Brendan Tuma
Mr. George
World Lit G
05 January 2010
The Alchemist: A Story About Life
A fable is defined as an elementary moral story in verse or prose in which the characters are often simple peasants or animals demonstrating human foibles. To be considered a fable, The Alchemist, must meet these requirements. Paulo Coelho does this with his novel, sending the protagonist Santiago on a spiritual journey in order to discover himself. Santiago must overcome his dilemma of material possession versus spirituality and discover the reason for his campaign. Santiago’s profession as a shepherd makes him a simple peasant and although no animals demonstrate human foibles in this story, Santiago’s sheep assist in teaching him a lesson which is the objective of any well written fable. Commencing in Andalucía, Santiago travels across the desert to the pyramids of Egypt to discover what turns out to be his treasure. This is a story of personal growth and evolution, where a spiritual journey aids a young shepherd to realize his personal legend. Although there are many ways to analyze The Alchemist, the most appropriate is to view the story as one about life, with the moral being that if you can find happiness in yourself, you can be blissful when you possess nothing else.
In order to understand that Santiago has recognized his lesson, it is essential to comprehend where he is coming from. Raised in a seminary until age sixteen, the boy chooses to quit becoming a priest and decides to pursue life as a shepherd. He is unable to find God in the seminary and decides to embark on a spiritual journey. Santiago proves to be a relatable character, desiring wealth, women, and travel. Santiago the shepherd is simple, peaceful, and nomadic.
He requires some assistance in determining his vocational calling. The King of Salem and Melchizedek offer their sagacious advice and Santiago decides to pursue his dream. The boy realizes he must embark on a journey. A fable requires an event to occur where a dilemma can take place. Santiago planning to travel to the pyramids to find his treasure is a decision that cannot be reversed. A wise Englishman explains, “Once you go to the desert, there’s no going back…And, when you can’t go back, you have to worry only about the best way of moving forward. The rest is up to Allah, including the danger” (Coelho 77). Santiago learns quickly that once you decide to pursue your dream, going back is not the same option anymore. This is one dilemma Santiago must resolve in order to find the moral of his journey, and he decides to chase his dream.
According to the text, one’s dreams are very relatable to one’s Personal Legend. The King of Salem tells Santiago that a Personal Legend is “what you have always wanted to accomplish. Everyone, when they are young, knows what their Personal Legend is” (21). The King of Salem continues to preach and tells Santiago what his Personal Legend is. He must find his treasure. A Personal Legend is relatable to every reader because it is what one sets out to accomplish in life. He is told from multiple sources to discover his Personal Legend. This is how Santiago embarks on his journey and it shows how different life can be depending on what direction we head in. Simple things such as choosing whether or not to go on a journey and encountering the King of Salem vastly change Santiago’s life. A relatable theme arises when Santiago develops a fear of failing.
Fear is an emotion that drives Santiago’s journey. Santiago shows fear on more than one occasion. His overall fear of failing during his pursuit of his Personal Legend is most blatant, but he is also afraid to lose his possessions and afraid that he will be unable to turn himself into the wind. Eventually Santiago overcame his fear, turned himself into the wind, and realized “that he, a boy, could perform miracles” (152). The Alchemist helps Santiago overcome his fear and turns him into a believer. He is then able to believe that he can accomplish his Personal Legend. The text shows that those who do not overcome their fear are unable to achieve their Personal Legends. The crystal shop merchant fears making the voyage to Mecca because then he will have nothing to live for. Since he is incapable of overcoming his fear he will never succeed in his Personal Legend.
The story makes it clear that Santiago has succeeded with his Personal Legend. He has accomplished everything that he set out to do. The story commenced with a Sycamore tree growing in the middle of a sanctuary symbolizing new beginnings, new life, and wisdom.
A nervous shepherd used this new beginning to complete his Personal Legend and ends up as jubilant as can be. He originally asked God for money, travel, and wealth but discovered happiness in the Pyramids. He had to find his treasure to complete his goal. Optimistic Santiago became happy when “he laughed back, his heart bursting with joy. Because now he knew where his treasure was” (163). The determined boy had always been open to insight and finally had his moment of greatness. He was able to be blissful when he had nothing else.
A nervous shepherd used this new beginning to complete his Personal Legend and ends up as jubilant as can be. He originally asked God for money, travel, and wealth but discovered happiness in the Pyramids. He had to find his treasure to complete his goal. Optimistic Santiago became happy when “he laughed back, his heart bursting with joy. Because now he knew where his treasure was” (163). The determined boy had always been open to insight and finally had his moment of greatness. He was able to be blissful when he had nothing else.
The Alchemist is a story about life with a strong moral that if you can find happiness within yourself, you can be divinely happy when you have nothing else. The story is constructed to show a journey of life through the use of various symbols. Coelho begins the story with the growth of a Sycamore tree in the middle of a sanctuary. This stands for new life, and represents the beginning of Santiago’s journey. His journey is to complete his Personal Legend, something everyone sets out to do in life. In order to succeed he must overcome fear, his background, and disbelief. These are all things that one must overcome to succeed in life. His journey is a relatable one. At first all he wants is women, money, and to be able to travel. Coelho’s moral at the end of the novel is that if you attempt your Personal Legend and find happiness in yourself, you can remain blithe when you have nothing else. His moral is what many strive for.
Works Cited
Coelho, Paulo. The Alchemist. [San Francisco]: HarperSanFrancisco, 1993.
