The Alchemist Essay
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The Alchemist Essay
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,
...show more content...
Santiago makes it to Africa, where he looses all his money to a thief. He is now a strange person in a
strange land, helpless and penniless. At this point of his journey, Santiago was in real need for an
assistant to help his dream survive this challenge. Santiago starts to search for a way to get money
and luckily a crystal merchant struggling to keep his trade afloat hires him. Using omens, he brings
new ideas and enhances the merchant's business. As time passes, his dream of the treasure starts
fading away. Months go by, and the boy builds up quite a nest egg. The crystal merchant is a clear
helper; he gave Santiago a hand when he really needed it. At this stage, Santiago is once again split
in choice; he could return to Europe and double his sheep flock or try to peruse his dream again.
Even though the crystal merchant supported Santiago through his hard times, he also reflects a
negative example for the Shepard to avoid, as he is someone who gave up on his personal legend.
This gives the boy an enthusiastic push to get on a caravan and head to the pyramids. During this
checkpoint, Santiago learns Arabic and gains a great deal of money as well as experience, which
really came in handy all the way through the
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Essay On The Alchemist
Becoming Better "If you're not making someone else's life better, then your wasting your time. Your
life will become better by making other lives better," said Will Smith, an actor and a singer.
Throughout Santiago's journey, he helps many people along the way, including himself. The boy
also learns many life lessons so he can follow his heart and find his treasure. By going on this
journey, Santiago makes himself and the things around him better. 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, Santiago wants to earn money, so he works for a crystal merchant. Next,
Santiago asks the alchemist for help so he can fulfill his dreams
...show more content...
The alchemist tell the boy, "What you still need to know is this: before a dream is realized, the Soul
of the World tests everything that was learned along the way" (136). Santiago is striving to reach his
personal legend and become a better person. As he goes on his journey, he helps many people. He
shows a crystal merchant his full potential in his shop and as a person. The boy helps an Englishman
follow his Personal Legend of becoming an alchemist and pushes him to actually try. Santiago even
kept an oasis from going under attack by listening to his heart so he could save the love of his life
and everyone else who lived there. The boy also became a better person and learned many life
lessons throughout his travels. While Santiago is helping people follow their dreams and find their
full potential, He learns many things and becomes a better person.
For Santiago to keep himself and the alchemist alive, he talks to the desert, wind, and sun. When
Santiago is done talking to these three forces of nature, he realizes: "The boy reached through to the
Soul of the World, and saw that it was part of the Soul of God. And he saw that the Soul of God was
his own soul. And that he, a boy, could perform miracles" (157). As Santiago is striving to perform
miracles, he makes everything around him better. The boy talks to the desert, wind, and sun through
his heart so he can keep the
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Essay on The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
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.
Santiago leaves his family to become a shepherd, before leaving his dad gives him money he has
saved up, Santiago buys sheep with the money. As a shepherd Santiago travels around Spain. As he
travels he is in search of food and water for his sheep. During his journeys he gave his sheep names
and really connects with them. When he ran out of money, Santiago sold wool from his sheep
for
...show more content...
The woman told him that his dream was, that he
would find treasure in the Egyptian pyramids
. After leaving her booth thinking she was crazy, he sat
on a bench and started to read a book he got in town. Suddenly an old man sat by him and tells him
that he knows where to find the treasure he is looking for, and that he will tell him in exchange of
one tenth of his sheep.
The boy agreed, and discovers that the man knew about the treasure the dream reader was talking
about, and knew a lot about the boy and where he is from. After conversing with him for some time,
he finds out that he is king, and that he helps people with their personal legends.
After teaching the boy a lot about the journey he will go through, the king gave him omens to
follow. Santiago sells his sheep, and travels to a town on his way to Egypt. He finds a man that
could take him past the desert to Egypt. So the boy gives him the money that he got for the sheep.
When the man shows Santiago the town for a little Santiago loses him in a crowd of hundreds
shopping in the markets, and loses all his money. The boy learns not to trust anyone, and is told that
there are many thieves in that town.
Santiago needed money and food, so he asked a man who owned a crystal shop, if he could clean all
his crystal pieces for some food and money. The man liked the Santiago's work, so gave him some
food, and told him he could work for him if he wanted to. Santiago took the job, and ended up
working
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Essay on the the Alchemist
Essay on the The Alchemist:
"Name any five lessons Santiago learned and how he mastered them"
The Alchemist is a journey of exploration and self–discovery as we follow the main character,
Santiago, a young shepherd who lives in Spain, on a journey to fulfill his personal legend. The novel
shows us wisdoms and gentle reminders of how to change our lives from what they may be today
into the life we have always dreamed of.
The novel tells us that the fear of failure is the greatest obstacle to happiness
. "There is only one
thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure." So often we hide behind
excuses of not being able to do this or that, but the real story is that we are too afraid to take a
chance. It is our
...show more content...
"The secret is here in the present. If you pay attention to the present, you can improve upon it. And,
if you improve on the present, what comes later will also be better."
Too often we get bogged down in our past, and in memories of events that we think define us and
restrict us from moving forward. The truth is that we can decide today who we want to be. We may
have some baggage, and we may have future dreams, but today is the only day where we can define
who we are and what direction we want our lives to go.
"When someone makes a decision, he is really diving into a strong current that will carry him to
places he had never dreamed of when he first made the decision."
The only life Santiago knew was being a shepherd, but one day he made a decision that he wanted to
know more. He wanted to get out of Spain and see the rest of the world, and from there the rest of
the story develops. The same goes for all of us, in that the rest of our stories are based on the
decisions we make today – we decide to be better, we decide to be happy, we decide to be
successful. It all starts with that decision.
"When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too."
"All you have to do is contemplate a simple grain of sand, and you will see in it all the marvels of
creation. Listen to your heart. It knows all things, because it came from the Soul of the World, and it
will one
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How To Read The Alchemist Essay
The Alchemist taught me to trust and follow my intuition. Coming from a broken home in a busted
neighborhood, having a perfect, "financially successful" plan was the only way to move up and out.
I was raised to think that so long as you make lots of money, you will be happy regardless of what
job you are performing. This book opened my eyes to the view that you should not do something
because it is what others, like your parents, think successful. You should really follow your intuition
and trust your gut on what you truly feel is right. With all of its discussion about recognizing omens
and signs, The Alchemist taught me to pay attention when my heart and brain talk to me and make
obvious what I might have previously overlooked. It was the first
...show more content...
In this inspirational masterpiece, there is a heavenly inspiration within all of us. By struggling for
our dreams, we find God and ultimate happiness. As Santiago learns, fearing failure and
disappointment is the greatest cause of hopelessness. By not risking everything, by constantly
doubting ourselves, we lose the key to our happiness. On a smaller but just as important scale,
reading The Alchemist influenced me to read more. Despite proper schooling, reading was never a
big part of my life or my neighborhood as I grew up. Reading this book in my own time made me
realize that reading can be enjoyable and life changing. Reading was not an activity to be ashamed
of or looked down upon, it should be celebrated. Ever since reading The Alchemist, I have never
shied away from recommending that book to peers disinterested in reading. My hope is that the
book will do to them what it did to me, open their eyes to the beauty of life make them realize the
small things, and gain faith in the power of reading and knowledge. The Alchemist inspired me to
Empower yourself to dream, Do not be afraid to fail,
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The Alchemist Essay
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,
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Stop! Stop whatever you are doing, if it is marking this essay with a red pen or eating a double
toasted bagel, I want you to think, what makes you similar or different to the rest of the 7.6 billion
people on Earth? I often find my self–asking this very question. However, long I think about it, the
answer is always the same. My life and your life are not significantly different. We both love
,
perhaps not the same people, perhaps we express our love differently, nevertheless, we love. We
fear, I am scared that I will live a boring and purposeless life, you may fear that your children will
never know life outside of a smartphone. We both dream, what we choose to achieve in our lives, if
it is to become a world–renowned scholar or the greatest athlete, depends on the life we want or
have decided to live. Everyone lives the same theme of life, but then again, how we live the theme
depends on a person's experiences. In The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, we learn that various
characters exhibit the same theme, yet in there own distinctive manner. The love Santiago, the
protagonist, has towards the merchant's daughter, is utterly divergent to the love Fatima has toward
Santiago. The fear that the crystal merchant holds is entirely diverse to the fear Santiago bears, even
though they both fear, their fears are uniquely disassociated. The vocation the Englishman has
toward alchemy is altogether independent to Santiago's personal legend to find the treasure.
Although their dreams and
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The Alchemist Archetype
The Alchemist Essay Although a hero seems like a faraway distant character who possesses a unique
ability that saves humanity, an everyday citizen in society holds the ability to impact the lives of
others can become a hero. In the novel, The Alchemist, the protagonist, Santiago, travels as a
shepherd but ultimately, follows The Hero
's Journey Archetype. As Santiago pursues a journey for
treasure and self–knowledge, Santiago faces several difficult challenges and character–defining
moments that assess his ability to succeed. Coelho depicts Santiago as following the stages of the
Hero's Journey Archetype such as The Mentor, The Abyss, and the Return to the World. Thus,
Coelho employs The Hero's Journey Archetype to demonstrate the
...show more content...
The advice Melchizedek imposes to Santiago allows him to further develop correspondingly to the
Hero's Journey Archetype because without the wise king's advice, Santiago would most likely
struggle throughout his journey to maintain the fundamental aspects of his journey and lose sight of
the omens that aid him in times of despair. Ultimately, the advice Melchizedek provides Santiago
about the secret to happiness and omens permit him to maintain a balanced character throughout his
expedition without forgetting his modest upbringing as a shepherd in which he gained several
valuable lessons from his sheep. Coordination remains the key to success as one must possess well–
balanced characteristics to achieve a Personal Legend and contentment. Furthermore, Coelho
demonstrates the theme of balance through the Hero's Journey Archetype to employ that one must
oftentimes persevere through hardship and a deadly encounter utilizing the knowledge one received
throughout a self–pursuit of knowledge and defy a seemingly impossible event. While in the desert
learning from the Alchemist, Santiago and the Alchemist are captured, and Santiago must turn
himself into the wind in order to survive. Eventually, Santiago's new knowledge about alchemy
guide him to overcome the greatest obstacle Santiago faced throughout his entire life. Santiago faces
a hero–like transformation into the wind,
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The Alchemist
For this summer's reading assignment, I choose to read The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. To be
honest, I didn't choose this book based on the complexity of it, but because it was recommended to
me by four of my peers. When I found out the number of pages, I, like any other student who had
two weeks left of summer, downloaded the pdf version and started reading. As I began reading, I
was instantly intrigued. Within the first 5 pages of the novella I was able to make a spiritual
connection that foreshadowed in The Alchemist. I related this book to a movie "Joseph, King of
Dreams". Both Joseph and Melchizedek had a destiny. What really caught my attention was the
main character's name Melchizedek. I am Hebrew Israelite, (not Israeli or Jewish). But
Melchizedek, קֶ±ֶצ־י ִכְּלַמ, is a Canaanite's name according to The New Strong's Exhaustive
Concordance of the Bible written by James Strong, meaning "King and Priest of Salem".
Melchizedek speaks of "The Soul of the World", when in the bible, he speaks of The Coming of the
Son of God. He wants to bring peace and
...show more content...
Whether we know it or not, we are connected and can all understand each other, without even
having to open our mouths, to speak. We communicate through the "language of the world". Us as
humans walking, animals crawling, bugs creeping, we all have legs! We are all moving in the same
direction, completing tasks, and moving towards something, until the day we die. In some cultures,
they believe that they are put here on this earth for are very significant reason. Whether it be to
better the world, for discoveries in science, or worship. We are all living under the same sun.
"Demographics need not be destiny. The waning West became what it is not by out–breeding the
undeveloped world. We were once great not because of huge numbers, but due to human capital
people of superior ideas and abilities, capable of innovations, explorations, science, philosophy." –
Illana
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Research Paper On The Alchemist
Book Analysis
The Alchemist
1.Story
The Alchemist is a novel (book) written by Paulo Coelho in 1988.
The book tells a story of a shepherd boy, who owns a herd of sheep. His name is Santiago. In his
sleep, he has dreamt a dream at two occasions that he needs to go to the pyramids of Egypt to find
treasures.
In the beginning, he distrusts the dream; he is unsure if he has to follow and accomplish the dream.
But, later on, as he gets a prophecy from an old woman, who interprets his dream and confirms him
to follow just his dream. Despite the confirmation, he is not so interested of the dream. This is
mainly because of two reasons. One, he hasn't enough courage to sell his sheep or leave them
behind. Second, he falls for a beauty of a girl who
...show more content...
It's is through action. Everything you need to know you have learned through your journey.''
Alchemist is already explained in the story as it is the ability to purify your soul, listen to your heart
and speak the language of the world. The title is, then, to show us, the readers, that anyone can
achieve his/her dream by possessing the characteristics of alchemist as exactly as the shepherd boy,
Santiago.
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.
7. Own thoughts and options
The first thing I have learned from the story is that every dream I can have doesn't only be enough to
follow them. Instead, I need to inspire myself through opening my heart and try to accomplish them.
Secondly, regardless of the time and effort requirement, it is not important to look back. Lastly, as in
the story ''every blessing ignored becomes a curse'', have found it to be true because if you are not
positive for what you have, you will for sure regret after losing
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The Alchemist Destiny
Many say that every single person on the planet has his/her own destiny, but they always leave out
details on how to find it, making it difficult to explore one's destiny. Movie and book heros
demonstrates that it is hard exploring one's destiny. Take the book The Alchemist for example,
which is amazingly written by Paulo Coelho. The main character is Santiago, an ordinary shepherd
who lives in Andalusia. He has a recurring dream about a hidden treasure in the Pyramids of Egypt.
In order to find out what his dream means, he meets many mentors and good people along the way
that help him interpret his dream, including the Alchemist. They tell Santiago that there is an actual
treasure that is waiting for him and that he should go after it. He then decides to leave Andalusia and
go after his dream in Africa. Along the way he faces many difficult obstacles that almost cost him
his life. For example, he leaves Tarifa, Africa so that he could leave with a caravan that was going to
Egypt. As the caravan is moving along the desert, the large caravan has to stop at an oasis because
there are many tribal wars. He sees the love of his life here, Fatima. But at the end, he is able to
experience a difficult journey that leads him to his treasure, which is his true Personal Legend or
true meaning in life. Another good example is the movie The Matrix
, which is produced by Joel
Silver. In the movie the main character, Thomas Anderson otherwise known as "Neo," is firstly
known as a hacker, but he primarily works at a software company. Neo receives many calls telling
him to go learn about the truth, but many times he refuses. Finally, Neo accepts to learn about the
truth, which is that he's been living in a program world, the Matrix. His crew members Morpheus
,
Trinity, and many more, explain to him that Neo is the one to save them all. He too faces many life–
threatening obstacles along the way. In the end, Neo discovers that he is the "one." The Alchemist
and The Matrix buttress the theme of finding one's Personal Legend as both main characters,
Santiago and Neo, go on a quest with lots of obstacles to find and explore their true destinies and
discover who they really are. Santiago and Neo go on a difficult quest in order to
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The Alchemist Essay
I first heard of The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho while undergoing cancer treatment. A couple of
patients were raving about the book, and I wanted to know what was so special about this book, so
decided to read it and I'm glad I did. This book uplifted me and empowered me to fight, and not give
up the journey. The Alchemist is an amazing book and should be read by everyone because the
characters and conversations in the story will change your view of life. There are lessons of truth
and wisdom in this story and it was a pleasure to read. It's about reaching your goals and following
your dreams. Alchemy is the act of transforming any base metal into gold and in relation to the
story, you can turn your life into gold by using your gifts, whatever
...show more content...
Another lesson from the story is to follow your heart and to follow your intuition and understand
that the journey to finding your Personal Legend comes with challenges, nothing in life is attained
easily, you have to work for it but the reward in finding your destiny is so much greater than the
challenge because it is all a constant learning cycle. Yes, you will be tested and there will be times
when you may want to throw in the towel and question yourself but you must persevere. "It almost
seems impossible until it's done". Nelson
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Personal Narrative: The Alchemist
A personal legend is a journey that everyone must undergo at some point in their lives to fulfill their
life purpose. My name is Mohamed Jallow; I just recently turned 16 years old, and I moved to New
Jersey 2 years ago. At this present time, I am very interested in studying Industrial engineer as a
major after high school
, this discipline will shape me into a leader, and offers a great salary to
sustain the quality of life, that I want for me and my family. Reading The Alchemist, alchemist
explains to the Shepherd that "...when we strive to become better than we are, everything around us
becomes better, too" (pg. 150). I always strive to be the best in anything that i do, and when i taste
the fruits of my labor, i would make sure that my family, and everyone that supported me enjoy it as
well.
My personal goals are very meaningful to me. I always like to set goals for myself, and when i
accomplish them, it's always a constant reminder that nothing is impossible, which always allows
me to dream bigger and set even bigger goals to achieve. I would like to travel the world and
since
...show more content...
I am still in the early stages of my life so i have not yet dealt with any major obstacles, but i'm very
positive that in the near future i will be battle tested, but if you just see it as another challenge that
will be overcomed, it will not really have any effect on you. As the alchemist tells Santiago, one
must take risks and make sacrifices in order achieve success, "You will never be able to escape from
your heart. So it's better to listen to what it ahs to say. That way, you'll never have to fear an
unanticipated blow". (pg. 129). Never allow your fears to prevent you from taking risks, because it
is the little risks and sacrifices that you make, that can make a huge
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Conclusion Of The Alchemist
Book Analysis
The Alchemist
1.Story
The Alchemist is a novel (book) written by Paulo Coelho in 1988.
The book tells a story about a shepherd boy, who owns a herd of sheep. His name is Santiago. In his
sleep, he has dreamt a dream at two occasions that he needs to go to the pyramids of Egypt to find
treasures.
In the beginning, he distrusts the dream; he is unsure if he has to follow and accomplish the dream.
But, later on, as he gets a prophecy from an old woman, who interprets his dream and confirms him
to follow just his dream. Despite the confirmation, he is not so interested in the dream. This is
mainly because of two reasons. One, he hasn't enough courage to sell his sheep or leave them
behind. Second, he falls for a beauty of a girl who
...show more content...
He has lived there thirty good years in selling and buying crystal pieces. It is this shop, where
Santiago works before continuing his journey.
Melchizedek : An old man who explains himself as King of Salem, with magical power ,helps
Santiago to make a decision ,'' –––when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping
you to achieve it''(p.22). He also gives Santiago the magical stones Urim and Thummim
.
Englishman: seeks the true alchemist after his friend, who has returned from an archeological
expedition in the desert
, tells him about an Arab with exceptional power. He, himself, travels now in
the desert to find the alchemist real.
The alchemist: A man who resides in Al–Fayoum Oasis. He possesses a powerful magic and saves
lives because he sees through to the soul of the world. He is the one who points the direction of the
treasure to Santiago.
Fatima: A beautiful girl, whom Santiago is in love with, who lives at Al–Fayoum Oasis.
Gypsy: An old woman, in Tarifa, who interprets Santiago's dream
5. Language and style
The language is simple, direct and short sentences are used. The story is told in past tense by a third
person who knows the feelings and thoughts of the characters in the
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The Alchemist
Over the summer I read the novels The Pearl by John Steinbeck and The Alchemist by Paulo
Coelho. Written by John Steinbeck, The Pearl is a novel that describes the adventures of Kino when
he discovers a pearl the size of an ostrich egg which is perceived and glorified by the public as the
most beautiful and valuable pearl on the face of the globe. In the hope to raise enough currency to
pay for the healings and rehabilitations of his son, Coyotito, after a fatal scorpion sting, Kino must
choose to either remain his peaceful life of a as a fisherman struggling through poverty, or enter a
world of corruption, fraud, and malice in order to eliminate the deficiencies for longed suffered by
his nuclear family. Correspondingly, The Alchemist, written
...show more content...
This type of behavior is evident in Santiago when he rejects his parent's wish of specializing in
religion as a priest, and states that he wants to become a shepherd to travel across the hills of
Andalusia and become familiar with the language of the world. When Santiago's father tries to
persuade Santiago that travelling does not change a person, Santiago replies, "But I'd like to see the
castles in the towns where they live," ... "Well, I'd like to see their lands, and see how they live"
(Coleho–9). As a shepherd, Santiago had a reoccurring dream of hidden treasure in the Egyptian
Pyramids which was approved by the dream interpreter, and later confirmed by Melchizedek, the
king of Salem, who Santiago met in Tarifa. Melchizedek spoke to Santiago about a person's Personal
Legend, or every person's long term goal or desire they wanted to accomplish in their lifetime. Now
gaining a sense of adventure and obligation, Santiago disbanded this sixty sheep and travelled across
the Strait of Gibraltar and marched across the Sahara Desert in alternations of horse and camel to
achieve what he believed the world and the nature wanted him to achieve. During Santiago's crusade
to the Pyramids of Giza he is introduced to a life changing branch of studies known as
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How To Interpret The Alchemist
There are lots of things that can be learned through the knowledge of one's background, beliefs,
experiences, and ideology. The learning of the author allows the readers to interpret the book
differently and to help understand why certain types of literary devices were used. In the novel, The
Alchemist, it was important to know the background of the author, Paulo Coelho, before actually
reading the book since it influences how a reader interprets the story. In the introduction, Coelho
wrote about the four obstacles that persistent when following one's personal legend (vi). This part in
the introduction helps the reader interpret parts of the story that would not have been easily
interpreted without knowledge of the author's mindset. One example of the introduction
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The background information given to the readers help them learn about the writer and his beliefs.
This helps guide the readers on a path in order to interpret the story how the author planned it to be.
During the interview, Paulo Coelho talks about being a catholic while not having it affect the way he
views the world (181). Not all religions have the same teachings but when I read the book, I felt that
religion did not have a play in the story even though it was clearly present throughout the story.
Anyone can have control over their future and not have it based on fate or what "god" has already
set forth. The knowledge of the author and his background information allows the reader to put
themselves in his shoes. Reading the story from a writer's point of view allows the readers to
undertand exactly what was going through the writer's mind and exactly what the writer meant when
he was writing the story. Without knowing who the author was, the story would not be properly
interpreted and would not have as significant of an effect on the
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The Alchemist Essay
Melanie Che
1890607
PASS: icecream
email: melanieche88@gmail.com
The Alchemist: Summer Essay
Santiago, a shepherd from an Andalusian town, is the venturesome protagonist of The Alchemist.
Despite his thirst for adventure, Santiago remained satisfied with his lifestyle until he experienced
numerous dreams about uncovering treasure near the Pyramids of Egypt
. At first, Santiago is
hesitant about pursuing his dream, and goes to a gypsy to interpret it. His confidence still wavers,
until receiving a second opinion from Melchizedek, a mysterious old man who claims to be the king
of Salem. After Melchizedek informs Santiago about how everybody is born with certain destinies,
Santiago becomes interested in fulfilling his Personal Legend and
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In the beginning of his journey, the merchants unwillingness showed Santiago that he did not need
an exterior force to push him towards his dreams, just his self–belief. Then, the Englishman taught
him that as long as he had determination and wanted something, the Soul of the World would guide
him to it. While crossing the desert, Santiago's attention to all the components instilled the message
to notice all details in life. Fatima's leniency towards Santiago leaving showed that no matter how
far a couple is, true love prevails, as Santiago eventually returned to Fatima at the end. The final
lesson Santiago learned from turning into the wind and circling back to his beginning, was that no
matter how impossible a dream or task seems, if you have faith and drive it will lead you to success.
The combination of Santiago's newfound confidence, faith, and focus made him a wiser, more
mature person that differs from the young, uncertain boy he was
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The Theme of "The Alchemist," by Paulo Coelho is, always follow your dreams and listen to your
heart. At the start of the novel Santiago does not know what he should do when he is confronted by
his dream. But by the end of the novel Santiago completely trusts his heart to guide him though life.
Santiago's story shows him learning and living out the theme of the novel
.
I think Paulo passed on his message about following your heart quite well. Through Santiago he
showed that you must endure some hardship before you are rewarded for your efforts. I think I will
always remember Santiago's journey and the lessons he learned along the way. I enjoyed watching
Santiago grow and learn from the experiences he gained through his journey to find
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Several years later, Santiago had enough money to journey back home but he decided he should
continue on his journey despite his past experiences. I'm not sure I could do the same thing as
Santiago.
I believe that this novel was meant to be read by people who are old enough to understand different
struggles people sometimes need to endure to achieve goal. If someone were not to understand this
concept then the novel would be "empty," for them.
The most interesting thing I found about the novel was the way Paulo build up Santiago's hopes and
then destroyed them. Paulo not only did this several times but he also chose to do it right after
Santiago thought he had learned a lesson about life. Most books I have read don't build up and
destroy the main characters hopes so perniciously.
I find that Santiago's journey is fairly unlikely to ever occur in real life
. At the end of the novel,
Santiago digs for his treasure but finds nothing, however the one man in the world that would tell
him another place so search just so happens to be right there waiting. The odds of this happening are
very low at best. Another thing that is impossible to occur in real life is someone turning lead into
gold. This is not something that could be done.
I would defiantly recommend this book to a friend or a family member. I fervently enjoyed "The
Alchemist," and I think that most people would enjoy reading about Santiago. The novel is universal
in its ability to tell a story and
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Character Sketch Of The Alchemist
Santiago is the protagonist of the Alchemist. He is a sheperd from a small town and ever since he
had been a child, he had wanted to know the world, He is of curious nature. The dream that changed
his life is about finding the treasure near the Egyptian pyramids. He travels from Andalusia in
southern Spain to the Egyptian pyramids is search of hidden treasure learning life lessons along the
way.
Name of Character: Alchemist
Description: The Alchemist is a mysterious character and an extremely powerful practitioner of
alchemy who resides at the Al–Fayoum oasis
. He appears to possess magical powers and he is able
to convert all metals into gold and cure all ills. The mythical magic that surrounds his desert
existence enchants even those who
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Write Plot Summary of the book.
In Alchemist, Paulo Coelho describes the story of a young shepherd named Santiago, who found a
treasure beyond his wildest dreams. While on his way, he learnt many things like listening to his
heart and releasing that his dreams are the part of the soul of universe.
Santiago has a few desires, he loves to roam with his sheeps while having a book in his bag. In his
meeting with the Melchizedek who consider himself to be a king of a far off land, decided to search
for his treasures. Upon arriving in Africa after selling his sheeps to pursue his dream, he faced many
difficulties in his journey of searching for treasure. He was robbed off the first day and he can't even
speak Arabic. He became dishearted and decided to give up and return back but then he remember
the words of the Melchizedek an continued his journey, He got a job in a crystal store and earned
enough money to buy sheeps but rather than buying them, he joined a caravan to Egypt
.
During the caravan, he met an Englishmen who has the same personal legend and his thoughts were
same as Melchizedek. Santiago wants to learn the secrets of Alchemy by observing the world while
the Englishman was in favor of reading complex books. During their voyage, they heard the rumors
of the tribal
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The Alchemist Character Analysis
People grow both mentally and physically in their lifetimes; however, the unique ways in which
people grow and develop create the wonder of diverse human life. Paulo Coelho contradicts this
idea in his novel The Alchemist when he states, "And my heart and soul is your heart and soul" (IX).
This underlines Coelho's whole idea all of humanity's stories are the same. Coelho shares this idea
as he attempts to describe what he believes this shared story is through a boy named Santiago.
However, while the humanity and Santiago may share the same goals, the way that Santiago
achieves them is unrealistic compared to most of society. Santiago begins innocent and
unknowledgeable of the world, and goes out on a mission to find his Personal Legend.
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content...
While God punishes Adam and Eve in the story, Santiago learns a valuable lesson. Santiago learns
he can not trust all of the people he meets and not everyone has his best interest in mind. These
qualities become more useful to him as he builds relationships with other characters and learns more
about himself. As Santiago continues to find his Personal Legend, and travel he begins to feel lost
without his sheep. Santiago spent his entire life with his sheep, and never had a real home. However,
when traveling without his sheep for the first time, it becomes clear that Santiago's sheep symbolize
his home: "When I had my sheep, I was happy, and I made those around me happy" (42). Homes
represent a place for comfort and happiness. Santiago spent all his time with his sheep, and never
had a single place he called home. Since homes provide a place of happiness and comfort, and so
Santiago's sheep do the same, the sheep symbolize Santiago's home. Santiago longing his sheep or
being in a familiar place explains how his mind is not entirely focused on completing his Personal
Legend. Santiago needs to let go of the strings that hold him back from his goals if he wants to
continue. As Santiago works with the crystal merchant, these ties to home begin to sever. When
Santiago leaves the merchant, he does not say goodbye. Santiago learns to move on without looking
back for his own benefit, and strengthens his grasp on the idea
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