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The Alchemist By Paulo Coelho

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Sometimes, we come across significant events in our lives that challenge our morals, making us forget our intended goal. In The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, Santiago values the present and what it is that it can hold. He often says he likes to live a transient lifestyle and left a past life to live out his dream. In the beginning, Santiago often listens to his sheep, herding them and living in the moment. He believes that you should live how you want and not dwell on the future. “Because I don’t live in either my past or my future. I’m interested only in the present. If you can concentrate always on the present, you’ll be a happy man.” (Pg 88-89) His main moral here is to embrace to present. During his travels, he learns about a girl, known
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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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375 Words | 2 Pages

While people come in all shapes in sizes, underneath it all we are still flesh and blood. Even if people have a different skin color or orientation we are all humans living on this earth. This idea, no this fact was really driven home to me when I was traveling with my family around the world. We met people in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Ecuador and though they looked and talked different they had the same needs, concerns and wants. I found a quote by Santiago, a boy in The Alchemist, written by Paulo Coelho that really explains this better than I ever could, “I have inside me the winds, the deserts, the oceans, the stars, and everything in the universe.

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711 Words | 3 Pages

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.

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532 Words | 3 Pages

The Importance of Perseverance At many times in people’s lives, they consider giving up. This is also true for Santiago, the protagonist in Paulo Coelho's fantasy novel The Alchemist. Santiago is on a journey to find a hidden treasure he saw in a dream. Along this journey he continues to contemplate whether he should just give up, or continue his adventure.

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1033 Words | 5 Pages

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.

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511 Words | 3 Pages

All individuals have the power to define their own fate if they pursue their dreams, persevere, and have self-confidence. In The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho, the protagonist, Santiago, is a humble shepherd boy. His parents urged him to study to enter priesthood but he had always longed to travel (10). He makes the decision to stop studying in seminary and instead becomes a shepherd.

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582 Words | 3 Pages

He believes that if one does not take the time to look around and appreciate the simple things in life, life becomes a monotonous cycle of being told what to do and complying. When I apply this wisdom to my life, I realize that it is the simple sounds of nature that go unappreciated because I am too busy running from one activity to the next. This is an important discovery for me because I find myself more keenly aware of life’s wonders when I am completely

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883 Words | 4 Pages

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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613 Words | 3 Pages

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.

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247 Words | 1 Pages

Everyone suffers in different ways but once we suffer for so long we will eventually learn our lessons to why it was happening to us. We learn our lessons because we finally open our eyes to see what is actually going on and we make the change. In the Alchemist by Paulo Coelho the Alchemist states “master the lessons we have learned as we have moved toward the dream”(page 132). Basically he is saying that we have to be aware of our suffering in order to move on in life. There are benefits to suffering.

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701 Words | 3 Pages

Santiago then tells the alchemist: “My heart is a traitor. It doesn’t want me to go on.” The alchemist replied with a smart answer and said “That makes sense. Naturally, it’s afraid that, in pursuing your dream, you might lose everything you’ve won.” A fear of uncertainty is what Santiago is feeling and he worries he’ll lose everything he’s accomplished so far.

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267 Words | 2 Pages

After reading The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho my life was radically transformed. My frame of reference expanded and my desire to not only travel but to listen to myself blossomed. The Alchemist journals about the travel of Santiago, a humble shepherd who resides in Spain and journeys far to Egypt with much adversity. His adventure was so astounding to me due to its origin in a dream read by a gypsy. I divulged heavily into his odyssey seeing symbols during each turn.

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1383 Words | 6 Pages

In September 2016, while my life was in the least optimal state for taking the LSAT, I started my preparations for the December exam. A friend who knew the hardships I was experiencing thought a book he had recently read, Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist, would put these hardships in perspective for me and sent the book as a gift. It centers on a young man, Santiago, who discovers his life goal, or “Personal Legend,” as it is known in the book. As Santiago is about to stray from his goal, he has a reoccurring dream regarding treasure that awaits him and encounters “omens” to pursue this vision. This leads the young man on an adventure to Egypt to find his treasure.

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540 Words | 3 Pages

During the whole story Santiago is trying to find his personal legend, he is trying to find his purpose in life. Therefore in the Alchemist, the most important thing is personal legend. Everything is based off Santiago’s personal legend, if he wouldn’t of became a shepherd the book wouldn’t be all about him following his personal legend and trying to figure out what his was. Santiago has to figure out a bunch of new things that lend his to his personal

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682 Words | 3 Pages

The victim of having a son that ignores his father’s advice. He shows vulnerability at his child’s hand, especially when he employs so much of his time writing letters to his son. Showing that he is a caring father without a single intention of acting as dictator. This allows his son to have a more forgiving outlook on his father and believing his father’s words. Words that state, “I do not mean to dictate as a parent: I only mean to advice as a friend.”

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