What is one’s goal in life? It can be specific or vague, personal or professional, realistic or unreachable. In Paulo Coelho’s novel The Alchemist, the goal of Santiago, the main character, is to find his Personal Legend, for which he experiences a long and arduous journey, traversing through the scorching desert. Throughout this journey, he meets many individuals who help him progress through it. In The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho shows that the ability to transform and recreate oneself, allows an individual to achieve their goals in order to live a complete life, as he demonstrates through: 1. the settings of challenges Santiago faces and his entire journey, 2. the conflicts of Santiago vs. himself and Santiago vs. fate, and 3. the symbolism …show more content…
The author uses symbolism in this novel to effectively show that the transformation of one’s personality helps them reach their goal through the symbolism of the sycamore tree and Santiago’s entire arduous journey. The following quote depicts the moment Santiago arrives back at the sycamore tree under which he sleeps 2 years ago: “The sycamore was still there in the sacristy, and the stars could still be seen through the half-destroyed roof. He remembered the time he had been there with his sheep; it had been a peaceful night…” (Coelho 165). Santiago knows that his journey is ending the moment he sees the sycamore tree because he knows that the treasure for which he has been searching is buried under it. The novel starts with Santiago having a recurrent dream under the sycamore tree, and it ends with Santiago arriving back at the same sycamore tree to his reward; the sycamore tree marks the start of his journey and the end of his journey when he finds the treasure and has changed into a different person. Therefore, the sycamore tree symbolises Santiago’s change throughout the novel, showing that one’s ability to change and recreate themself is crucial to completing their goals. The next quote is spoken by the alchemist to Santiago while they cross the desert: “‘There is only one way to learn,’ the alchemist answered. ‘It’s through action. Everything you need to know you have learned through your journey,’” (Coelho 125). The alchemist tells Santiago that through his journey, he acquires knowledge and gains valuable experience, as well as wisdom. The experience Santiago gains through his development and transformation during the journey is his genuine reward, aside from the treasure. His journey effectively symbolises this reward of experience, knowledge, and self-change, demonstrating again that transforming and recreating the personality of oneself leads them to
According to The Alchemist: A Psychological Approach Aziz states “Even faced by the threat of his own life by men beating him thinking he has more gold than what is in his pockets, he believes in his personal legend and overcomes his fear that he may not find it. Ironically, it is his perseverance that allows him to discover that his actual treasure is located at his home in Andalusia”(Aziz 26). Moreover, Santiago deals with the last obstacle of his dream and handles overcoming the fear of failure. To conclude, fear brought down Santiago at the last stop of his Personal Legend but comes out of his fear
In the novel, The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho, Santiago learns, “When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better, too.” First, the king teaches Santiago an important lesson. Next, the Englishman tells about a fear he once had. Last, Santiago learns another important
In The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho uses the story of Santiago to illustrate that adversity stands as a necessity in one’s growth and transformation. Coelho talks about how if an individual is persistent about reaching their “treasure”, they will not only
The metaphor of the Alchemist is also significant in the novel because it reflects the idea of pursuing one's Legend. Santiago's quest to find his Legend is a metaphor for the journey of self-discovery that every person must undertake to find their purpose in life. The Alchemist's teachings to Santiago serve as a guide to help him along the way and show him that the journey is just as important as the destination. Another impact of the alchemist metaphor in the novel is the message of interconnectedness. The Alchemist is not just a symbol of transformation but also of the interconnectedness of all things.
The Importance of Perseverance At many times in people’s lives, they consider giving up. This is also true for Santiago, the protagonist in Paulo Coelho's fantasy novel The Alchemist. Santiago is on a journey to find a hidden treasure he saw in a dream. Along this journey he continues to contemplate whether he should just give up, or continue his adventure.
The book The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho is about a shepherd named Santiago who is looking for a treasure at the Egyptian pyramids. Along the way, he encounters many people and challenges and they affect him in a positive way throughout the story. Santiago has transformed and has understood more about life throughout his journey because of dreams, and love. Santiago has learned a lot from the people who help him to better understand dreams.
He digs for his treasure and finds it. As a master of both worlds Santiago decides to return to Africa with his treasure to find
In the novel The Alchemist, Coelho argues the theme of how one should follow through with their ambitions to complete their Personal legend to become a purified state. And in the middle of the Alchemist, the Alchemist states “And for wise men, gold is the metal that evolved the furthest,” (pg 141). This diction shows the study of Alchemy, in which one transforms a base metal into a purified form of gold, and acts as a symbol, symbolizing Santiago’s journey to achieve his Personal legend. Alchemy describes a process by which one turns metal into gold by riding it of all impurities to achieve a higher evolutionary state as equivalent to one achieving their Personal Legend. Santiago in order to realize his Personal Legend and purify himself
Many people may not know much in the way of their identity. The challenges can help people learn about themselves through the actions they take and what they can achieve in the face of adversity. Learning about your identity is represented quite well by Santiago in Paulo Coelho’s fantasy novel The Alchemist. The the start of the story Santiago is lost with no goal in life and has little knowledge of what it outside of the plains and towns of Spain. Then Santiago is faced with massive amounts of adversity in the form of a threat of death he learn about his identity and learns that he can face and overcome the challenge.
In the book the Alchemist (by Paulo Coelho) Santiago learns many things along the way to achieving his personal legend. He gained skills and experience in things across the board, from how to clean crystals, to the 5 obligations of Muslims, to the basics of alchemy. Santiago learns from the wise, and educated, but also learns the meaning of a true friendship. Overall it is true that reaching one 's personal legend is life 's greatest treasure, but often the journey is just as valuable.
This is illuminated when the Alchemist says, “‘There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure’” (141). This particular moment shows that even though Santiago has both the ability and the knowledge to achieve his dream, it is impossible to attain it if he fears even attempting to reach it. Consequently, this fear acts as his enemy and a barrier that stands in the way of the meaningful and happy life he is destined to accomplish. Furthermore, another one of his fears is the fear of losing what he believes he has already earned. ” He reminded himself that he had been a shepherd and that he could be a shepherd again.
The Alchemist is a very well written and intriguing book by Paulo Coelho. It is a story about a young shepherd known as Santiago who abandons his live in Spain and embarks on a journey to Egypt, during his journey for treasure hunt he faces many obstacles. Making several different stops he realizes truth about himself, the world, and the kingdom of god which are interrelated in the story. Paulo uses the characters of The King Salem, The Crystal merchant, the Alchemist and Fatima to explore the theme that true happiness can only be achieved if one works hard towards his goal or purpose in life and to realize one’s personal legend, one must work hard, make great sacrifices, and take risks. True happiness is only when one realizes his Personal legend.
Santiago has an epiphany when he realizes that if you never change and take risks you will never move forward. He wants to find his “personal legend,” or true desire, and to obtain this he needs to change his own nature. He must be willing to give up whatever is necessary to achieve this goal, including freedom. On Santiago’s journey he becomes employed by a crystal merchant that never achieved his personal legend. The merchant resisted change and never accomplished his dreams.
In the story the alchemist it is discovered that there are many different things in life to look forward to. There is also something in the story that is a moral or your life´s destiny called your personal legend. Your personal legend is one of those things in life that some people look up to in the future. Santiago travels the world to pursue his personal legend. Santiago strived to find his personal legend with the help of people he met on the way to find treasure that he is destined to find , just to realize the treasure was where he had fallen asleep in the beginning of the book.
Personal Essay: How The Alchemist Changed My Life Forever As most people in Los Angeles are today, I was sharing an apartment with another roommate at a rent of $1,800 a month and commuting along the busy and noisy 405 to work everyday - two hours each direction, surrounded by traffic and angry people honking out of frustration. As I headed out for work every day and came back home after a long day, I eventually became more and more miserable as time passed - I stopped spending any valuable time with friends and family as I became bitter and sour spending most days and nights at a job that demanded more and more of me, I spent less time doing the things I used to enjoy like hiking or reading as I was worn out