The Alchemist is a story of a shepherd boy, Santiago, who has a dream that there is a treasure in Egypt. The story follows the boy's journey to find the treasure. The author, Paulo Coelho uses many settings including an abandoned church, Tangier, a crystal shop, the desert and the pyramids to explore the theme that being persistent and not giving up you will discover that where your heart is where you will find you treasure.
In the first part of the novel, Santiago is sleeping in an abandoned church with his sheep. He decided to become a shepherd so that he could travel and "know the world." He has a dream that there is treasure in Egypt. He sells his sheep to buy a ticket to Africa. When he arrives in Tangier he meets a boy that says that he can take him to the pyramids. But he is fooled and left with no money. "he wept because God was unfair,
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Santiago is being tested, will he continue to follow is dream of finding his treasure. "As he mused about these things, he realizes the he had to choose between thinking of himself as the poor victim of a thief and as an adventurer in quest of his treasure." He chooses to be an adventurer looking for his treasure.
In the second part of the novel, Santiago encounters several new places including the crystal shop, the desert, the pyramids and again the abandoned church. The crystal shop is a place where Santiago decides to work, he thinks, to make enough money to buy sheep and return to his old way of life. But he soon discovers that the crystal shop is teaching him about the Soul of the World. "The language of enthusiasm, of things accomplished with love and purpose,