Part 2, Section 3: Summary

The caravan leader delivers a speech before beginning the journey across the Sahara. He warns his members of the several dangers that lurk in the desert. On the journey, Santiago is overwhelmed by the vastness of the desert and the power it radiates. However, the Englishman, buried in his books, is oblivious to it. Santiago proceeds to talk to a camel driver who narrates his story. The man once owned an orchard and led a contented life. When the orchard was ruined by a flood, however, he was forced to begin anew. This experience taught him the invaluable lesson of not fearing loss.

Rumors of tribal warfare reach the caravan, and a sense of fear pervades the atmosphere. It is as though the desert has a soul and is putting the caravan through a test to see if it is indeed worthy of passing through the desert.

Santiago suggests that the Englishman pay attention to the desert. In turn, Santiago agrees to read the books that the Englishman lends him. Santiago is fascinated by the stories of the alchemists; he learns that, “If a metal were heated for many years, it would free itself of all its individual properties, and what was left would be the Soul of the World. This Soul of the World allowed them to understand anything on the face of the earth, because it was the language with which all things communicated.” The Englishman is convinced that alchemy should only be practiced by those who have read the books, but Santiago believes otherwise. He strongly feels that alchemy can be learned from life.

As the tribal wars become more intense, the camel driver mentions that they will be lucky to make it to the oasis. Nonetheless, the caravan does arrive at the oasis.

Part 2, Section 3: Analysis

This episode brings to the forefront the author’s dismissal of an excessive reliance on books for knowledge. We witness Santiago feeling sorry for the camels that have to bear the burden of the Englishman’s books. The Englishman himself appears rather unmoved by the prospect of a life beyond books; he is unable to recognize or partake in life’s various experiences. Santiago’s belief that there is a lot to learn from experiences is reaffirmed later by the alchemist. Santiago, meanwhile, begins to trust his intuition; he even regards it as the language through which the universe connects with individual souls: “Intuition is really a sudden immersion of the soul into the universal current of life, where the histories of all people are connected, and we are able to know everything, because it’s all written there.”

Readers are urged to consider the caravan driver’s example in the context of the biblical legend of the Tower of Babel. According to this legend, once upon a time there was only one language in the world. When, to honor the language, people decided to erect a tower so tall that it could be seen by every single person, God was deeply displeased. God retaliated by decreeing that the one existing language would be splintered into many, thereby making it impossible for people to comprehend one another. The caravan, notably, brought together people of different lands, people who spoke different languages, and worshipped different gods. In the author’s notion of intuition as a universal language and his portrayal of the caravan as a melting pot, one could argue that he expresses his wish to return to that ideal past, where people needed only one language to communicate.