. Even though Santiago set out with the goal of finding a forgotten treasure, that

was not the true meaning of his quest. While in the end Santiago did gain his treasure, “Half an hour later, his shovel hit something solid. An hour later, he had before him a chest of Spanish gold coins. There were also precious stones, gold masks adorned with red and white feathers, and stone statues embedded with jewels. The spoils of a conquest that the country had long ago forgotten, and that some conquistador had failed to tell his children about.”, and the treasure of Fatima, “The wind began to blow again. It was the levanter, the wind that came from Africa. It didn’t bring with it the smell of the desert, nor the threat of Moorish invasion. Instead, it brought the scent of a perfume he knew well, and the touch of a kiss- a kiss that came from far away, slowly, slowly, until it rested on his lips.”, these were not his true reward. As a result of conquering his Supreme Ordeal, turning into the wind, Santiago comes to understand the Soul of the World and the Language of the Universe. This was the most important accolade gained in his travels was this spiritual reward. Joseph Campbell identifies that our hero will gain a more important, spiritual reward. He states that this will make our hero a “master of two worlds”, and The Alchemist continues to follow that path. Santiago is now a master of his old world, he is now wealthy, and his new one, he understands the universe.

The Alchemist, while still a revolutionary piece of literature, follows the same trail as most stories. This does not diminish the importance of the work. Santiago is still a remarkable hero, even if he is a Joseph Campbell hero.