Almost every book, movie, and play follows a pattern consisting of The Twelve Steps of the Heroic Journey. These twelve steps enrich the text by drawing the reader into the script. Often, people live their lives in connection to these steps. In one way or another, someone will experience their own heroic journey. In novels, the Twelve Step Journey creates a rollercoaster of emotions for the reader. Even The Alchemist is influenced by this plot line. Paulo Coelho uses the plot to add emphasis and drama to his novel in relation to the life of Santiago, the main character of The Alchemist. The use of the Twelve steps divulges throughout Santiago’s journey itself. It draws a connection to his refusal, mentors, and resurrection. The Twelve Steps provide a clear example behind how Coelho shows the journey that Santiago went on, and the experiences that assisted in the development of his true self.
It’s always hard to accept something that seems impossible. It explains why it took Santiago so long to accept his Personal Legend. In society, people often think little of God and His abilities. Just like Santiago, one needs to trust the signs that are given to us. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5). God is always beside those who believe in him and always has their best interest at heart. Even when something may seem impossible, God will not forsake His children. People are told to trust the Lord and to not trust their own understanding. The perspective many have on life holds different standards from others. Even the most intelligent humans can not begin to understand the organization and sanctity of God’s plan. The old woman may have been a gypsy; in which, are known to lie, but she was telling to truth. In other words, if people trust in the Lord or omens, they will surely succeed.
The possibilities of finding treasure in an unlikely place are slim. So Santiago continues on as a shepherd and heads to meet the merchant’s daughter. “So the boy was disappointed; He decided that he would never again believe in dreams. He remembered that he had a number of things he had to take care of” (Coelho 15). Although, people should follow the paths God has laid out for them , it is hard to begin them when there are so many more responsibilities to worry about. Santiago had his sheep, a job and a girl to take care of. All of his liabilities were more valued to him than some treasure that might not even be real. “Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him. This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet: “Lord, who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere: “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, nor turn—and I would heal them.”
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Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him. Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved human praise more than praise from God” (John 12:37-43). When faith is put in the hands of God, life has the potential to become better. Reflecting back to the novel; if Santiago trusted the Omens when the Gypsy women first revealed them, his success might have came sooner. Santiago’s refusal to his personal legend provides a good connection to how people act towards God today.
No one can succeed in life without the help of others. Santiago had many people in his life guide him through short-team problems. Not only did he have a lot of mentors, but they each played an important role in guiding him along his Personal Legend. In The Alchemist, Santiago encountered many obstacles that postponed his personal legend. When the novel introduced readers to the Old Gypsy Woman, one may have learned that she was Santiago’s first mentor. The simple role of interpreting a dream, set him on the journey to find his treasure. Although Santiago had doubts about his experience with her, he unknowingly accepted his own fate. “And this is my interpretation: you must go to the pyramids in Egypt. I have never heard of them, but, if it was a child that showed them to you, they exist.
There you will find a treasure that will make you a rich man.” (Coelho 14). These words were so impossible in Santiago’s mind that he never wanted to believe in his dreams again. In this case her words were fact. He left with his sheep and headed toward town. Along his journey, Santiago relizes what the sheep have taught him. Although sheep may not seem very smart, they have a lot to teach. They taught Santiago one of the most important lessons he could learn. Through them, Santiago learned the language of the world. “QUOTE ABOUT SHEEP.” With this Santiago learned the language in which everything communicates through. Whether it’s people, animals, or even the desert. He used this to talk to the desert, wind, sun, and the hand that created everything. Then, he became the wind and saved not only his life, but the Alchemist’s. “The boy reached to the Soul of the World, and saw that is was his own soul. And that he, the boy, could perform miracles. The simum blew that day as if it had never blown before. For generations thereafter, the Arabs recounted the legend of a boy who had turned himself into the wind, almost destroying a military camp, in defiance of the most powerful cheif in the desert. When the simum ceased to blow, everyone looked to the place where the boy was standing next to a sand-covered sentinel, on the far side of the camp” (Coelho 153).
