In The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, a young boy named Santiago experiences many lessons from various “teachers” he encounters throughout his journey to find the treasure he dreams of. The old man who turns out to be the King of Salem is one of his first advisors. The king taught Santiago that “the secret to happiness is to see all of the marvels of the world …”, which is why he made the boy take a tricky test with oil in a spoon so he could realize the difference between unnecessary focus that would distract him from the ‘marvels of the world’, and releasing and receiving; giving him the opportunity to experience them. After Santiago shares his original insight, ”If someone isn 't what others want them to be, the others become angry. Everyone …show more content…
Although the sheep had been traveling with the young boy before the beginning of the journey, Santiago begins to truly take notice of the importance in the lessons he learned from his flock. “There had been a time when he thought that his sheep could teach him everything he needed to know about the world. But they could never have taught him Arabic.” He noticed and realized the dependence he had on his sheep and then found how much he could learn with outside involvement and contact.“There are probably other things in the world that the sheep can 't teach me, thought the boy as he regarded the old merchant. All they ever do, really, is look for food and water. And maybe it wasn 't that they were teaching me, but that I was learning from them.” Santiago then learns to live on without his sheep and decides to sell them to truly develop his own independence. Lastly, the boy encountered the alchemist. The alchemist educated Santiago with the development of confidence to be strong to himself and follow his own heart and dreams,"Drink and enjoy yourself," said the alchemist, noticing that the boy was feeling happier. "Rest well tonight, as if you were a warrior preparing for combat. Remember that wherever your heart is, there you will find your treasure. You 've got to find the treasure, so that everything you have learned along the way can