He decided to venture to Tarifa, and visit the old woman who interpreted dreams. She isn’t of much help to him in understanding what his dream means, she tells him what he already knows. Before she interprets his dream for him she makes Santiago swear that he will pay her one-tenth of his treasure. She then advises him to follow his dreams and go to the pyramids of Egypt and there he will find his treasure. She teaches him that “dreams are the language of god” (Coelho 12), and he uses this principle throughout his journey, by believing and following his dreams and trusting that his dreams are a message from god with hidden meanings. She also teaches him to appreciate the simple things in life, for they are the most extraordinary. Farther into his journey, Santiago becomes more appreciative of the world around him, and becomes at one with the elements as he learned to speak the language of the …show more content…
At first Santiago found this man irritable as he continued to pester him as he was reading his book. The King of Salem, disguised as an old man, begins to tell Santiago about his opinion of his book, describing it as the same thing as almost every other book in the world, saying “It describes people's inability to choose their own Personal Legends. And it ends up saying the world's greatest lie” (Coelho 18). Intrigued by what he has to say, Santiago urges him to continue and reveal the “world’s greatest lie”, and the old man proceeds to tell him “It’s this: that a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what's happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate. That’s the world’s greatest lie” (18). The old man explained that he was here to help Santiago succeed in discovering and achieving his Personal Legend. The most significant lesson that the King of Salem taught Santiago was “When you want something, the entire universe conspires in helping you to achieve it” (22). Here he teaches him to never lose hope or stop believing, to persevere because only he is the controller of his own destiny. He also helped influence Santiago to pursue his journey; although it meant giving up everything he had now, for a chance to fulfill his unknown destiny. He also teaches him how to read the Soul of the World by understanding signs and omens. He inspired him to follow his dreams, prompting him