The Alchemist Symbolism

Santiago made a reasonable sum of money working for the crystal merchant, and decided it was time to abandon his job to continue his search for his treasure. Along the way, he was halted by a tribal war in the desert and forced to stay in an oasis. During his visit he met a young woman named Fatima. After only a few interactions, Santiago decides he wants to marry this woman, “‘I came to tell you just one thing,’ the boy said. ‘I want you to be my wife. I love you’(Coelho, 95). What once was negative became positive. Santiago’s journey had been paused multiple times, and he was stuck in an oasis instead of venturing to the

Social isolation is a social issue where people avoid contact with one society. They are commonly seen nowadays preventing people from interacting with another as well as creating reliable relations, abating any chances for one to realize their destiny. This negative spiral immensely affects the opportunity for people holding a feeling of love and community toward others.

During his journey, Santiago faces the obstacle of overcoming his fear of defeat. This challenge of his fear of defeat is what is significant to Santiago’s growth. As Santiago arrives in Morocco, he was robbed by a stranger and left with nothing in a strange place. Yet, over time Santiago found a job with a Crystal merchant and, “…he had been working incessantly, thinking only

The Alchemist, a novel written by Paulo Coelho teaches us about the importance of self-discovery and exploration by taking us through the journey of a young Andalusian shepherd, Santiago. Paulo Coelho was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on August 24th 1947, to Pedro Quiema Coelho de Souza, an engineer, and his wife, Lygia, a homemaker. Paulo early on had dreamed of an artistic career and then after his surroundings in Jesuit school, he discovered his true vocation was to be a writer (Coelho 195). Upon telling his mom, she told him that his father was an engineer, a reasonable and logical man and had a clear view of the world. At the age of 16, Paulo’s opposition against following a traditional path led to his parents committing him into a mental institution (Paulo Coelho). To satisfy his parents, he enrolled in law school. However, it led him to mental illness and failing his career. After many years, he gave a shot at his dream profession and started to write. Paulo wrote The Pilgrimage: Diary of Magus which described his experiences and his discovery that the extraordinary occurs in the lives of ordinary people. He was the recipient of numerous international awards, amongst them the Crystal Award by the World Economic Forum. The Pilgrimage was published in 1987 and The Alchemist was published in 1988, a year after. Both novels appeared on the best sellers list but The Alchemist continued to sell more copies than any other book in Brazilian literary history. The Alchemist,

Not before long, Santiago meets a crystal merchant. Trying to run away from his Personal Legend once again, he gets a job at the

The book I read is called The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. The Alchemist is about a boy from Spain, whose name is Santiago and is a shepherd. The book tells how he gets around countries, and how he deals with his problems and how he solves them. It shows how he follows his dreams, and who helps him along the way.

Throughout the entire novel Santiago is faced with seemingly impossible task. The only way he ever accomplished them is by trying his best. When Santiago is first robbed in Tangier he is forced to work in a crystal shop to earn back enough money. When he first begins working the shop isn't doing so well and enough money isn't coming in. He tries his best to pitch ideas to the owner and does as much as he can to earn back what he's lost. After over a year of working hard he finally turned back more than enough. As Santiago travels through the desert to get to the pyramids he runs into an enemy tribe and is held captive. The chief tells Santiago that in order to escape he must turn himself into the wind. Although it seems impossible Santiago receives help from the desert, the wind, and the sun. He tried his best to turn himself into the wind and he succeeded, after everything was taken from him he tried his best to gain it all back and in return he gained more.

He wanted to save enough money to return to Spain and buy back his flock. His dream of finding and fulfilling his “Personal Legend” long forgotten as some silly dream. But as he was packing up his things to go back to Spain, he finds Urim and Thummim, two stones the wise king gave Santiago to help him read the omens. And all the sudden, minute by minute, his dream of going home to buy a new flock and become a shepherd again is became less and less important. And then Santiago remembers that it isn't his dream. “I can always go back to being a shepherd, the boy thought. I learned how to care for sheep, and I haven't forgotten how to do so. But maybe I’ll never have another chance to get to the Pyramids in Egypt.” And with that, Santiago sets off to find his treasure. He doesn't go back to where he started, he didn't go home and relax in the “normal” like others, he chose to adventure and discover his “Personal Legend”, and his treasure. He was determined to prove to everyone, and himself, that it really was

Another quote,”I’d like to build a display for the crystals’, the boy said to the merchant (p.53). " For about a month of working, he suggested this idea because he wanted to see more passers-by to get the chance to see the amazing crystals the merchant had in store. These two characters had wise conversations among themselves. Santiago had seen that the merchant had deceived himself on how he viewed the world. He kept learning that the merchant and he were completely different, showing by this quote “Not everyone can see his dreams come true in the same way (p.56).

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.

He was having the same dream for a few weeks, and he knew that the dream had some type of meaning. He dreamt of finding his treasure in the Egyptian pyramids. Santiago knew that he needed to find his treasure, but he also knew that he would have to leave a lot of things behind if he went on this journey. Santiago finally made the decision to go on this mission. During his journey, Santiago learned a lot more about what was affecting his life and the things he needed to do in order to find his treasure.

“… 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”.

Santiago knew his Personal Legend was to find the hidden treasure at the pyramids. On his quest, he crossed the desert during a war, left Fatima (his love) and turned himself into the wind. When the boy did not know how to turn himself into the wind the Alchemist said “Then you’ll die in the midst of trying to realize your Personal Legend. That’s a lot better than dying like millions of other people, who never even knew what their Personal Legends were.” (Coelho 146) Santiago had now conquered many struggles to work toward completing his Personal

Santiago finds his treasure at the place where he first dreamt of. The ending, then, can be interpreted as Santiago needs to go in a difficult situation and time to gain the knowledge or wisdom.

Allegory: A story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.