Similarities Between The Odyssey And The Alchemist

Follow Your Dreams ft. Odysseus and Santiago

Every kid has a dream, it could be being an astronaut, winning an Olympic gold medal, or being in the NBA. But as they grow up, they find it more difficult to achieve their dreams, due to things like school or work. Although there are those few individuals who accomplish their dream, the majority decide to just give up. The Alchemist, an epic narrative published in 1988 by Paulo Coelho, and an older epic poem, The Odyssey, composed in 800 B.C. by Homer, both demonstrate the idea that people should follow their dreams and never give up on them. Odysseus, the epic hero in The Odyssey, dreams about coming home to his wife who can also be looked at as his treasure. In The Alchemist, it's similar in the

Odysseus, the main character in The Odyssey, spends 20 years away from home. He dreams about going home but halfway through his journey, his crew gets killed by a lightning bolt and “Odysseus alone survives. He eventually drifts to Ogygia, the home of Calypso, who keeps him on her island for seven years” (Homer 12.212-213). His crew was loyal to him and had been through many things together. Losing the men he’d formed a brotherly bond with must've been very horrendous, but even through that heart breaking loss, Odysseus still continues to follow his dream of getting home. He shows people that even through devastating situations, people should still follow their dreams. He also shows this when he finally comes home, and is close to his wife, but is only separated from her by the suitors invading his home. When he plans to fight the suitors, “Telemachus lets Odysseus know that they face more than 100 suitors. Odysseus tells Telemachus to return home. He will follow...and Telemachus must pretend not to know him” (Homer 16.108-110). Again, against overwhelming odds, Odysseus pursues his dream. 100 people is a whole lot of people to fight, but Odysseus doesn’t let that come between him and his wife who is his true treasure. He still continues to follow his dream even when he is faced with a challenge which seems impossible. Homer uses Odysseus’s

During Santiago's journey in The Alchemist, he is told where his treasure is and encouraged to go find it. Many people are telling him to follow his dreams and find his treasure by saying things like, “...people are capable at any time in their lives, of doing what they dream of” (Coelho 23). Coelho is saying that people can, at any time, follow their dreams. This is presented through Santiago’s discoveries. The epic hero is just an ordinary boy, which shows that anyone is capable of following their dreams at any time through the lessons a regular person is being taught. But The Odyssey presents this through the long journey Odysseus undertakes. It suggests that although one can follow one’s dreams whenever, it will take some time because “for seven of the ten years Odysseus has spent wandering the Mediterranean Sea, he has been held captive by the goddess Calypso on her island” (Homer 5.1-2). Seven years is 2555 days or 31620 hours. To anyone of any age, this is a lot of time to be waiting on an island just dying to get home. But even after all that time, Odysseus still tries to follow his dream to get home. He might be discouraged by all that time waiting on an island, but in that seven years he never loses sight of home. Giving up is definitely not an option for him. People can follow their dreams anytime