Emily Hare

3B

2014

The Alchemist is about a shepherd boy who talks to a magic king and goes
off to find his destiny. Written by Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist is a story that shows
the importance of traveling to the development into a better person. He sets off
from Spain to the port town of Tangier, where he works for a crystal merchant for a
year. After, he travels through a desert and stops in an oasis. In the oasis he finds
love in Fatima and saves the oasis from invaders. The final leg of his journey,
Santiago follows the Alchemist he met at the oasis to the pyramids where he is
waylaid by a warrior tribe that says they will kill him unless he can turn into the
wind. The boy succeeds and finally gets to the pyramids, only to find that the
treasure is back where he began, under a sycamore tree in a church in Spain.
Throughout this journey Santiago morphs and changes from an untrusting, lost,
slightly selfish boy into a man who trusts others and trusts himself.
In the beginning of the novel, Santiago is lost in the metaphorical sense. He
keeps going in the same circles, around and around the same parts of Spain
herding his sheep and selling their wool. Santiago is around his sheep to the point
that he thinks all they (the sheep) think about is food and water. Maybe were all
that way even me. (Coelho, 11) He is a bit self-centered, only really caring about
his sheep and his next destination, not once considering if his opinions on gypsies
were wrong. Santiago thinks Gypsies spend their lives tricking others. It was also
said that they have a pact with the devil and kidnapped children to make them
their slaves (12) He immediately didnt trust the old man that sat next to him, only
to change his apathetic attitude after the old man reveals himself to be a king.
Listening closely to the king is the first time Santiago changes. The king tells him
You have succeeded in discovering your Personal LegendIt is what youve
always wanted to accomplish. (21). This causes Santiago to think about what he
really wants to do, eventually agreeing with the King of Salem and triggering his
first change.
Santiagos journey sets him truly off on his path of change. In the city of
Tangier he learns much from his new environment and the people in it. His attitude
towards his own personal legend changes. When he sees the candy stand owner, he
realizes This candy merchant isnt making candy so that later he can travel or
marry a shop keepers daughter. Hes doing it because its what he wants to do.
(43) .In the crystal shop, he starts to learn about failed personal legends. In his
conversation with the crystal shop owner he thinks Not everyone can see his
dreams come true in the same way. (56). This really solidifies in his head that he
should try to fulfill his Personal Legend, or he might become as depressed as the
crystal merchant was. In the desert he learns of alchemy, love, and conviction in
what you say. His conviction is especially important in achieving his goal. When
Santiago talked to the chief if he was wrong, then he was dead. But his word is true
and the chief calls the boy and presented him with fifty pieces of gold. He
repeated his story about Joseph of Egypt, and asked the boy to become the
counselor of the oasis.(113), cementing the boy to trusting in himself and his
instincts. Everything climaxes at the camp of some desert warriors. They take
Santiago and the Alchemist to their camp and the only way the two can get out is if

Emily Hare

3B

2014

they turn into the wind. Santiago overcomes his fear of not being able to do it. He
connects with the world around him like he never has before. He talks to the desert
and the wind and the sun before finally being directed to the hand that made it all.
It is here that Santiago reached through the Soul of the World and saw that it
was a 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. (152) This is his final realization and
final true lesson through his journey.
It took years for Santiago to change into the man he is. On his journey past
the oasis, Santiago learns to connect to the Soul of the World through listening to
the Worlds Language. The Alchemist tells Santiago to let his horse free to let it find
life and Santiago does this immediately. There is no hesitation or doubt as there is
in the beginning of his quest. His listening skills have improved tremendously, as
has his trust. He is not nearly as complacent, as shown by his ability to change into
the wind at will. When Santiago goes back for his treasure, he reminds himself of
the promise he made the gypsy. He smiles and thinks Those Gypsies are pretty
smart, maybe its because they move around so much. (166). He has made a near
complete turnaround from his original way of thinking, and it is all because of his
journey away from the familiar.
Santiagos journey tells us all to follow our personal legends. The way The
Alchemist is written lets readers to place themselves in his place as easily as
slipping on old shoes. Readers can relate to him because his flaws and fears are the
same as so many other people. His wavering conviction in what he wants to do in
life, his stopping completely before starting again along the same path are things
that all humans do and it helps us to really want him to win. His travels and his
mingling with other cultures and other ways of life helps him overcome his flaws.
He becomes surer of himself and what he wants by listening to what others have to
say and by trying to apply what hes learned to his life. All these other cultures and
ways of thinking that he never would have experienced if he had never traveled
away from his home, had he never attempted to fulfill his Personal Legend.
Traveling and learning from other cultures is something we can all do to improve
ourselves and our lives.