Huffman 1
Mikayla Huffman
Klass
English 9 Honors
9 June 2015
Interpretation of the Symbolism of Alchemy in The Alchemist
Everyone has the ability to become something more in life than what they start out as, much like the transition from lead to gold. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho contains an example of this, in how the protagonist, Santiago (a shepherd boy from a region of Spain called Andalusia) attempts to accomplish his personal legend. The leading symbol behind this book is alchemy, which is symbolic for the journey Santiago experiences on his path to his destiny (traveling to the Pyramids of Egypt and discovering a great treasure). In his voyage across the desert, he meets an Englishman who introduces him to the idea of alchemy, and …show more content…
The alchemist makes an offer that if Santiago can turn himself into the wind within three days, then the clan leader must let them go. The clan leader accepts. On the final day, Santiago uses the Universal Language to speak with the desert, the wind, and then the sun. They have no idea how to turn Santiago into the wind, and the sun directs Santiago to speak with the hand that wrote all, God: “...the boy understood that the desert, the wind, and the sun were also trying to understand the signs written by the hand, and were seeking to follow their paths, and to understand what had been written on a single emerald.” (152) This is a direct connection between the desert, wind, and sun’s paths on their personal journeys to self-understanding and alchemy. They are alchemists like Santiago, in that they are also searching for themselves and their reason for creation. Santiago soon discovers himself while searching the soul of the world: “The boy reached through to the Soul of the World, and saw that it was a part of the Soul of God. And he saw that the Soul of God was his own soul. And that he, a boy, could perform miracles.” (152) Free of impurities, Santiago now joins in communion with all of nature and discovers that he has the power to shape his own destiny, thus letting him evolve into something higher, much like the transformation lead undergoes in
Mikayla Huffman
Klass
English 9 Honors
9 June 2015
Interpretation of the Symbolism of Alchemy in The Alchemist
Everyone has the ability to become something more in life than what they start out as, much like the transition from lead to gold. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho contains an example of this, in how the protagonist, Santiago (a shepherd boy from a region of Spain called Andalusia) attempts to accomplish his personal legend. The leading symbol behind this book is alchemy, which is symbolic for the journey Santiago experiences on his path to his destiny (traveling to the Pyramids of Egypt and discovering a great treasure). In his voyage across the desert, he meets an Englishman who introduces him to the idea of alchemy, and …show more content…
The alchemist makes an offer that if Santiago can turn himself into the wind within three days, then the clan leader must let them go. The clan leader accepts. On the final day, Santiago uses the Universal Language to speak with the desert, the wind, and then the sun. They have no idea how to turn Santiago into the wind, and the sun directs Santiago to speak with the hand that wrote all, God: “...the boy understood that the desert, the wind, and the sun were also trying to understand the signs written by the hand, and were seeking to follow their paths, and to understand what had been written on a single emerald.” (152) This is a direct connection between the desert, wind, and sun’s paths on their personal journeys to self-understanding and alchemy. They are alchemists like Santiago, in that they are also searching for themselves and their reason for creation. Santiago soon discovers himself while searching the soul of the world: “The boy reached through to the Soul of the World, and saw that it was a part of the Soul of God. And he saw that the Soul of God was his own soul. And that he, a boy, could perform miracles.” (152) Free of impurities, Santiago now joins in communion with all of nature and discovers that he has the power to shape his own destiny, thus letting him evolve into something higher, much like the transformation lead undergoes in