Santiago Coelho's The Alchemist

Some may refer to The Alchemist as a best-selling novel written by Paulo Coelho which explains the ideas of having a dream, or Personal Legend, and going through obstacles to conquer it. The book starts off like any other, introducing and describing the main characters, in this case Santiago is the first to share the interest of peers reading the story. He is said to be a small town shepherd boy who will do anything for his flock of sheep. In the opening scene of the story, Santiago takes his flock to an abandoned church and lies down under a sycamore tree hoping to get some rest. He is soon woken up from a disturbing dream which foreshadows further into the story of his own Personal Legend. Later in the book, Santiago is faced with multiple tests to be successful in finding his treasure. “Remember that wherever your heart is, there you will find your treasure” (Coelho 15). Paulo continues to add characters in the book that help Santiago throughout his journey.

     After teaching the boy a lot about the journey he will go through, the king gave him omens to follow. Santiago sells his sheep, and travels to a town on his way to Egypt. He finds a man that could take him past the desert to Egypt. So the boy gives him the money that he got for the sheep. When the man shows Santiago the town for a little Santiago loses him in a crowd of hundreds shopping in the markets, and loses all his money. The boy learns not to trust anyone, and is told that there are many thieves in that town.

The Alchemist written by Paulo Coelho, is an inspirational masterpiece filled with life lessons. It is a story about a young shepherd boy named Santiago who has a dream about treasure by the pyramids. Santiago meets an old king who gives him advice and sets Santiago on his journey that would lead him to fulfill his Personal Legend. Santiago learns many life lessons along the way, finds love, and perseveres to find his treasure. Throughout Santiago’s adventure Paulo Coelho focuses on several main themes for readers to learn from his book.

The story informs us that alchemy is another way to understand the language of the universe. The englishman was telling Santiago that all an alchemist does is dedicate their life to try to find the Soul of the World through the Emerald Tablet, a hard task because it only has a few inscribed lines that they must decipher. It shows it is just as difficult as Santiago's personal legend because of all the setbacks and difficulties he encounters.

The pungent smell of chestnut trees fills the air as his knees grow tremulous, insecurities filling his mind of the future. For years he has ambled the trails on this island, but now he began to crawl, slowing losing hope of being able to reunite with mankind after the devastating shipwreck that set him off course. A swallowtail butterfly enters his peripheral vision, nonetheless his wife’s favorite insect, and it is no doubt it a sign. He must keep moving. Alike to this harried individual and his determination to keep moving after being reminded of his family, author Paulo Coelho illustrates similar traits in characters as well as the same principles throughout his works of art. In the novel, “The Alchemist,” Coelho utilizes the significant motif of omens to direct Santiago’s journey and leave a valuable message in the mind of the reader as well as Santiago’s.

The protagonist in this novel is the main character, Santiago Shepherd. He is known for traveling to find his personal legend and learning life lessons during his journey. Santiago’s qualities of being a dreamer and chaser is how I can relate to him. Santiago strives to achieve his personal legend and continues to not give up. I can relate to Santiago because when I set a goal and standard for myself, I do not give up until I have reached it. Santiago was given everything and was happy as a shepherd until Melchizedek (King of Salem) came along and challenged Santiago to go find his personal legend and purpose in life. I can relate my life to Santiago’s life because growing up, I have always had everything I wanted and it always came so easy to me until I was rejected from a program is when I acknowledged that getting what you want is not easy and hard work is required. Just as Santiago thought getting to Egypt would be easy, he had to work hard in order to get there by earning enough money, similar to me where I was constantly buried in books to get to where I wanted to be. There were moments just like Santiago had where he wanted to give up, I felt the same way but I continued to push and not give up. Coelho includes many beliefs, values and ideologies into this novel, sending readers a positive message. Spirituality is a value that is mentioned throughout the “The Alchemist”, involving Allah; “But that disaster taught me to understand that word of Allah: people

In the alchemist,there is a young adult male named santiago. Santiago is a Shepherd who doesn't have much to offer but his sheep,as he goes on with his regular life only looking for food and water for his sheep and him he doesn't have much time to fantasize about his life except for when he reads book. As he goes on through his journey things change. Although santiago is just a shepherd he still has dreams and a goal in life.

First, the Alchemist teaches him that finding omens and life is the biggest part while being in the desert because it’s a great way to train yourself to find treasure. The omen that sticks out along the trip in the desert is the two hawks that try to kill each other that symbolizes to Santiago the two tribes in the oasis. The Alchemist really taps into Santiago’s thinking process and soul, therefore Santiago learns more about himself and what his heart and soul desires. Santiago has a moment with his heart in the desert when the Alchemist tells him to listen to his heart, Santiago really learns the desires of it and then slowly brings out the determination in it to complete his journey. The Alchemist lastly played a big part in the development of Santiago because he told him never to stray away from his personal legend and this helped him complete himself.

Dreams are nothing more than random images that the human mind creates during sleep. They have no purpose in one’s ordinary life. Except for a boy named Santiago in Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist. He is simply a shepherd who has a reoccurring dream that reveals his “Personal Legend”, the path that will lead him to his destiny. In order to pursue this destiny, he must abandon his sheep and his life spent travelling through Spain to make an arduous journey to the Egyptian Pyramids.

The Alchemist In Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist; Santiago’s intelligence, determination, and love all help him on his journey. These characteristics were developed by people that came into his life at the right time. Intelligence helped him to understand the soul of the world. His unbreakable will motivated him to whatever he had to do in order to achieve his personal legend. Fatima, the girl he loved, gave him the necessary love and support that he needed in order to continue on his journey.

In "The Alchemist," Santiago's journey of self-discovery serves as a testament to the transformative power of following one's dreams and listening to the guidance of the

The book The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho is about following your dreams, it explains what a personal legend is and how it can affect someone's life. The book is about a shepherd who is following his personal legend and how different characters of the book can help him. The concept of personal legend is depicted through Santiago and Fatima.

The Alchemist was a story of a boy named Santiago. He was on a journey or personal legend of finding love and his dream. His dream was about a treasure by a pyramid that he will end up going to. He won’t realise that that was the pyramid in his dream until he his lead to it to find the treasure.“It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.”

Alchemist is already explained in the story as it is the ability to purify your soul, listen to your heart and speak the language of the world. The title is, then, to show us, the readers, that anyone can achieve his/her dream by possessing the characteristics of alchemist as exactly as the shepherd boy, Santiago.

I would defiantly recommend this book to a friend or a family member. I fervently enjoyed “The Alchemist,” and I think that most people would enjoy reading about Santiago. The novel is universal in its ability to tell a story and