Santiago’s life lesson in The Alchemist Throughout the novel it is proven that one has to lose something precious in order to gain something priceless. This central idea is shown many times throughout The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho with the literary element characterization. Throughout the book, Santiago has to accept and embrace change. He faces problems where it would be easiest for him to walk away, however he makes the decision to work through them. One time this was shown was when Santiago was told by the King of Salem to complete his personal journey but first he would have to leave his life as a shepherd behind. Instances like these caused Santiago to be torn on what was the right thing to do. However, each time he managed to keep his …show more content…
At this point Santiago knew that he had met the love of his life and Fatima felt the same. However deep down he knew that meeting her was not supposed to be the last thing he did. He knew that he still had to complete his Personal legend. Fatima explains to him that she is a part of his Personal Legend as the omens led him to her; however, she is not the only part. She explains to him that she is proud to be a desert woman and will wait for him to return after he completes his personal legend. No matter how long he takes, her love will never change for him. Santiago then turns to the alchemist for his recommendation and he reassures him that, “Love never keeps a man from pursuing his Personal Legend. If he abandons that pursuit it's because it wasn't true love” (Coelho 126). Santiago, reassured that his love for Fatima is true love, makes the tough decision to continue on with his journey. He says goodbye to Fatima and continues on through the desert. Along the way he would run into trouble yet would walk away unharmed. Eventually he found out that his real treasure is where his heart is. He goes back to the Sycamore tree where he once was with his sheep, discovers his treasure and returns to Fatima. There was a chance that he would be killed and she would never see him again however as he got to know the desert, things worked in his favor until he found his treasure and achieved his personal legend. This shows characterization because Santiago was met with possibly the hardest decision of his life. This time his life was on the line if he continued his journey and the safe option would have been for him to just stay with Fatima. However, he accepted that that was not his destiny and continued on with his journey with Fatimas
“…when something is written, there is no way to change it…” and “Why did you read the flight of the birds” “I read only what the birds wanted to tell me…” These quotes teach Santiago that he needs to trust the signs given to him by the desert. In other words, the universe and the Alchemist are all working together to test Santiago and if he is confident in the belief that all things are connected he will trust the knowledge that is imparted to him. It is clear that the Characters of Melchizedek, the Christal Merchant, Fatima and the Alchemist all play a vital role in the story of the Alchemist by developing that theme that all things are connected. They have been in a sense placed in the path of Santiago to set him on his journey, to show him why he must pursue his personal legend, to develop trust in the Soul of the World and to teach him the final lesson he needs to realize his personal legend.
They had a difficult time convincing their wives that they had to go off into distant fields.” (Coelho 101). The temptation of staying with Fatima in the Al-Fayoum oasis creates an internal conflict within Santiago as he must decide between pursuing his Personal Legend and fulfilling his life’s potential or staying with Fatima in the Al-Fayoum oasis. Through his displays of devotion and loyalty, it is evident that he is hesitant to leave Fatima and all that she represents because he thinks that once he leaves, he might never be able to be with her again. Santiago's interactions with Fatima are vital to his journey as they allow him to reconsider and ultimately devote himself back to his hero’s journey, this time with another goal in mind: to return back to Fatima.
When Santiago was with the Alchemist in regard to his personal legend, he told him that he was at the end of his journey, and that Santiago just needed to learn one more thing. However, just because he was in the desert, he would learn it through his journey and not as an Alchemist in a laboratory. The Alchemist was with Santiago for a big amount of time during his path, and helped him to overcome every circumstance telling him that, “Everything you need to know you have learned through your journey” (129). Meaning that Santiago is searching for his personal legend, and that to be found, Santigo has to put his effort into it. During all that process Santiago had found love and learned thanks to his mentor, the Alchemist, and his
How Santiago overcame: After meeting with the alchemist he learns true love never keeps a man from pursuing his destiny. So if Fatima and Santiago share true love like he claims, she will be waiting for him to return from the pyramids. How Santiago overcame: After meeting with the alchemist he learns true love never keeps a man from pursuing his destiny. So if Fatima and Santiago share true love like he claims, she will be waiting for him to return from the pyramids.
The quote shows the theme of Personal Legend well because Santiago was so close to just giving up his Personal Legend many times, but he followed the omens and continued on his journey. If he would not have realized his personal legend and been courageous, Santiago would have never traveled or found his treasure. Santiago’s personal legend is a very important one in the book, but
When the Alchemist and Santiago are having a conversation on following one’s heart, the Alchemist states, “You will never be able to escape from your heart. So it’s better to listen to what it has to say. That way, you’ll never have to fear an unanticipated blow” (129). What the Alchemist
By continuing he finds his true inner strength. In the story, the author shows the importance of perseverance, and how to face the many obstacles that people are presented in their lives to complete their goal. In Coelho's novel, Santiago faces many difficult challenges, but because of his courage and perseverance, he is able to face them head on. While in the town of Tarifa, Santiago meets
Santiago wouldn’t have obtained his treasure if it wasn’t for the people he met along the way. One importan man he met was the alchemist who spoke on love and how it impacted lives. He spoke of how love completed our lives and santiago was in love. He met a desert girl in the oasis named fatima. While fatima had become a part of santiagos life she wouldnt stop him from reaching his treasure.
Fatima was a major factor to Santiago during his journey to search for his personal legend. Fatima was a beautiful Arab girl that lives at the oasis. Santiago first encounters Fatima when she was filling her water jug at one of the oasis’s wells and he immediately falls in love with her. Fatima is a support characters, she supports Santiago in everything he does, even thought it will take Santiago away from her. “ If I am really a part of your dream, you'll come back one day” (Coelho 291)
Everyone, knows what their Personal Legend is when they are young, “ He also adds that "when you want or love something, the whole or the entire universe unite in helping you to achieve it". Santiago then met an Englishman, along the way and continues his travel with him. They pass through the Sahara desert and during his journey, Santiago met a beautiful Arabian woman named Fatima and fell in love with her. He asks her to marry him, but she says she will only marry him after he finds his treasures. He is confused by this, but later he learns that true love will not stop one's Personal
Her treasure to him was spirituality, not money. He now had a purpose in life after finding his treasure. He started to worry about less of the material treasure and more of his surroundings, like taking a scenic route through life. The story’s ending came when Santiago got to the pyramids.
Fatima was more important than his treasure” (95). Santiago is willing to drop everything
A personal legend is not just the result found at the end of Santiago's life. It’s more than simply reaching final destination. Santiago personal legend is achieved when he completes what he is doing. “It’s true that everything has it’s personal legend ,but one day that personal legend will be realized ,so each thing has to transform itself into something better ,and to acquire a new personal legend, until someday, the soul of the world becomes one only thing.”
I think the author designed the character, Santiago, to prove that everybody, even a shepherd, could have unique experiences as he aspires and takes actions. Throughout the story, I observed the obstacles that the shepherd goes through to acquire the treasure that is Maktub- means written in Arabic. That’s why the novel taught me: “When you want something, the entire universe conspires in helping you to achieve
On Santiago's journey to find his hidden treasure he learned many things but also met many new people. Including Fatima, the girl he fell in love with. The story begins with Santiago falling for the merchant's daughter. He tries to impress her by telling her all his stories, but she is then forgotten when Santiago leaves to follow his dream.