Alchemy In The Alchemist

Being Your Better Self Becoming better benefits a bunch of beings. When you become better, you may not know it, but people around you benefit from you trying to improve. This happens to the main protagonist, Santiago because he strives to become better and everyone and everything’s lives around him improve as well. 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.” To begin, King Melchizedek tries to become better, and in return Santiago becomes better.

Some people are filled with an insatiable desire to learn. In “Anthem” by Ayn Rand, the main character, Equality 7-2521, wants nothing more than to study the Science of Things and become a Scholar. Although this is forbidden for a Street Sweeper like him, he does research in isolation. He wants to join the Scholars because he is intelligent, inquisitive, and always driven to learn about the way things around him work.

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, the king teaches Santiago an important lesson. Next, the Englishman tells about a fear he once had. Last, Santiago learns another important

Because of the alchemist telling him this, he knows his Personal Legend and continues to work for it. Out of the many challenges people face in life, some still just give up instead of persevering. The Alchemist, however, shows that people should never give up, but instead fight through bad situations to complete their goals. Others may think we are just suffering when we persevere, but “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” (Coelho 134).

Throughout this course’s exploration of traditional alchemy, immense attention was paid to the more well known european-mediterranean alchemical tradition and has elected to overlook other settings in which traditional alchemy thrived and originated from such as China or India. One of the core principles discussed in this class was that of exoteric alchemy which focuses on the natural and physical aspects of alchemy, such as the transmutation of metals such as other metals to gold, and the attainment of perfection for human health. Were these goals aligned with those of the chinese alchemists? In which ways do the traditions of european-mediterranean alchemy and the traditions of chinese alchemy differ?

“There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure,” cautions Paulo Coelho in The Alchemist. Everyone has dreams but not everyone dares to make them come true. One of my dreams is I want to study abroad and experience other cultures. Applying KGSP scholarship is my first step to achieve my dream. In my quest for a suitable graduate program, I was thrilled to learn that Food and Nutrition Department at Yonsei University offers a graduate curriculum that match my need.

When someone tries too hard to protect another person, they often end up hurting them more than they help. In Fahrenheit 451 the government tries to protect the people from too much knowledge which allows them to control the opinion and thoughts of everyone. While, in some ways this control benefits people, it also takes away from their humanity in ways that outweigh the good that comes from it. The high suicide and violence rates in the society, that are indirectly caused by the control of knowledge, show further evidence that keeping knowledge from people has more negative effects than positive. In Fahrenheit 451, the people are protected from too much knowledge, which makes them superficially happy, but also limits their humanity and causes

“It says here that Dee was born in 1527… That would make him nearly 500 years old….” (pg. 29). (Nick Fleming says):“My real name is Nicholas Flamel. I was born in France, 1330.

The Alchemist is a famous book written by Paulo Coelho. It’s about a shepherd named Santiago who travels from his homeland Spain to the Pyramids in Egypt. He does this to find a treasure he was told about. Along his hard journey, he meets some people along the way like a gypsy woman and a king in disguise who all direct him towards his quest. He doesn’t let the obstacles stop him toward his goal and eventually he finds his treasure.

Santiago's experience by Paulo Coelho reflects a coming of age story in the following ways: the main character learns that mistakes are possible, he also learns about love, he meets many new people that influence his coming of age, and he learns to accept and learn others’ views. After reading the alchemist by Paulo Coelho it is clear that Santiago comes of age in important ways/aspects of his personality. These include: His growth in intelligence, his emotions towards others, and his faith. A coming of age story focuses on the protagonist of the story becoming an adult from usually a teenager. In a coming of age story you see the main character face many problems and resolutions in their journey.

Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear. As this anonymous quote elucidates, fear acts as a barrier that essentially traps us in our comfort zone, limiting our experiences and holds one back from achieving his or her potential. In The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, the protagonist must overcome his own fear through obstacles that he comes across as fear diverts one from their purpose. To begin with, Santiago displays his fears throughout the book, and these fears are what hinders him from achieving his Personal Legend. Santiago displays an immense terror of failure.

In life a single event can dramatically change a person forever but how they survive is what matters the most. In Night by Elie Wiesel and The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, two character named Elie and Santiago are placed in life altering situations where they have to figure out how to persevere. Night is a dramatic book that recounts the reprehensible treatment that Elie had to live though during the Holocaust. Elie has to endure deplorable conditions in a Nazi concentration camp and learn to survive. He has to choose to separate himself from his experiences and still have hope. In contrast, The Alchemist is a hopeful book where Santiago goes on a journey and discovers new ideas and hidden treasures.

Alchemy is an early form of chemical technology which explores the nature of substances. It had developed such an amazing language of emblematic symbolism which was then used to explore the world. It had a very strong philosophical basis, though many alchemists did incorporate religious metaphors and spiritual matters into their alchemical ideas. Alchemy originated in Egypt, where the word Khem was being used as a reference to the fertility of the area around the Nile river. The Egyptian belief of life after death and the mummification procedures developed most likely gave rise to the rudimentary chemical knowledge and goal of achieving immortality.

The alchemist did that for a specific reason. The boy always had asked the alchemist to show him his skills and teach him, but the alchemist was waiting for the best moment to explain his abilities to the boy. They got caught by the other tribesmen who thought they were spies. They did not believe him that they were only travelers. He took the boy’s money and gave it to their chief, but he knew that’s no enough.

While practices of alchemy may only comprehend to individuals as a mythical practice, alchemy is alive and well in our modern communities today. Whether we admit it or not, some of our hobbies, professions, and even infrastructure encompass the idea of alchemy. Alchemy gained notoriety in Europe and soon became a “forbidden practice” as some deemed alchemy as a means to power and wealth. In Faust, Mephistopheles references alchemy as a metaphor to help the kingdom’s financial problems but to no avail. The transformation of an item into its perfect form also gives meaning to Faust’s journey for transcendence.