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Omens And Dreams In The Alchemist

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The Significance of Omens and Dreams in “The Alchemist” Omens and dreams support “The Alchemist’s” theme of connection in the world and fate. The specific theme that omens and dreams support is plainly identified as the “Soul of the World,” and dreams and omens contribute to this theme. The interactions between Santiago and the crystal merchant where Santiago realizes his destiny, Santiago’s shepherding times in which he learns the Language of the World, and meeting the Alchemist himself and uncovering the true mystery of the power within. The thematic significance of dreams themselves begin early in the book. Santiago visits a Gypsy dream interpreter and falls asleep. In a dream, Santiago is playing in a field with sheep. …show more content…

Characters, events, and even animals all serve as different omens. For example, the character of the crystal merchant is an omen of what is to come if the “Personal Legend” is give up on. Santiago had given up on his dream and had seemingly resolved to shepherd again after seeing the great expense to cross the desert. The Crystal Merchant had given up on his own Personal Legend, feeling as if it is impossible to achieve. Santiago is then detoured at the Crystal Merchant’s shop, and, suddenly, two new customers come in.The Crystal Merchant hires Santiago for his shop, as he believes Santiago will bring good fortune to his business. With Santiago’s help, the Crystal Merchant’s business grows, and he realizes Santiago himself is a good omen. With this in mind, the Crystal Man pushes Santiago to pursue his Personal Legend and, in turn, Santiago encourages the …show more content…

Urim and Thummim, one white stone and one yellow stone, symbolized fate. A question might be asked and, depending on the color of the rock, the answer might be yes (white) or no (black). Santiago resolves not to rely on them in regards to achieving his Personal Legend until, after being robbed, he tests them. Santiago first asks if he has the old man’s blessing and pulls out the “yes” stone. Santiago then asks: “Will I find my treasure?” But, then, as soon as Santiago moves to retrieve one stone or the other, both stones fall through a hole in his pocket. Santiago believes this to mean his own decisions will influence his success in following his Personal Legend. This omen symbolizes how fate influences the journey of a person, but still cannot take the action for the person themself. The stones represent fate, and Santiago must make the right decisions to find his treasure and achieve his Personal

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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.

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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.

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With the help of the crystal merchant, the alchemist, and the king of Salem, Santiago shows that a person must take control of his or her life to achieve success. To begin, the crystal merchant is the first to contribute to his personal Legend. When Santiago is robbed in the marketplace in Tangier, he loses

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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.

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We should try to follow our omens because they lead us to our personal legends. 55. When Santiago didn’t find the treasure at the pyramids, what told him where his treasure lay? One of his attackers at the pyramids told him where his treasure was.

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The clock is black because black symbolizes death, which can mean that the clock could also mean one’s time left until death. The next example is Prince Prospero; his name representing prosperity. By hiding in his abbey and building iron gates, he symbolizes human desire to escape death. As he tries to hide from death, it is ironic that death walks undetected into his abbey that was so heavily guarded. The final example of

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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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