Dara Alanis Danielle Stindle English 10 block 1 March 6, 2023 Thesis: The alchemist was the person with the biggest influence in Santigo’s life during his personal legend. The Alchemist helped and added challenges to Santiago's journey so that he could improve himself. Santiago learned about alchemy during his whole path and applied it also. The Alchemist is also really important in the story because of his help. We know that if he wasn’t there, Santiago would not accomplish his personal legend. Many examples are the one to Santiago's heart. If the Alchemist wasn't there to tell him to listen to his heart Santiago probably could have given up. Also if the Old king wasn't there, he would never have the aspiration to pursue his personal legend. …show more content…
When Santiago was with the Alchemist in regard to his personal legend, he told him that he was at the end of his journey, and that Santiago just needed to learn one more thing. However, just because he was in the desert, he would learn it through his journey and not as an Alchemist in a laboratory. The Alchemist was with Santiago for a big amount of time during his path, and helped him to overcome every circumstance telling him that, “Everything you need to know you have learned through your journey” (129). Meaning that Santiago is searching for his personal legend, and that to be found, Santigo has to put his effort into it. During all that process Santiago had found love and learned thanks to his mentor, the Alchemist, and his
Santiago, our hero from The Alchemist has three main mentors: The gypsy, the king, and the Crystal merchant. They all contribute to him and his journey in different ways. The gypsy gave him the first push he needed to find
According to The Alchemist: A Psychological Approach Aziz states “Even faced by the threat of his own life by men beating him thinking he has more gold than what is in his pockets, he believes in his personal legend and overcomes his fear that he may not find it. Ironically, it is his perseverance that allows him to discover that his actual treasure is located at his home in Andalusia”(Aziz 26). Moreover, Santiago deals with the last obstacle of his dream and handles overcoming the fear of failure. To conclude, fear brought down Santiago at the last stop of his Personal Legend but comes out of his fear
The Alchemist Santiago has many mentors along the way during his journey. He had the alchemist, the crystal merchant, and his own sheep. The alchemist helped Santiago turn himself into the wind. Turning Santiago into the wind saved his life, he was being held captive and when he turned into the wind he was able to escape from the people holding him captive.
Both of them were able to see the world with new eyes and that change is good. “..I know the things I should be able to accomplish, and I don’t want to do so.” They know what they are capable of doing but choose not to do it because they don’t want to deal with all the work they need to put into it. As with Santiago he has enough money to go back home but chooses to not give up and continue his journey despite having to sell his sheep and getting robbed. The “death” Santiago had to experience was when the alchemist had told him that if he cannot turn himself into the wind he will be killed.
When the details of a characters’ identity are disclosed to us within a novel or short story, the author is allowing us to establish a relationship with that character. In the novel The Alchemist, few details about Santiagos life are known. Although, we do know that he currently lives in Andalusia: “The shepherd told her of the Andalusian countryside, and related the news from other towns where he had stopped. ”(Coelho, 2) It is implied at the beginning of the story that his profession is that of a shepherd: “He saw to it that all the sheep entered the ruined gate, and then laid some planks across it to prevent the flock from wandering away during the night. ”(Coelho, 1) It is also evident throughout this novel that he is incredibly responsible.
The Importance of Perseverance At many times in people’s lives, they consider giving up. This is also true for Santiago, the protagonist in Paulo Coelho's fantasy novel The Alchemist. Santiago is on a journey to find a hidden treasure he saw in a dream. Along this journey he continues to contemplate whether he should just give up, or continue his adventure.
The Alchemist says that Santiago will “spend the rest of [his] days knowing that [he] didn’t pursue [his] Personal legend, and that now it’s too late” (120). In this line, the Alchemist encourages Santiago to continue to pursue his Personal Legend, instead of giving it up for what he has now. This also informs Santiago that time is limited. If he chooses to abandon his Personal Legend, he will spend the rest of his days like the crystal merchant, pondering what it would be like to fulfill his Personal Legend. The Alchemist explains that the process of pursuing his Personal Legend is more important than any dream that he wants to fulfill.
Santiago was in fear that there wasn’t a war coming and that he might die. Later in the book Santiago was asked to turn himself into the wind. The Alchemist said “He is going to transform himself into the wind, just to demonstrate his powers. If he can’t do so we humbly offer you our lives, for the honor of your tribe” (Coelho 144)
Santiago then tells the alchemist: “My heart is a traitor. It doesn’t want me to go on.” The alchemist replied with a smart answer and said “That makes sense. Naturally, it’s afraid that, in pursuing your dream, you might lose everything you’ve won.” A fear of uncertainty is what Santiago is feeling and he worries he’ll lose everything he’s accomplished so far.
The Alchemist wants Santiago to understand that all of God's creations took the same care and effort to make, so through studying anything, be it as small as a grain of rice or as large as the vast ocean, Santiago will be able to understand the beauty of creation. This is not unknown to Santiago, as his whole journey, he has looked to animals or inanimate objects to guide him, and foster growth in his knowledge of omens and magic. Throughout Santiago's journey he has learned how to speak the universal language and understand the soul of the world by observing - observing everything, be it a grain of sand or the entire medina. Early on in his journey Santiago remarked that he "usually ... learn[ed] more from [his] sheep than from books", as
Ultimately Santiago has developed his identity through the soul of the world and alchemy and has achieved his personal legend
In the book the Alchemist (by Paulo Coelho) Santiago learns many things along the way to achieving his personal legend. He gained skills and experience in things across the board, from how to clean crystals, to the 5 obligations of Muslims, to the basics of alchemy. Santiago learns from the wise, and educated, but also learns the meaning of a true friendship. Overall it is true that reaching one 's personal legend is life 's greatest treasure, but often the journey is just as valuable.
This is illuminated when the Alchemist says, “‘There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure’” (141). This particular moment shows that even though Santiago has both the ability and the knowledge to achieve his dream, it is impossible to attain it if he fears even attempting to reach it. Consequently, this fear acts as his enemy and a barrier that stands in the way of the meaningful and happy life he is destined to accomplish. Furthermore, another one of his fears is the fear of losing what he believes he has already earned. ” He reminded himself that he had been a shepherd and that he could be a shepherd again.
During the whole story Santiago is trying to find his personal legend, he is trying to find his purpose in life. Therefore in the Alchemist, the most important thing is personal legend. Everything is based off Santiago’s personal legend, if he wouldn’t of became a shepherd the book wouldn’t be all about him following his personal legend and trying to figure out what his was. Santiago has to figure out a bunch of new things that lend his to his personal
It was another omen, so he began to dig in the spot (160-161). If it were not for God and his path he set for Santiago, Santiago would have never met, seen, or found the things he does. Through Muslim beliefs and the beliefs during Santiago's journey, the only God, Allah, has a great impact on the book. Although many religions have an impact on The Alchemist, Islam has the greatest effect.