Angelika L.

Manalo September 4, 2017

BS-Psychology M: 2:30-5:50

Book Review in The Alchemist

(Paolo Coelho)
As a teenager, back in high school, I didn’t actually wanted to read this novel. Thinking
that it will be boring but then as a requirement I read the book and it was worth it and I asked
myself why I haven’t read such a good book. It was so very good that I just want to agree all the
things that are said in this book.
Before reading the novel, I thought that The Alchemist is about a person who just studies
alchemy and how the process of turning lead into gold is done. I only thought that what I’m
about to read is all about scientific terms, detailed explanation in different elements, or the
specific formula used in making gold. But what I thought is very wrong and after reading the
story there is more content in the title than what actually it looks like.
The story of The Alchemist by Paolo Coelho is about a shepherd who once had a dream
about treasure and started seeking it and eventually finding that the treasure is just within him. It
tells us the adventure of a simple person trying to risk all the things he had just for a treasure that
he is not even sure does exists.
Paolo started the novel with prologue which is about the myth Narcisuss who is a self-
centered person as well as the lake. In the myth, both the lake and Narcisuss didn’t appreciate the
presence of one another. Narcisuss sees himself beautiful in his reflection in the water while the
lake sees its reflection in the eyes of Narcisuss. “I weep for Narcissus, but I never noticed that
Narcisuss was beautiful. I weep because, each time he knelt beside my banks, I could see in
the depths of his eyes, my own beauty reflected.”-lake. The symbolism here is that the people
sometimes are too focused on their own beauty and physical things that they lose track of the
soul of the world and the true beauty within the universe. We are not giving of importance to the
smallest things we think that are not valuable, but if we think of the true essence of these things
we will realize that each little piece of items or anything in this earth is very fragile. It is just in
the way on how we see things.
The author started the story with this myth to let the reader be ready for the incoming
character in the novel who will show us a self-centered person but in the aspect of reaching a
goal where Santiago actually just wanted to find the treasure. But in the process of finding it, he
realized so many things that were not noticeable at first. It will also show us how to love despite
of the differences of the individual. And how to survive when we are at the edge of our
limitations.
The setting of the story was clearly described. We can observe that it is journey-based,
the setting changes throughout the boy’s travels. However, in general the setting is the path from
southern Spain to the pyramids in Egypt. Paolo made the novel with the characters narrating
based on who sees the scene. The point of view is third person omniscient, though the narrator
focuses on Santiago’s journey. Occasionally, the narration will step back from Santiago and
focus on an ancillary character, but it always returns to its protagonist. Notably, the narrator
stops referring to Santiago after the first third of the book. Though the point of view comments
on some of the characters’ innermost thoughts and desires, it is a mostly objective observer.

The conflict of the novel has the man-to-man type. It is where his father doesn’t want
him to go and just travel. "They come in search of new things, but when they leave they are
basically the same people they were when they arrived. They climb the mountain to see the
castle, and they wind up thinking that the past was better than what we have now. They
have blond hair, or dark skin, but basically they're the same as the people who live right
here." –Santiago’s father. His father tries to make him realize that traveling will not do any
good to him. Another example of this type of conflict is seen in the middle part of the story.
All around him was the market, with people coming and going, shouting and buying, and
the aroma of strange foods… but nowhere could he find his new companion. Santiago was
robbed by a Spanish boy making him think that he will help him reach the Pyramids.
Another type of conflict seen in the novel is the man against himself. It is showed in
the story where Santiago decides whether or not to continue his travel for treasure. He sets
different factors in making decisions. First, he is contented with what he has in his life. He had
the flock of sheep, who he feels so connected to him or there is an energy flowing between
them. They are used to with each other, Santiago and his herd. He had noticed that, as soon
as he awoke, most of his animals also began to stir. It was as if some mysterious energy
bound his life to that of the sheep.
Second, Melchizedek who made Santiago be disturbed with the thought that he knows
everything about him and the treasure he had dream. Santiago believed him and again,
hesitated and questioned himself whether to go or not.
Another type of conflict is the man against the society. I considered Fatima as part of
the society. Society’s basic foundation is family. And what makes a family stronger is love.
Fatima, a girl in the oasis, fell in love with Santiago. Santiago has to choose between Fatima
and his journey to his treasure. He thinks that Fatima is the one and there is nothing wrong
with everything as long as two persons are in love.
The whole content of the book is incredible. Each part of the novel gives us different
lessons and different ideas in life as well as each characters presented in it.
The adventure of Santiago started actually when his father let him do what he wanted in
his life. His father wanted him to become a (priest or doctor) but Santiago just wanted to travel
and explore the world. Parents don’t like to push their children to things they don’t have the
passion to. Paolo showed the readers the respect a parent has to give his children and vice-versa.
Not having a passion on things you’re doing will result only to failure. Parents (mothers) know
best. So Santiago’s father gave him permission to become a shepherd and do what he wanted in
his life.
Santiago is a a happy-go-lucky person and just wanted to do things he wants in his life
and just being contented with how the things are going. At the start of the story I adored him for
staying positive and his availability to travel. And as the novel continued, his braveness and
willingness to sacrifice things made me idolized him more. But in some part of the story where
he just wanted to go back from the start I kind of disliked him, because he is a coward that will
give

up easily facing a problem. But of course, he is a human, he has emotions and he has control of
his own capability so I just accepted that part of him. But as the story nears to end, he didn’t
disappoint me. He continued to face and overcome all of his fears and finally found his dream.
Back to the story, upon having a dream about the treasure, Santiago just disregarded it
thinking that it is ridiculous to have a treasure that easily. Because, as a person, it is in our nature
to suffer first before becoming successful in life. We all have that thought that “it is too good to
be true” and for example, as a student, a certain problem is so easy to solve that we think there is
something wrong with what you’ve done. So we will complicate things and then things will get
worse and that is what we want to get satisfied with the results. We are used to deal with difficult
and complicated problems so, as a person, Santiago didn’t actually entertained his dream.
But then, as Santiago continued to travel with his herd he met Melchizedek. Melchizedek
was described as the King of Salem. Another ridiculous encounter of Santiago making him
wonder “Why would a king be talking with a shepherd?” And as their conversation lengthened,
Santiago started to believe that maybe, his dream will come true.
Melchizedek’s character is very authoritative and a good influencer that if I were in that
situation I would just nod with whatever he is telling me. Melchizedek knows everything about
Santiago which made him think deeper and later started to be convinced. Santiago did what the
king told him to and started off a journey with the two omen given by Melchizedek. The two
omen symbolizes or made Santiago remembers that his destiny is in his hands as long as he
believes in it.
When Santiago was robbed, Paolo described his misery by describing his surroundings as
though the whole universe felt his disappointments. There was a moment of silence so profound
that it seemed the city was asleep. No sound from the bazaars, no arguments among the
merchants, no men climbing to the towers to chant. No hope, no adventure, no old kings or
destinies, no treasure, and no Pyramids. Instead of describing his misery plainly, the author
described it the way the reader will feel it too. He described it that, as a reader or as a person put
in the shoes of the character, I just wanted to stop doing anything and just end my life. I felt all
the unlucky things happened to me and I was left with nothing and it gives so much ache in my
heart. As though I, as a reader, am Santiago.
Experiencing such tremendous event, Santiago started to stop dreaming such treasure and
decided to just go back and live the normal life he had in the previous years. He worked very
hard in the crystal shop and earned enough money to buy sheep and go back to where he came
from. But after sometime, Santiago realizes that he must continue his pursuit of dream because
he is already there. What he just needed to is to go and grab it.
 So Santiago joined a caravan going in the desert that will end in Pyramids. While in the
travel he met an Englishman who is like him in search of a goal. "Everything in life is an
omen," he had said to him. In this part of the story, the Englishman can be observed as someone
like Santiago but their difference is that the Englishman wanted to become a real alchemist but
the one who achieved being an alchemist is Santiago. The Englishman needs to learn the
universal language before reaching to his dream. He needs to understand all the reasons why the
things were

happening in his surroundings in order to understand the alchemy in life and the alchemy in
laboratory.
In their journey in the desert, there was a rumored war so they stopped by at the oasis and
there he fell in love with Fatima. He had difficulties leaving Fatima behind thinking that he may
lose her. Following what he started, he continued his journey.
At the last part of the story where Santiago felt disappointed not finding anything and
getting beat up by some strangers, some words gave hope to Santiago and it made him really
happy.
"You're not going to die. You'll live, and you'll learn that a man shouldn't be so stupid. Two
years ago, right here on this spot, I had a recurrent dream, too. I dreamed that I should
travel to the fields of Spain and look for a ruined church where shepherds and their sheep
slept. In my dream, there was a sycamore growing out of the ruins of the sacristy, and I was
told that, if I dug at the roots of the sycamore, I would find a hidden treasure. But I'm not
so stupid as to cross an entire desert just because of a recurrent dream."
The lines told by the stranger made him (stranger) look like a person who doesn’t
understand the universal language. He is a person who does not listens to his hearts nor give
his heart a chance to speak what it feels. If he were only a person who wants to find reason in
his life, not just a person who looks for money but a person who wants to find the real value of
his existence then maybe he ended up the same with Santiago and found his treasure.
This part also shows us that there will always be two types of person. Each is the equal
opposite of the other. The brave and the coward; those who ‘haves’ and ‘have not’. As long as
someone exist there is someone always a complete opposite of us if not in the same place
maybe in the other side of our country. If not in our country, maybe in the next stage of our
lives.
There were certain lines that were said in the story that actually moved and gave impact
to me and made me think of things differently from before.
“I’m afraid that if my dream is realized, I’ll have no reason to go on living.” This line
was said by the merchant to Santiago. The merchant thinks that when he had reached his dream
then there is no reason for him to continue his life. It’s like a person finding his own reason to be
alive. What if we found our reasons to be alive? Then what do we do with it after fulfilling it?
Do we stop living? This line made the merchant look like a contented and not a risk-taker. His
dream is to go to Mecca like the other people in their place. Thinking that assumingly he went to
Mecca then what is he going to do with his life. He is afraid of what actually might happen after
going to Mecca. He is afraid that reaching his goal will only lose his will to live. He is a person
who just wanted to make everything stay as they were.
“When you want something, all the universe conspires to help you achieve it,” said the
king to Santiago. It is like a destiny combined with our effort. If you worked hard to achieved
something and do everything you can with all your sweats and blood, the universe seeing that
effort of yours will help you lessen the burden and lift you up and will give you a hint that you
are nearing your goal. And if you work things out, the universe weirdly goes the way you wanted
it to be.

“Making a decision was the only beginning of things. 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,” thought the boy. In the novel, Santiago ended up
to different scenarios and different places. He ended up working in a crystal shop, he was
robbed, he joined a caravan, he fell in love and even found a treasure. All of these is because of
him making a big decision in his life. He decided to leave his herd and follow his dream. To
think that it was just a small step, but in the end it will give a great impact that you wouldn’t
even think of. Even us, every single decision we make in life will one day be the reason the
change we had achieved. Sometimes deciding is difficult because there are so many things that
we need to risk. But if we don’t try then it will be forever an unanswered question to us and it
will one of the things that we may regret not doing in the future. Making a decision is actually a
big and life-changing responsibility.
“We are afraid of losing what we have, whether it’s our life or our possessions and
property. But this fear evaporates when we understand that our life stories and the history of
the world were written by the same hand”. What actually we needed to do is to think positively
in life. Thinking that there is one great Almighty that actually holds our story. Everything that we
lose or everything that we gain, there is always a reason for it and we do not have to question it,
for it is written in the book in our life and it really is bound to happen. What we really need to do
is to understand the reason why are these things are happening and how. It can be that sometimes
we lose something to make us realize the importance of other things or sometimes it makes our
head grow bigger that we need to live a simple life. Or that we gain something because it is a
blessing or a tool that we can use in our everyday journey.
“Well.. so I can do things,”. “And so I can change those things that I don’t want to
happen”, said the camel driver. “But then they wouldn’t be a part of your future,” the seer had
said. “Well, maybe I just want to know the future so I can prepare myself for what’s coming.”
“If good things are coming, they will be a pleasant surprise. If bad things are, and you know
in advance, you will suffer greatly before they even occur,” said the seer. This change of
conversation between the camel driver and the seer actually made sense. The camel driver was
not a risk-taker because as you have read in their conversation he wanted to know what the
future may bring so he will not lose things and let the things stay as they were. But as the seer
had said, if you know the future and you changed it, it’ll not be part of your future anymore
because you changed it and the outcome would be totally different. And if you know the future
and you do not change it, you will suffer because, for example you knew there will be a problem,
instead of just living the moment where everything was just so right, you will be facing a
dilemma of a problem that have not yet came. So when the problem actually have come then the
heaviness of it will double because you pre-think the problem instead of just waiting for it to
come or to not.
“Love never keeps a man from pursuing his destiny. If he abandons the pursuit, it’s
because it wasn’t truelove…the love that speaks the Language of the World” said the alchemist
to Santiago. In this part of the story is where Santiago doesn’t want to leave Fatima because he
so in love and he felt the connection between them. To a person that is in love, he thinks that
everything was just right and he was just so happy that he wanted to maintain the moment and
doesn’t want anything to ruin that momentum. So instead of continuing his dream, he wanted to

stay with Fatima and just make their moment perfect together. But as the alchemist had said, if it
is actually a true love it will not hinder his dream. Because the love speaks the Language of the
World, so the love understands the destiny of a person. Love will not become a hinder to a
person trying to fulfill his destiny. So it is not love, if you stop pursuing your destiny just to be
with someone else.
“One is loved because one is loved. No reason is needed for loving.” Fatima is a self-
less person based on her decision for letting Santiago go and pursuit his dream. This line was
told by a woman who experienced or who observed that if it is love, it is meant to be. Fatima is a
person who understands the love in the Language of the World. She didn’t let it hinder Santiago
in pursuit of his dream, instead she accepted that whatever happens to their relationship is what
the universe wanted. To love someone is to feel the love inside. There is no material explanation,
there is no specific identification to determine love. It is like a two person understanding
everything and accepting each other despite their differences.
“They were seeking the treasure of their destiny, without wanting actually to live out
the destiny.” The reason why the Englishman still not have achieved being an alchemist is
because of these lines told by the real Alchemist. Some people just wanted to reach that
thing(goal) without appreciating the things they encounter. Or they have actually reached that
dream but they can’t see the essence of the dream they have achieved. They are just happy of the
thought of achieving that dream, without actually understanding the impact or the importance of
it. We need to know the process and understand everything that is happening while we are
reaching for our dream. To understand those things is to appreciate the real importance of our
goal, not in physical aspect but in spiritual and emotional aspect.
“Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that
no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the
search is a second’s encounter with God and with eternity.” this line was told by the alchemist
to Santiago. Santiago feared and his heart felt it. Santiago feared that he will only be
disappointed in the end but the alchemist assured him that what he only needed to do is to hear
his heart and understand what it actually wants. Fearing to suffer is worse than suffering. For
example, you are afraid to jump a high cliff (this is the fear of suffering) so you would not jump
and just go home but hour heart will always ask you what if you jump?What would be the
feeling? Is it amazing or it will feel dangerous? Your heart will always haunt you for not
listening to it until one day your heart would not talk to you and you will not be one again with
the universe. But if you face or if you jump (this is the suffering) you will know all the answers
you’re asking. Then you’ll feel that it is not bad to jump off that cliff. In the end, instead of
suffering you will feel satisfied because all your questions were answered. It is now or never.
“One dies of thirst just when the palm trees have appeared on the horizon” Alchemist
to Santiago. Determining if the victor actually deserved to be the winner. This only tells us the
last stage of the suffering of the people. Sometimes we worked hard that we are on the edge of
giving up. And that edge is actually the main point of our suffering. The universe wants to know
if we actually deserve to receive the satisfaction we wanted. The universe tries to eliminate our
will to measure how badly we want and how much effort we put on reaching for our goals. Just
like what

Santiago had experienced, he was robbed and he was on the verge of giving up, but he didn’t. He
continued pursuing his dream and then he encountered many situations that put in a give-up-now
situation. But with his determination and with his beliefs he became successful and overcame all
those struggles he faced.
I adore Santiago for his braveness and his determination even though sometimes he
wavered but he still stands up and fights or continues what he had started.
So why is the title the alchemist even though Santiago was not the main alchemist in the
story? I realized now that the title is not only meant for those people who make gold from lead
but it is about a person who even though he never manages to turn lead into gold, he does learn
how to purify his soul, listen to his heart, and speak the language of the universe, all skills of a
great alchemist. In fact, we think that Coelho is messing with us a little bit, and calling Santiago
the alchemist in the title. It's a way of showing us that anyone can reach their Personal Legend,
even a little shepherd boy. Alchemy gives the perception that something of almost no value can
be changed into something of great value and importance.  
Overall, the book left a big impression in me. It was just so simple yet so inspiring and
spiritual. The whole novel was so simple that I was so thrilled with all the sudden twists in the
end. After reading it, I didn’t know how to react. I was just so speechless thinking that did it
make sense? And yes it did. The book’s reason was to make the reader understand that having
faith in your destiny can actually lead you to realizing it. Now I always consider my efforts it
enough or not. Because we all have different fate, it is up to us on how we will work hard to
meet that fate or destiny of ours.
I’m still young and I am now looking forward to the problems ahead. I am now starting
the smallest things there are in life.