Examples Of Fear In The Alchemist By Paulo Coelho

3. Symbolism: '“You came so that you could learn about your dreams,” said the old woman. “And dreams are the language of God.”' (Coelho, 15) In this quote, symbolism is shown because the dreams symbolize that God is talking to you. The gypsy lady was reminding Santiago that he needs to pay attention to his dreams because that's one of the ways God communicates.

In the book, The Crucible by Arthur Miller, some examples of fear are, Abigail is scared of losing John Proctor so she starts accusing Elizabeth Proctor so she is taken to jail. Abigail thought by accusing someone as in Elizabeth, that she could get John to love her again. But little did she know that he was going to stick by his wife, because he has put her through enough.

The foreshadowing in this novel prepares readers for decisions Santiago will make later on. This idea is evident when Santiago is explaining to the king why he is shepherd. "They wanted me to be a priest, but I decided to become a shepherd." "Because you really like to travel."" (Coelho 18). When the King completes Santiago's claim by saying that he loves to travel, an inference can be that he will make decisions that will keep him traveling. For example, he decides to keep going on his personal legend instead of staying with Fatima. Nonconformity is seen when Santiago tells the King that even though his parents want him to be a priest, he decides to become a shepherd. In using foreshadowing, Coelho also manages to implant symbolism in the same idea.

In the novel East of Eden many examples show just how powerful fear can be if used for selfish gain or as a defence mechanism even though it may backfire from time to time. Fear being one of the biggest overtones (if not the biggest) allows us to see how huge an influence fear can be in a person's life and on other people. As with Cathy the main antagonist who lives to hold the fear of her blackmailing someone and men’s sexual desires over their heads to attain whatever her twisted desires are no matter what method she has to use. Cathy the embodiment of evil in the novel, who lives by fear is found consistently using it to her advantage to apprehend whatever her dark corrupted heart desires from the unsuspecting people around her.

In “The Alchemist” Santiago reveals that fear is the arduous part of his journey. He is constantly double guessing himself on upholding his journey because of fear. For example, at the very beginning when the gypsy informs him about the treasure,

The Gypsy women tell Santiago to follow his dream and go to Egypt. Santiago, still not confident about going to Egypt, meets a man claiming to be the king of Salam. This man echoes the dream interpreter’s opinion and tells Santiago that it is his personal legend to journey to the pyramids and that he should sell his flock of sheep and set off to Tangier. This man said, “…people are capable, at any time in their lives, of doing what they dream of.” (23) This shows that you just have to have confidence and you can do what you dream of. Santiago takes the man’s advice and sells his flock of sheep and goes to Tangier.

The first significant person to direct Santiago to his personal legend was the King of Salem. The King of Salem is the character that introduces Santiago to his personal legend and what a personal legend is. Through this it adjusts Santiago’s path and desires to find out what the Old King was talking about. “None of what the old man was saying made much sense to the boy. But he wanted to know what the “mysterious force was;” (22). By this little spiel from the Old King Santiago takes a turn in his life. He suddenly is curious about this “hidden treasure” and is determined to find out more. If Santiago never met the King of Salem then he never would've known about his personal legend and continued to meet other important characters in his life. The Old King also encouraged the belief of omen to the boy through the use of white and

The crystal merchant had few customers, but once the crystal was cleaned, a larger crowd was attracted to his storefront. Santiago would receive a much needed meal, as well as a job offer. Freshly cleaned crystal attracted many customers, which caused the crystal merchant to offer Santiago a full-time position, with pay. Like an alchemist, Santiago went from being in poverty, to being successful. Santiago also turned a negative into a positive for the crystal merchant. The crystal merchant’s shop did not appear inviting to potential customers, but Santiago rectified it, which in turn, caused the shop to receive more customers and generate a greater profit. Santiago is a metaphorical alchemist. He turns the worst into the best, just as an alchemist turns base metals into gold.

Fear is the ultimate emotion because it is both mankind’s greatest strength and greatest flaw. It gives us reason, but can also be irrational. If one can surpass their fears, it can reward them greatly. Robinson Crusoe, by Daniel Defoe, follows a life of an adventurer from a young age and his story of traveling the world. Robinson, the main character, gets into many dangerous situations, from being enslaved by pirates, to being shipwrecked and being stuck on a deserted island. Robinson has to conquer many fears. Another story that fear is prevalent in is Beowulf, which follows the story of a supernatural human, Beowulf, who fights multiple monsters that no mortal could defeat. Lastly, fear is prevalent in “The Wife

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.

Soon after, Santiago is forced to work for a crystal merchant in the hopes of replacing his lost money and continuing on his quest. He works for the merchant for eleven months and during this time, continues to think less and less of his Personal Legend. He becomes skilled in this practice and begins to work towards instead, replacing his flock of sheep and returning to his past lifestyle. During this time, Santiago perceived reaching the pyramids as an impossible feat claiming “Egypt was now just a distant dream for him” and that, like a mirage, it would always be just out of his reach (56). In this way, Coelho shows that Santiago’s morale is lessening. The more that he stays at the crystal shop, the more he sees his treasure as a mirage instead of a physical object.

To begin his long journey, Santiago meets a wise old king name King Melchizedek. He is in a local market when the king walks up and asks Santiago what he is reading. The king continues to say that the book he is reading is important but irritating because it describes the characters inability to choose their own Personal Legend. When Santiago asks where this mysterious stranger is from, King Melchizedek replies with “I am from many places, but I was born in Salem as I am the king there” (Coelho 64). Accepting his statement as true, Santiago continues the conversation allowing them to eventually talk about his dream of the Pyramids. The king wants to help Santiago, but for a price of six sheep. Before leaving with Santiago’s sheep he shares, “’The secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world, and never to forget the drops of oil on the spoon’” (Coelho 32). His message to Santiago reminds him that by following his dream he will witness beautiful sights and people, but that he should always remember the purpose of his travels. Leaving it at that, the king pointed Santiago in the direction to follow his dream.

Fear is a feeling created in a response to a perceived danger. Fear can produce pleasure, heighten awareness, be in the form of phobia, a fear of the unknown and an instinctual response to danger.

One of the things we fear the most is the loss of or lack of control. Even if we really don’t have control, we like to think we do, and when we lose that sense of control, fear rushes in. For example, an alcoholic will say " I can quit any time; I’m in control." The fear comes when he realizes for the first time that he is an alcoholic and that he is not in control. We all fear uncertainty and the unknown. We arm ourselves against it with candles in the dark, or faith against the uncertainty of death. Then, when we think we’ve conquered our fear, it comes invading our minds again, let in by a smell or a taste, a sound or a thought Fear is always there, just waiting right under the surface, to awaken those memories which frighten us the most.

Crystal merchant: Owns a crystal shop in the city of Tangier. He has lived there thirty good years in selling and buying crystal pieces. It is this shop, where Santiago works before continuing his journey.