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Migration In The Alchemist

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As Ban Ki Moon once stated; “Migration is an expression of the human aspiration for a better future.” All migration accomplished by mankind has followed a consistent pattern of looking for a better living. In Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist, we can see this similarity.
Migration is greatly influenced by geography. Human Geography is the study of the interaction between human beings and their surrounding environment. Such an instance was Hurricane Katrina, which forced the residents of New Orleans to migrate to economically-stable areas. The infrastructural-stability was a pull factor while the natural disaster was a push factor. Likewise, in The Alchemist, the camel driver relays to Santiago a similar tragedy. He explained of a natural disaster that made “the land (...) ruined”, and to earn a living “[he became] a camel driver” (Coelho 76).
Sustainability has aided many journeys. However, history has shown the consequences of defying it. The Dust Bowl occurred because farmers plowed up sod across the high plains when precipitation was high. This resulted in dust storms that tore across the plains-- causing mass migration. Similarly, Santiago and the caravan’s journey through the desert show many implications of sustainability. When the nights were bitter, “the travelers arranged the animals in a circle at night, sleeping together in the center” …show more content…

The hero’s journey is a search for one’s destiny. This is seen in the text as maktub, which is Arabic for ‘it is written’, or destined. Maktub is an example of an allegory, because it can be interpreted to have a hidden meaning. The author is implying through his allegory that one should embrace the future. The author describes the result as the accomplishment of one’s personal legend. The personal legend is a motif, or a distinctive theme, that defines one’s journey. It explains why Santiago embarked upon his trek towards his treasure at the

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For farming families of the Southern Plains, the plight of the Great Depression was made all the more harrowing by the onset of the Dust Bowl, as readers of The Grapes of Wrath will remember well. But, for environmental historian Donald Worster, the twin calamities of the Depression and the Dust Bowl were no unlucky coincidence. " My argument," Worster declares, "is that there was a in fact a close link between the Dust Bowl and the Depression -- that the same society produced them both, and for similar reasons. Both events revealed fundamental weaknesses in the traditional culture of America, the one in ecological terms, the other in economic.

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1 The comparison allows people now to look back on the dust bowl and see how just one force, such as climate can go on to create mistreatment and an impoverished life for workers. Through the connection of this article in addition to Harvest Gypsies we can prevent such events noted from happening

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During the Dust Bowl some people made the decision to stay at their farms. Huge drifts of dirt piled up on homesteaders’ doors, came in the cracks of windows and came down from the ceilings. Barnyards and pastures were buried in dirt. After about 850 million tons of topsoil was blown away in 1935 alone. The government responded to this by saying “Unless something is done, the western plains will be as arid as the Arabian desert.”

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The journey often consists of many different stages involving the ordinary world is the background of the heroes and describes the personal history of the character or the Life, Light, Conscious world symbolizing the stability of each character. The next step of the cycle is the call to Adventure which may begin when outside forces cause increased pressures it may rise up from deep within the character and the hero must begin facing the new changes to himself both mentally and spiritually. Next, the hero’s may refuse the call to be the hero feels the fear of the unknown and tries to turn away from the journey but for only a small amount of time, which may express the unexpected dangers and uncertainty lying ahead of him. Then, the meeting with the mentor/guide is someone with previous

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The Dust Bowl is a classic tale of humans pushing too hard against nature and nature pushing back (The Dust Bowl). The narrator of the film said it was the worst man-made ecological disaster in American history (The Dust Bowl). The groups of people that choose to live in this region choose to ignore the history of the land that included droughts and severe winters. Ignoring the severe winters of the 1880’s caused the “Beef Bonanza” to close and a severe drought in the 1890’s that pushed farmers off the land. Farmers ignored the ecosystem by ridding the land of the vegetation that had evolved.

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OVERARCHING THEMES Though The Odyssey and Paradise Lost are penned during completely separate time periods–with a span of roughly nine centuries between the writing of each–the two works still share many similar themes and subject matters. Some are more vital components for the genre in general, necessary for a piece of literature to be considered an epic; others remain less conspicuous, though with just as great an impact on the overall story. Heroism and the Hero’s Journey: One of the most defining elements of an epic work is the presence of the Hero’s Journey, also known as the monomyth. Introduced by Joseph Campbell, the Hero’s Journey describes the typical narrative pattern that accompanies many forms of storytelling, most commonly and most easily seen in classical literature.

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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.

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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).

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It was a heartbreaking period enduring from 1930 to 1939, was portrayed by blinding dust storm. Accordingly, the Dust bowl was the natural and human catastrophe which was encouraged by human exercises, to be specific wrong strategies for cultivating. In the meantime, the fiasco uncovered the significance of soil preservation and urged American ranchers to utilize earth neighborly methods of cultivating which counteracted soil erosion. In a long-run viewpoint, the Dustbowl can be seen as the notice to individuals concerned about the need to keep the negative effect of human exercises on nature to dodge natural disasters.

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Because the Great plains’ climate is easily predictable, Scientists can predict that there will be droughts every 20 years. “I wonder if in the next 500 years - or the next 1000, there will be summers when rain will fall…”(Hartwell). Hartwell illustrates how the Dust Bowl is remembered as a terrible meteorological phenomenon. After one of the worst droughts in history, America found ways to learn from their mistakes and had a much more prosperous future. Even in today’s society, the effects of the Dust Bowl are still prevalent.

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Ultimately Santiago has developed his identity through the soul of the world and alchemy and has achieved his personal legend

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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.”

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He thought it’s waste of time and money. Later in the novel, the man who beats Santiago does not believe his own dream, but when he describes his dream to Santiago, Santiago recognizes it as an omen telling him where to find the treasure (Coelho 167). Thus, it’s the person loss as he ignored dream. The importance of actual, sleeping dreams parallels the importance of personal, symbolic dreams as embodied by Personal Legends. Thus, dreams require backbreaking work and determination to sacrifice anything to make it come true.

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