The Monomyth In The Alchemist, By Paulo Coelho

The Alchemist is a wonderful fiction novel by Paulo Coelho. The novella, published in 1988, is a huge success, selling over 150 million copies and making it to the top charts. (addicted2success) . Coelho succeeds in delivering his message smoothly and innovatively throughout the story; one should forever live to pursue his personal legend and never give up on his dream. (Coelho). The monomyth applies to the main character of the novella, Santiago, a young Shepard with enough passion and will to uncover his personal legend. The boy gets called to start his search for his personal legend through a dream, a dream of a child grabbing on his hand to the pyramids of Egypt, unleashing a secret of a treasure buried under the deserts sand. Later on, Santiago runs to a fortuneteller who notifies him that his dream is prophetic and that he must follow its instructions. Even though he is uncertain about both his bizarre dream and what the fortuneteller told him, he still sells his sheep, buys a ticket and finally makes it through the threshold in search for his treasure in an unknown world, Africa. The Shepard’s tiresome trip through Africa’s infinite deserts faces countless obstacles, possibly all serving as checkpoints or tests. These hurdles did not stop him from continuing his mission; on the contrary, they were all, for Santiago, life lessons and experiences. Along his journey, Santiago meets many mentors, teachers and helpers. Each emerges into his life for a cause, whether it is