Seven Dapp Ms. Shaw Honors English 9 Block 3 14 August 2023 Transformation of Santiago In literature, a character often changes from the beginning to the middle and the end of a novel. Santiago undergoes many changes in the novel, The Alchemist, written by Paulo Coelho. At the beginning of Santiago’s personal journey, he is naive and unenlightened. By the end of the novel, he becomes more spiritually enlightened and mature. Santiago transforms when he realizes that everyone should pursue what they find meaningful in life, and pursuing what he finds meaningful brings him joy and influences those around him positively. At the beginning of The Alchemist, Santiago is a very naive character and knows very little of the world. Throughout most of his …show more content…
The crystal shop worker has his business changed permanently, and the owner tells Santiago, “you are forcing me to look at wealth and horizons that I have never known” (Coelho 60). The camel drive allows him to speak with an Englishman and he learns the ways of the desert. The Oasis chiefs can protect the inhabitants adequately due to Santiago. The leader of the militant tribe and an alchemist from the Oasis are changed when Santiago turns himself into the wind. This is shown in, “The men were terrified at his sorcery. But there were two people who were smiling: the alchemist, because he had found his perfect disciple, and the chief, because that disciple had understood the glory of God.” (Coelho 158). Reaching the Pyramids was his goal and once he finds that the treasure wasn’t there he is triumphant because he knows the true location and finally achieves reaching the pyramids. Throughout all these events the overarching theme is that Santiago pursuing his Personal Legend brings him joy and that the people around him are affected positively. This connects to the reader as the theme of the book is pursuing what makes one happy will lead to fulfillment and
As he was digging for treasure at the Pyramids he could feel the pressure of the men walking down to him. He reaches the endpoint of his dream and now he deals with the fear that he can’t find his treasure. After the pressure of the men beating him, he realizes that his treasure isn’t at the Pyramids. The overall fear of the men and the realization of his treasure brought him down for a moment of his journey. Santiago employs perseverance to conquer the fear of the last step of his journey.
1. In the prologue, the alchemist reads a version if the story of the death of Narcissus that has a somewhat different ending from the traditional telling, one that emphasizes the grief of the lake into which Narcissus will no longer be looking at his reflection. In beginning the book with this story, what themes and relationships is Coelho telling us to watch for throughout Santiago’s story? Do you think there may be an element of “narcissism” in the pursuit of one’s personal legend?
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
Santiago shows the theme of personal legend when he has a reoccurring dream of treasure in Egypt near the pyramids. Santiago dreamt of traveling for his whole life, which is why he became a shepherd in the first place. While in Spain, Santiago meets Melchizedek, the king of Salem, and as they talk with one another the old king says to Santiago “You are trying to realize your Personal Legend. And you are at the point where you’re about to give it all up” (Coelho 25).
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.
When the details of a characters’ identity are disclosed to us within a novel or short story, the author is allowing us to establish a relationship with that character. In the novel The Alchemist, few details about Santiagos life are known. Although, we do know that he currently lives in Andalusia: “The shepherd told her of the Andalusian countryside, and related the news from other towns where he had stopped. ”(Coelho, 2) It is implied at the beginning of the story that his profession is that of a shepherd: “He saw to it that all the sheep entered the ruined gate, and then laid some planks across it to prevent the flock from wandering away during the night. ”(Coelho, 1) It is also evident throughout this novel that he is incredibly responsible.
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.
Each journey has a unique path that we could only notice when we don’t focus on the things that have and haven’t happened. Coelho uses the protagonist Santiago as a young man who’s just started his journey and is placed with the alchemist who was already about to finish his journey so Santiago could absorb some of his wisdom. For example the alchemist told Santiago in the beginning of his journey “Don’t think about what you've left behind… Everything is written in the soul of the world and there it will stay forever.” ( Coelho 127).
Paulo Coehlo’s, The Alchemist, explores the Hero’s Journey through the story of a shepherd, Santiago. Throughout the novel, Santiago becomes more aware of his potential as he pursues his Personal Legend. He faces temptations and obstacles as he develops as a character. The hero crosses the threshold when they leave their old reality in search for a new one. Santiago crosses the threshold by selling his sheep and taking a boat to Africa.
When he met the king, he thought he was a regular old man but he really was a ruler of a state. As Santiago advised him about his traveling, the king was willing to help but in exchange, the king get one tenth of his flock. The King also taught him the Soul of the World, in “ It’s what you have always wanted to accomplish. Everyone, when they are young, knows what their Personal Legend is”.(12 on pdf) Furthermore, in this quote the king explains what a personal legend is and it transformed his journey not only about finding his treasure, but him finding out his Personal Legend and understanding the Soul of the World.
Since the beginning of the novel, it was Santiago's belief that the attainment of material gain or money would be immediately followed by happiness. Therefore, he maintained the belief that his goal in life was to become wealthy and gain social prestige. However, after his interaction with the wise old man, he learned that his life was so much more than just how much money he had or how well known he was. This idea of strife for personal superiority is thoroughly examined by Archana Kumari in her article Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist- An Exploration of Individual Physiological Dimension.
Santiago’s life lesson in The Alchemist Throughout the novel it is proven that one has to lose something precious in order to gain something priceless. This central idea is shown many times throughout The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho with the literary element characterization. Throughout the book, Santiago has to accept and embrace change. He faces problems where it would be easiest for him to walk away, however he makes the decision to work through them.
However, through disregarding everything but his dream, Santiago understands his real potential. In this way, he inserts to the Soul of the World. With this under consideration, many questions can be brought up. What is the attitude of The Alchemist towards material wealth and individualism, and how does this relate to significant religions? Unlike various religions, The Alchemist does not differentiate between the material and the spiritual world.
During the whole story Santiago is trying to find his personal legend, he is trying to find his purpose in life. Therefore in the Alchemist, the most important thing is personal legend. Everything is based off Santiago’s personal legend, if he wouldn’t of became a shepherd the book wouldn’t be all about him following his personal legend and trying to figure out what his was. Santiago has to figure out a bunch of new things that lend his to his personal
J., and E. F. Robertson). As Lord Bryan wrote, he compared the world’s rotation to a “whirl” and stars in the sky as if they were a road (O'Connor, J. J., and E. F. Robertson). Just as Santiago traveled the world to find another side of his personality, Newton had to travel in his studies to open a new side of his knowledge. In the “Alchemist”, the protagonist Santiago started out as a poor man’s child who started his journey with little to no knowledge of what his plans were.