In Andalusia, Spain, a shepherd boy named Santiago, decides to sleep in an abandoned church that has no roof; however, it has a sycamore tree growing from within. Besides from his only company being a herd of sheep, Santiago's only belongings is a jacket and one book, which he often uses as a pillow. The next morning, he begins his journey to the village where he plans on selling his sheep’s wool. Stopping briefly in Tarifa, Santiago visits a fortune-teller for help in interpreting a dream that he has been having on a daily basis. He tells the fortune-teller that in his dream, he is in a field with his sheep when a child appears. The child takes Santiago’s hands and transports him to the Egyptian pyramids, telling him along the way that there …show more content…
The fortune-teller advises him to travel to the pyramids to find this treasure. After talking to the fortune-teller ,Santiago decides to read his book. While reading his book, Santiago meets an old man, professing to be Melchizedek, the king of Salem. The king encourages Santiago to seek his Personal Legend, and he explains that when a person wants something, that desire arises from the Soul of the World. Melchizedek tells Santiago that the treasure he is looking for is near the Egyptian pyramids and that he will have to follow the omens to find it. The old man gives him two stones, Urim and Thummim, to consult in case he has trouble interpreting on decisions to make. Santiago sells his flock and travels through Tangier, Africa, where he is robbed out of his money. Outraged he asks the two stones if he will ever be able to find the treasure. In reply, the stones fall out of the pouch onto the earth. Santiago interprets this as a positive sign, reaffirming his faith. Resuming his travel, he happens upon a crystal shop where he asked the owner if he could work there, so that he can have shelter and money for …show more content…
As he picks up the two stones he remembers about the omens and why he had stopped to help out at the shop. So that night he made his mind that he will continue his journey to find his Personal Legend. In the morning as he says his goodbyes to the shopkeeper and explains why he has to go, the shopkeeper tells him something very important. The shopkeeper tells him, “Maktub.” Then Santiago asked, “What does that mean?” The shopkeeper told him, “You would have to been born an Arab to understand, but in your language it would be something like ‘It is written.’ ” As the shopkeeper leaves, Santiago thinks of what the shopkeeper just said and also a way to cross the egyptian desert. When he thought of the way to transport himself to Egypt, he put the plan into motion. His plan was to go with the caravan of people heading that way. On his trip he met an Englishman not that much difference in age from him ;furthermore, learned that he wanted to meet an alchemist and also become one. Santiago also talked a lot with the camel drivers and became good acquaintance with
Next, Santiago has a vision that will help the tribesmen. Finally, Santiago talks to the forces of nature leaving two people smiling. To begin, King Melchizedek tries to become better, and in return Santiago becomes better. For example, when Santiago was talking to Melchizedek in
Santiago's epiphany leads to him pushing forward and finishing his journey of achieving his ultimate treasure of hope and
Santiago’s last step to completing his personal legend was walking through the desert, to find his treasure and completing it. Thus, showing the symbols and meanings behind these little puzzle pieces in the journey and being rewarded with love and treasure helping to support my thesis, through seeing and understanding symbols behind the world people can learn about their own personal legend and live life to the
1. Santiago’s parents wanted their son to become a priest. To them, this was a way to bring pride to a simple family of farmers. They worked hard for the boy’s well being and he received a great education. Unfortunately, Santiago’s pursuit in life was to travel.
While at the Oasis of Al-Fayoum, the elder chieftain of the oasis tells Santiago the story of Joseph of Egypt. Joseph was enslaved for being a dreamer, but he persevered and managed to become an important counselor to the Pharaoh of Egypt. This Personal Legend could have suited Santiago because of his connection to the Soul of the World. The Soul of the World is a spiritual unity that binds all forms of nature together. Santiago knew he wanted to follow his dreams; it was helpful when he learned that “When you want something, all the universe conspires to help you achieve it” because he knew he was now destined to complete his goal, and not somebody else’s (Coelho 64).
“‘We are afraid of losing what we have, whether it’s our life or our possessions and property.’” solemnly states the camel driver (Coelho 79). During the seemingly endless journey through the desert, Santiago has no choice but to talk to those around him and listen to the stories they have to share. As the shepherd travels around the world for the purpose of reaching the destination, he meets many people with different pasts who can teach lessons of the world around him. “‘I love you because the entire universe conspired to help me find you’” romantically states Santiago to Fatima, the woman he fell in love at first sight with(Coelho 126).
All of these people and objects helped guide Santiago through his journey to get to the pyramids. When Santiago first meets the King of Salem, he is inspiring Santiago to pursue his personal legend. The King says, “In order to find the treasure, you will have to follow the omens. God has prepared a path for everyone to follow.
Along Santiago's path to discover his personal legend, he allows himself to free his mind of all doubt or skepticism he feels surrounding himself and the universe. At his lowest point, Santiago was left contemplating his life choices when an old man approached him in Tarifa. The old man, who claimed to be the king of Salem, began a productive discussion with Santiago where he detailed various topics such as omens and one's personal legend. Finding the teachings to be of some value, Santiago decides to not give up on his personal legend and go on a journey to find his treasure. The teachings of the wise old man transformed Santiago into a determined and persistent character who eventually adopts the language of the world in order to discover his treasure.
Furthermore, Santiago is realizing that there is a new way to evolve the shop to make more money. To conclude, Santiago is receiving advice that will assist him to pursue his personal legend. First, Santiago gains advice from the wise old king. For instance, while the king is giving Santiago wisdom about pursuing personal legend he realizes that the universe is helping him change to find his treasure.
When the alchemist presented Santiago with the choice to stay at the oasis, or leave and achieve his personal legend, Santiago struggled to find the correct answer. The alchemist let Santiago know that if he stayed in the oasis, for the first year his marriage would be great and so would his marriage. Over time Santiago and Fatima would drift apart, and he would loose his job. But on the other hand, if he decided to voyage into the desert in seek of finding his personal legend he worried that he might loose Fatima. He thought, "...
When Santiago got robbed, he worked at a crystal merchant’s shop. And after a while, he earned money to save up for sheep and money to travel to the pyramids. “ ‘ I’m leaving today, … I have the money to buy my sheep back… Will you give me your blessing?’ ‘You have helped me… I am proud of you. You bought a new feeling into my crystal shop.’
Santiago had the same dream underneath the tree of finding treasure at the Pyramids of Egypt, he travels a long journey and finally arrives. When Santiago diggs for the treasure two men approach him and beat him sharing that they too had a dream of finding treasure in an abandoned building under a sycamore tree. Santiago then fled back to Spain and returned to where it all began only to discover that all along the treasure was beneath the tree. Santiago had the same dream underneath the tree, finding treasure at the Pyramids of Egypt, he travels a long journey and finally arrives. When Santiago diggs for the treasure two men approach him and beat
Santiago has an epiphany when he realizes that if you never change and take risks you will never move forward. He wants to find his “personal legend,” or true desire, and to obtain this he needs to change his own nature. He must be willing to give up whatever is necessary to achieve this goal, including freedom. On Santiago’s journey he becomes employed by a crystal merchant that never achieved his personal legend. The merchant resisted change and never accomplished his dreams.
Even Though there was three different people who helped santiago find his personal legend, he had to go find it to fill complete. The king helped him first by explaining what a personal legend is. He tells Santiago about good and bad omens and says that it is the shepherd boy's duty to pursue his Personal Legend. Melchizedek then gives Santiago two stones, Urim and Thummim, with which to
On Santiago's journey to find his hidden treasure he learned many things but also met many new people. Including Fatima, the girl he fell in love with. The story begins with Santiago falling for the merchant's daughter. He tries to impress her by telling her all his stories, but she is then forgotten when Santiago leaves to follow his dream.