Based on the number of copies each book sold in past 50 years, “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho is the fifth most read book in the world (Polland, 2012). "The Alchemist" received worldwide attention. The book is mainly about the journey of a guy named Santiago who is trying to achieve his personal legend which is what people have always wanted to accomplish (Coelho 1998, pg.22). In the book, Santiago faced many difficulties and fear of failure, but Santiago was able to overcome those hardships. Just like Santiago, people nowadays face many hardships or fear of failure that prevent them from achieving their own dreams. However, by reading how Santiago overcome his own difficulties, one can gain courage to overcome his or her own adversity. "The …show more content…
Firstly, "The Alchemist" should be a required reading for all future students before graduation since it allows one to think about one 's own personal legend. All the people in the world have their own personal legend which is what people have always wanted to accomplish. Some might already know what their personal legends are, but there are still many students who do not even know what they really want. Our modern culture leads us to focus on money, and people try to achieve or do something in order to gain wealth. Thus, they do not know what they really want to achieve or do. In "The Alchemist", there is a quote saying that "They were seeking the treasure of their Personal Legend, without wanting actually to live out the Personal Legend (Coelho,pg88).” Before reading "The Alchemist", I also had a dream which is to be a doctor. The reason that I wanted to be a doctor was because I can earn much money by being a doctor. Since I focus too much on money, I don 't really know what I sincerely want to be. After reading "The Alchemist", I decided not to focus too much on wealth and try to find my own personal legend. Consequently, students should be required to read "The Alchemist" since they can think about their own personal …show more content…
Furthermore, "The Alchemist" should be a mendatory book for students to read because it allows one to focus on the present moment. Today, many students concern or worry about their past and future, and they don 't focus on the present moment. However, worrying about past or present does not change one 's life, it will just make them suffer. “The secret is here in the present. If you pay attention to the present, you can improve upon it. And, if you improve on the present, what comes later will also be better (Coelho, pg74)." According to "The Alchemist", if one pay attention to the present and improve upon it, one 's life can also get much better. If students who are worrying about the university or their future career focus on present moment, their future will also get better. Therefore, "The Alchemist" should be a required reading for all future students before graduation since it allows one to focus on the present
Initially, the purpose of this quote is to show that when a person realizes something they long for, their soul awakes from past or current events in the universe. The Alchemist showed a very wide range of point of views about life, and for that reason I recommend this book 100% as a guide for the soul and pursuing ones dreams rather than a book for a
Nothing prevented me from continuing to enjoy the pleasure of reading, save for a few bad books I’ve had to read for school. Having read The Alchemist, I realize that I have many inner resources that I could use to continue my “journey”, specifically, searching out more books to
In contrast, The Alchemist provides hopeful insights when Santiago goes on a journey and discovers new ideas and hidden treasures. He discovers that playing it safe proves more dangerous to his freedom than taking risks. When placed in a life and death situation, Santiago learns that the Soul of the World is shared by everything. In both of these books, the characters have traumatic experiences that eventually create epiphanies that provide hope and
Paulo Coelho, the author of The Alchemist tells the story of Santiago a Shepard whose life changes once he finds out about a treasure from his frequent dreams and meets a strange man who helps him to start his personal legend. On Santiago’s journey he starts to see the hidden meanings behind daily life creating the thesis that through seeing and understanding symbols behind the world people can learn about their own personal legend and live life to the fullest. Santiago’s life starts out all about his sheep, he chose to be a shepherd, so he could travel and meet new people. Santiago’s job is to take care of the sheep, but the sheep have more meaning in the story. The sheep represent how he is comfortable in his life and how he is questioning his frequent dream, to sacrifice his comfortable life to find this treasure or to continue without taking the risk.
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).
Paulo Coehlo’s, The Alchemist, explores the Hero’s Journey through the story of a shepherd, Santiago. Throughout the novel, Santiago becomes more aware of his potential as he pursues his Personal Legend. He faces temptations and obstacles as he develops as a character. The hero crosses the threshold when they leave their old reality in search for a new one. Santiago crosses the threshold by selling his sheep and taking a boat to Africa.
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.
Many people may not know much in the way of their identity. The challenges can help people learn about themselves through the actions they take and what they can achieve in the face of adversity. Learning about your identity is represented quite well by Santiago in Paulo Coelho’s fantasy novel The Alchemist. The the start of the story Santiago is lost with no goal in life and has little knowledge of what it outside of the plains and towns of Spain. Then Santiago is faced with massive amounts of adversity in the form of a threat of death he learn about his identity and learns that he can face and overcome the challenge.
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.
Through talks of Abraham and the Quran, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho has an overlying theme of religion. The book follows the life of shepherd named Santiago and his journey throughout life as he wants to travel around the world, where he meets many people that give him advice on his journey. Like the prologue Narcissus story, The Alchemist itself has a message that is concentrating on oneself can unite a person to nature and the spiritual world. Only through single-mindedly attempting to reach his Personal Legend does Santiago learn the mysteries of the Soul of the World, for instance. Throughout the book, Santiago must put his attention first repeatedly, as when he decides to be a shepherd preferably than a priest and when he leaves the haven to continue on his journey.
A personal legend is not just the result found at the end of Santiago's life. It’s more than simply reaching final destination. Santiago personal legend is achieved when he completes what he is doing. “It’s true that everything has it’s personal legend ,but one day that personal legend will be realized ,so each thing has to transform itself into something better ,and to acquire a new personal legend, until someday, the soul of the world becomes one only thing.”
Before finding his treasure, he must be courageous and clever to survive the desert and the danger that he encounters. This courage enables him to reach the treasure and fulfill his Personal Legend. The determination Santiago exhibits is what allows him to earn his fortune and decide his
Santiago is a young boy who yearns for adventure and purpose in his life.from a young age he knows he wants to see the world and becomes a shepherd to experience new places. Santiago still struggles to find meaning and purpose throughout his many years of travel though. It's not until he goes on the journey to follow his personal legend that he truly develops as a character. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, challenges readers to acknowledge their self-worth and realize they are strongest when they love themselves.
In the Islamic faith they believe that there is no one greater than Allah. This idea has greatly impacted Paulo Coelho’s novel The Alchemist. The main character, Santiago, goes all over Northern Africa in search of his personal legend, or his life goal. On his journey, Santiago must face many challenges and get in touch with the soul of the world; everything is connected. Santiago runs into many Islamic traditions and people and these things help him along his way.