Each dream or goal are unique to our identity, they guide us on what we want to go and what we want to be. Life is not easy and most of the time we have to go through difficult periods in our life but the most important we have to be strong, learn from each thing no matter if it is bad or good. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho is a story of a boy named Santiago, he is a shepherded who wants to follow his dreams, and achieve his personal legend in order to do it he will have to face many challenges along the way and many people help him in the direction of his quest. In the book of The Alchemist the young boy is going to learn important lessons that are necessary and important to survive in life, to determine who he is, how strong he will become, and to achieve his goals and this are of courage, belief in himself, and sometime he will have to sacrifice something or someone in order to achieve his dreams and his personal legend.
First, the King of Salem is the person who helped Santiago to realize his personal legend and where to find his treasure. The king of Salem gave the boy the two stones that will help him read the omens along the way but before that if he wanted to learn and know more about his treasure, he will have to give to the old man one-ten of his flock. That was difficult for Santiago because his flock was an important part of him and his flock always depend on him. The author states “the boy had to choose between his flock and his treasure. He had to choose between something he had become accustomed to and something he wanted to have” (Coelho 30). Santiago knew that there was nothing else worth stopping him from searching his treasure and achieve his personal legend. His flock, his family and all the other things were only steps in the path in order to achieve what would really make him happy which was to travel and follow his dreams. However, that was the first hard decision of a long way of obstacles, learning, decisions and lessons in different places with different people.
Once Santiago embarks on his quest, he will have to face numerous obstacles in Africa. When Santiago arrive in Tangier, he met a guy who will help him as a guide to get to the Egypt Pyramids but he was robbed of all his money, he felt very disappoint and scared because being in a strange place without any knowledge of the language was tough for him even though before he used to travel a lot this time was different he feel like a fool for being scammed. Santiago felt very melancholic and regretted of his journey. He trusted in the wrong people and he was vulnerable in a stranger land where he could not speak the language. But in spite of all the bad things that happened to him in Africa, he had to make decisions on what he would do next because what he decides on that will depend his future and what he wants to fulfill. Santiago overcame this obstacle and he learn to be more resistant and persistent despite how hard it is to achieve his dreams. He makes his choice of continuing in the pursue of his personal legend. Then, Santiago started to learn new things that he did not notice before and he stepped out of his comfort zone into new experiences.
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Santiago made a new friend the crystal merchant who given up in his dreams. His life is the result of a living in fear and not following his dreams. The crystal merchant was an important friend to Santiago because he gave him a job after he was robbed but despite the fact that he is a good person, his fears of did not pursuit his personal legend even after Santiago shows him the benefits and advantages of taking risks and make changes in life but he did not know how to deal with the changes and Santiago did not want to live like him always regret something, without realize his dreams and do what he loves. With the help of the merchant and his crystal store and the hard work of Santiago he had enough money to cross the desert, he learned Arabic since he thought it was difficult when he came to Africa, now his Arabic is very fluent. He was very confident to move on with his personal legend. Santiago knew that he could always go back to being a shepherd and have his flock but in life he will have only have one opportunity to find his treasure. Even though, he almost gives up on himself and what he believes in, he chose being an adventurer trying to follow his heart and never lose faith in his dreams.
In his journey to find his treasure he met the Englishman, a man that understands the importance of having a dream. Santiago and the Englishman share the obligation of pursue their personal legends. Santiago gradually becomes friend with a man who only is focus in his books and everything else is not important because at the end his books were not going to take him anywhere and he was not able to achieve his personal legend but Santiago learn the importance of friendship and experience along his journey. He was so locked up in his world that he did not risk experiencing and seeing different things other than his books and that had consequences because when he met the alchemist, he could not realize his personal legend which was to become an alchemist and be able to turn metal into gold. When he realizes that he was wrong he decided to take action and did the things that he always dreaded so much. The Englishman says “it was my fear of failure the first kept me from attempting the Master Work” (Coelho 102). Santiago saw how the fair of failure separates you from your dreams and he thought that it is important to follow what you really want does not if you fail you have to be strong and this can guide you to achieve your personal legend. Above all, Santiago learned important things during his journey and met people that will help him to find his treasure.
It is difficult sacrifice something you love to follow your dreams in this case Fatima is the girl that almost makes Santiago give up from his dreams and his personal legend, he falls for Fatima and he thought that is most important to stay at the oasis with the love of his life instead of find his treasure but she understand how important is for someone achieve your personal legend, she wanted that Santiago complete what he want and if he loves her he will come back. Fatima very sad believed in letting Santiago go to the pyramids in the pursue of his personal legend even though it means sacrifices their love. Santiago believed more in himself because the person he loves encourage him. He will soon reunite with she but with satisfaction of having his treasure and complete his personal legend. After that, Santiago left the oasis with a lot of melancholy but knowing that he had to fulfill his dream and have people who support you and understand the importance of achieving your goals is amazing.
The alchemist the man who helped Santiago to make his journey from the oasis to the pyramids where the boy has to overcome his fears in the wars of the desert and to turn himself into wind or he will be dead. Santiago faces an extreme challenge and the threat of death. Santiago and the alchemist are captured by a group of warriors in the desert and the alchemist convinced the soldiers that the boy is a powerful alchemist who can destroy their refuge and turn himself into wind but Santiago was terrified with the idea of dying and even more of not knowing how to transform himself into wind in three days. The alchemist says “if a person is living out his Personal Legend, he knows everything he needs to know. There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure” (Coelho 146). The alchemist taught Santiago to always listen to his heart, believe in himself is important no matter what will happen next because your heart is the impulse that one needs to do great things in life. Meanwhile, the alchemist leaves Santiago because he has to discover what destiny holds for him.
Every effort has its compensation. Santiago finally found his treasure in the least expected place. Santiago arrives at the Egyptian pyramids and he begins to dig but he did not find nothing there. Then, some thieves beat Santiago and steal the gold that the alchemist gave him when he showed him the Master Work that is basically turn metal into gold. One of them told Santiago about his own dream years before where he would find a big treasure in an abandoned church but the thieve would not cross the whole desert just because of a dream. Santiago goes back to Spain his homeland and he went to the place where he had the dream of his treasure for the first time and he started to dig and amazingly he found his treasure. The treasure was not the most important thing the treasure was more like all the things Santiago go through, all the experiences he has gained along his journey and all the things he learned, the effort, the tears, the sacrifices he had to make and go through in order to realize his dream and his personal legend. In other words, Santiago was not sure about his destiny would bring but he would strive every day to achieve no matter what challenges life puts on him. He will just not sit there and wait for dreams to fall; we all have to take risk the good things in life to achieve better things.
In conclusion, one important idea of the book is dreams, they are our goals and they are reason why we live and when we fulfill them, we feel fulfilled and happy with ourselves. Another idea is perseverance, it helps us to be able of working hard despite the obstacles that may exist and never give up in something we want. Also, pursue your dreams with all your heart don not let anyone or something defeat you on the path of your happiness, do not let the fear dictate your actions, fears only will make you stronger and more determined in what you want to do. The young boy learned to use and listen his heart, to overcome his fears and the obstacles. Also, he learned to focus on what is most important on his own journey and never be distracted by what is really worth or is important to you for things that will only be passing moment because later you will realize that you lost the most valuable thing you had. Life tests us multiple times and only your courage and strength will help you overcome all of that. Throughout our life we need dreams, goals or something that keeps and makes us feel alive. Everything that you do, everything that you came across, and each lesson learned is a part of destiny to accomplishment your dreams and be a better person and finally find the happiness.
Works Cited
- Coelho, Paulo. The Alchemist. HarperCollins Publishers.
