The Language Of Language In Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist

In Paulo Coelho’s novel: The Alchemist, we follow the journey of Santiago, a young shepherd boy with ambition and the desire to travel the world. Santiago leaves his path to priesthood to embark on a journey to see the world and find treasure in the Egyptian pyramids. Along the way the shepherd boy encounters warring tribes, merchants, an Englishman, love, and of course, The Alchemist. In this captivating novel, we watch the personal development of Santiago and the characters along the way, that will change him forever. The Alchemist is a novel with many key themes throughout the story, but in the end, all boil down to one common thread: We all speak the same language, the language of the universe.

Language is a theme that runs through the entirety of the novel, and we must first understand that the language in The Alchemist, is not necessarily spoken language. In this story, we learn that language is a flexible form of communication, that is spoken through the universe, your dreams, or a glance. Language in this novel represents a silent communicator that lives in everyone and everything. We are first introduced to this idea with the Gypsy character telling Santiago the meaning of his dream, when she says "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”. Right from the start of Santiago’s journey, we are given the idea that there is a language of