What Is A Personal Legend In The Alchemist

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A personal legend is the idea that our lives are predestined by the gods and we have a legend we all must follow to live a fulfilling life, Except you don’t. The novel The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho uses personal legends as a plot device, the main character’s drive to keep going is that he will reach his personal legend and fulfill his life. The problem is that to fulfill your life you do not need to achieve your personal legend. You do not even need a personal legend. Fulfillment is relative from person to person, but one condition remains, happiness. If you want a fulfilling life you don’t need to follow your dreams, you just need to be happy with your stake in life.
In the novel, Santiago’s father is a prime example of not needing to fulfill your personal legend to live a fulfilling life. Santiago’s father is a farmer, and though his …show more content…

An argument could be that Santiago’s father doesn’t live a fulfilling life because he still desired to travel the world. Except by giving Santiago the gold coins to become a shepherd, He is vicariously fulfilling his dream through his son. Santiago’s father helped Santiago meet his personal legend, and in that he has fulfilled his own life. You might say that the baker is going to fulfill his personal legend of travelling eventually. The baker may travel eventually, but he has already led a fulfilling life. He has a shop, a good stake in life, likely a family. The baker fulfilled his life to reach his dream of travelling. In conclusion you do not need to fulfill your personal legend, to have a fulfilling life. All you need to do is be happy and content with your life, and you have fulfilled it.
You don’t need to travel the world, as long as you are fine with your stake in life. If you don’t drop everything to achieve your personal legend you can live a safe life. A life where you don’t need to wonder where your next meal comes from. A solid fulfilled

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