Symbols In The Alchemist By Paulo Coelho

The quotation articulates that Reef is correlating the stone to a barrier that can surround his loved ones, allegedly his grandma that passed away and created a hole in Reef’s heart. The stone is also presented intolerable actions such as him throwing the stone over the overpass. “ Horns below him on Birmingham brought him back to the overpass, and he looked down at the traffic through tear filled eyes. He gripped the rock, seeking its strength, and chose a target.” (Aker, pg.35).

Award-winning and movie-prone novels incorporate many literary devices, and these methods empower the story to a new level. In this case, one of these devices is symbolism, and The Book Thief is an extraordinary example that contains symbolism. There are three overlapping symbols in The Book Thief, and these symbols are bread, an accordion, and books. As well as the differences, the list of similarities between these symbols continues on forever.

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.

Do you know your personal destiny? This is the question which Santiago the protagonist of The Alchemist tries to answer on a search for a treasure. The question which will be attempted to answer is, What literary element does Paulo Coelho us to develop the theme that in life everyone has a personal destiny which they all have to pursue when they get the chance, in the novel The Alchemist. Paulo Coelho conveys the central theme of pursuing your own destiny through the use of allusions, in how they affect the protagonist Santiago with his encounters in the desert on the search for his treasure.

As Santiago continues his journey, the author places the theme of love and unity of nature. He alludes to the liveliness and hope the heart naturally creates to empower this encouraging tone. He shares that, “your heart is alive. Keep listening to what it has to say” (147). The idea that the heart can speak conveys hope not only to Santiago, but also to the readers reading The Alchemist. Once again creating this peaceful, hopeful tone in the novel. Paulo also uses personification in the story to embody a lively, hopeful tone. He phrases his sentences like “the wind’s curiosity arouse”(147) to spark ideas and obtain an optimistic tone. Not only does the description of the wind, as if it was 3 year old seeing snow for the first time, connect with readers, it also uses word choice that intrigues readers and brings in reader’s focus. Paulo Coelho does a marvelous job at perfectly describing scenes that allow readers to connect but also read in this hopeful

The Alchemist was written by Paulo Coelho and it was first published in 1988. It was originally written in Portuguese and has since been translated in 67 different languages. It has sold over 65 million copies worldwide and was awarded “Best Fiction Corine International Award” in 2002. It follows a story of a boy named Santiago who is following his personal legend. The Alchemist has many archetypal themes and symbols including wise old men, women, and the nature around him.

Have you ever encountered problems while trying to fulfill a goal in your life? In the book The Alchemist, written by Paulo Coelho, a shepherd boy named Santiago overcomes obstacles to reach his personal legend. Throughout the book Santiago encounters many friends to help him fulfill his destiny. Santiago encounters many problems throughout the story. He overcomes them with the help of his friends and his wife-to-be. These problems shape Santiago into a dignified man of many traits.

Although a hero seems like a faraway distant character who possesses a unique ability that saves humanity, an everyday citizen in society holds the ability to impact the lives of others can become a hero. In the novel, The Alchemist, the protagonist, Santiago, travels as a shepherd but ultimately, follows The Hero’s Journey Archetype. As Santiago pursues a journey for treasure and self-knowledge, Santiago faces several difficult challenges and character-defining moments that assess his ability to succeed. Coelho depicts Santiago as following the stages of the Hero’s Journey Archetype such as The Mentor, The Abyss, and the Return to the World. Thus, Coelho employs The Hero’s Journey Archetype to demonstrate the

“… Dreams are the language of God. When he speaks our language, I can interpret what he has said. But if he speaks in the language of the soul, it is only you who can understand,” wrote Paulo Coelho. Omens are events that hold great prophetic power, and in the case of Santiago, can change one’s life. Fatima, Santiago’s sheep, and Urim and Thummim are symbols that project the story of The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho forward by shaping a theme of “some risks are worth taking”.

Symbols are important pieces of a story that help bring the plot and the theme together. They are helpful in giving the text a deeper meaning. Many symbols are used throughout the book, The Alchemist. The book is about a boy named Santiago who goes on a journey to pursue his Personal Legend and he meets an Alchemist who helps him along his journey. The desert and Alchemist are important symbols in the book that help Santiago develop his character, teach him important lessons, and test him in his journey, they develop the central theme of pursuing your Personal Legend no matter what obstacles and difficulties you are faced with by emphasizing the obstacles one can face in their Personal Legend, and challenging Santiago in his journey.

The alchemist is a well written book that accurately describes every concept about life and explains it through a story. The Alchemist is a book about a shepherd named Santiago, who discovers his personal legend and receives help from others to help achieve his Personal Legend and learns many major life lessons along the way. Santiago gets advice that when life puts him down, keep getting back up and to focus on the task at hand, which is Santiago’s own personal legend. Along the the journey, Santiago receives help from many different characters but only three characters who helped him the most throughout his quest for his Personal legend is the alchemist, the Old King and the Englishman. The best advice a reader is able to gain from this story is the advice the the Old King taught Santiago, which is” there is only one thing that makes achieving a dream impossible to achieve, the fear of failure” which means is to never be afraid of failures and to follow your own path God has laid out for you because if you are too afraid to pursue your personal legend, meaning if people are too afraid to take risks to make their own life better than it already is now, then they will not have the opportunity to accomplish their own goals. In Coelho's The Alchemist, Santiago learns the Soul of the World through experience, patience, time and help from the Old King, the Englishman and the alchemist.

Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist tells the story of Santiago, a young shepherd living in an abandoned church in a small Andalusian town, who is stripped of his comfortable and safe lifestyle after an encounter with Melchizedek, an Islamic king who tells him of his “Personal Legend” (21). Melchizedek points Santiago in the direction of his treasure only after taking one-tenth of his money, giving him two stones, and a lesson on reading omens. Throughout his journey, Santiago meets new friends, has everything stolen from him three times, and travels the vast and unknown Sahara Desert all while achieving personal growth and an understanding of his life’s meaning. His journey leads him to an Oasis

Whether it was a journey across thousands of miles of land in, Santiago’s case, or whether it be a journey that stayed within one city, in Christopher’s case, both characters discovered things about themselves that they had never known or never would have known if it wasn’t without the journey. Through Santiago’s journey he was able to learn the powers of hard work and fulfilling his Personal Legend. Christopher was able to find new senses of self confidence and independence through his journey. Both novels, The Alchemist and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, could be summed up as journeys of self discovery for the

The alchemist, like Santiago, saw every second as an opportunity to pursue one’s Personal Legend. They both knew the truth- the Soul of the World speaks through omens. Even through the smallest of things the Soul of the World is attempting to guide each person on their own journey through life, but many

The Theme of “The Alchemist,” by Paulo Coelho is, always follow your dreams and listen to your heart. At the start of the novel Santiago does not know what he should do when he is confronted by his dream. But by the end of the novel Santiago completely trusts his heart to guide him though life. Santiago’s story shows him learning and living out the theme of the novel.