The Hero's Journey In The Alchemist By Paulo Coelho

Despite poor reviews from critics, Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist is one of the most translated books in the world. It has sold over twenty-one million copies. Its success can be attributed to the story it tells; a timeless folktale made new and different in the pattern of alchemy. A poor boy dreams of treasure in a far away land, and goes in search of it. Along the way, he learns the secrets of alchemy from a wise old man in the desert. Through a simply written, sentimental fable, Paulo Coelho has given the adage of the Hero's Journey a fresh definition—one that is drawn out of the past. In The Alchemist, the character development of Santiago, the protagonist, mirrors not only the Hero's Journey of Campbell and Volger, but the Master Work of Alchemy itself.

The Hero's Journey is a literary template that can be applied to some works of fiction. It was originally postulated by Joseph Campbell, who “defined a classic sequence of actions” that are found in many stories. In his book, The Hero With A

Thousand Faces, he divided the plot of every adventure story into three parts; Separation, Initiation, and the Return (Changing Minds, main). The first part, Separation, is how the hero leaves the things he knows behind in order to go on an adventure. Initiation forms the body of the story, because in it the hero “comes into his own” and grows stronger to fulfill his role as a hero. The Return is the final step, when the hero has triumphed and can return to his home with honor. Together, these three stages form a general outline for nearly any story of adventure.
It would be difficult to capture The Alchemist as a unique novel using the three-act outline, though. To say that Santiago goes through Separation, Initiation, and Return would be like saying that in life, a man is Born, Lives, and Dies. It delivers no flavor, has no individuality, and reveals nothing new about him. There is only so much that can be shared within such a basic structure. For example, Santiago is Separated from his former life in Spain. He is Initiated into alchemy by interaction with various characters along his path. In the end, he Returns and finds his treasure. Much is lost in this compression of the plot. Luckily, Campbell and a later contemporary, Chris Volger, also created twelve to seventeen sub-stages to allow more efficient representation of stories like this one.
Separation, the first stage in Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey, can be divided into five sub-stages or events. On the Changing Minds website, The Call To Adventure is described as “The hero starts off in a mundane situation … from which [comes] a clarion call to down tools, take up sword … and head off into the unknown” (I.1). The second event is the Refusal Of The Call, when the hero briefly hesitates or ignores the Call To Adventure, and may be followed by Supernatural Aid. Supernatural Aid represents any help given to the hero that might prove useful later in the adventure, and often is the force that counteracts the Refusal Of The Call. “The aid may include maps, information, weapons, or some special talisman. It … is often furnished by a mentor of some kind” (Changing I.3). The Crossing Of The Threshold is the fourth stage, in which “the hero commits to leaving the Ordinary World and entering a new region or condition with unfamiliar rules and values” (Writers 5). The final stage in Separation is Entering The Belly Of The Whale, when the hero first finds himself in danger. The five sub-stages build a more complete picture of Separation that can be used to identify important moments in the Hero's Journey.
The five events of Separation map easily to five events at the beginning of The Alchemist.

For example, Santiago receives the Call To Adventure when the Gypsy Woman interprets his dream literally. “You must go to the Pyramids in Egypt. … There you will find a treasure that will make you a rich man” (Coelho 6). But after leaving the woman's home, Santiago “was disappointed; he decided that he would never again believe in dreams” (Coelho 6). His Refusal Of The Call is turned on its head upon meeting Melchizedek, however, who represents Supernatural Aid when he gives the boy the talismans of Urim and Thummim and shares moral support. Santiago Crosses The Threshold when he leaves behind his sheep and travels to Africa on page 14. He Enters The Belly Of The Whale when all of his money is stolen in the African port of Tangier, causing him to realize how vulnerable he is for the first time. These five events clearly mark important moments in The Alchemist in a more unique

way.
Unlike Separation, which has five segments, Initiation is divided into six. First of all, the Road Of Trials covers the pathway ahead of the hero. “The road may be long, but … the hero faces many adventures along the way. Each trial may be more difficult than the last as the hero grows in confidence and capability” (Changing II.1). The Meeting With The Goddess is an event that serves as inspiration for the hero, usually in the form of a female character. Alternately, the hero may encounter Woman As Temptress. “This offers the hero short-term relief or gratification, but giving into this urge would cause the mission to fail and prove the hero unworthy” (Changing II.3). The fourth stage of Initiation is often an Atonement With The Father, where the hero must confront a “father figure” in some way. Then, “After trials such as resisting Woman As Temptation and the reconciliation of Atonement With The Father, the hero transcends,” reaching Apotheosis (Changing II.5). While the path may vary depending on the story, Initiation usually ends with The Ultimate Boon, a reward or indication the hero has truly become a Hero.
Santiago goes through the stage of Initiation mid-way through The Alchemist as he begins to learn about alchemy, from the Englishman early on and later the Alchemist himself. The Road of Trials represents much of his journey through the desert, and possibly his time working for the crystal merchant. The Meeting With The Goddess can only be Fatima, who is personified like a goddess to him at first. “When he looked into her dark eyes, and saw that her lips were poised between a laugh and silence … What the boy felt at that moment was that he was in the presence of the only woman in his life” (Coelho 37) She also embodies Woman As Temptation, because he is tempted to give up his quest immediately and stay at the oasis. Santiago's Atonement With The Father occurs when he meets the Alchemist for the first time and passes his test of courage. His Apotheosis comes when he finally understands his heart and is able to change himself into the wind. “The boy reached through to the Soul of the World, and saw that it was a part of the Soul of God. And he saw that the Soul of God was his own soul. And that he, a boy, could perform miracles” (Coelho 64). The Alchemist, satisfied that the boy had learned everything he could teach him, then provides the Ultimate Boon by showing him how lead is turned into gold. Santiago's Initiation into alchemy ends here, and the rest of the story is merely resolution.
The Return, which concludes the Hero's Journey, also has six parts; but some of them conflict with each other. The Refusal Of The Return is a scenario in which “the hero wants to stay in the place where [he] has found [the Ultimate Boon]” or just wants to continue adventuring (Changing III.1). The Magic Flight, on the other hand, is “a mad dash, perhaps away from the remaining enemy forces, perhaps in fear of bandits or the loss of the treasure along the way, and maybe to meet some time restraint by which the treasure must be returned to some place” (Changing III.2). The Rescue From Without is basically any deus ex machina that saves the hero just in time at the end. In the Crossing Of The Return Threshold, the hero may leave behind his life of adventure much in the way that he took it up. At this point, the hero might also be considered a Master Of The Two Worlds, able to go on further adventures or stay at home whenever he pleases. In the end, at any rate, the hero will almost certainly Live In Freedom; “having conquered demons without and within, the hero has earned the right to live life as [he chooses]” (Changing III.6). The six Returns don't match all stories as well as the previous main stages, but they remain an essential conclusion to the Hero's Journey for obvious reasons.
The conflicting nature of the six elements in The Return preclude easy mapping of events in the novel. While some of them do take place, if only from a certain point of view, they are still out of order both logically and chronologically. For example, Santiago turning into the wind could tentatively be called a Rescue From Without, but that already happened late in the Initiation stage of the story and does not fit in with the theme of The Return in general. Fortunately, the title of the story itself is a clue to the solution to this problem. Since alchemy is a central motif in The Alchemist, could it not also be a template for the latter as well? Therefore, instead of attempting to find specific events in The Alchemist to match the six elements of The Return, this research paper will use the Emerald Formula as an additional template.