“The Alchemist” teaches readers something about the importance of self-discovery by taking us through the journey of a young shepherd, Santiago. The book espouses individuality as a means of achieving the ultimate goals of creation. Additionally, Paulo Coelho is expedient in telling Santiago's peregrination of selfhood through symbolism and metaphor.
Initially, Coelho portrays Santiago's gain of self-knowledge with the use of allegory. When the author says, "The desert is a capricious lady, and sometimes she drives men crazy," (Coelho 38) he is saying how tricky the desert can be. The desert is an emblem of hardships and stipulates an arduous journey that people must undertake to achieve what they want. Santiago learns from the alchemist that …show more content…
An excerpt from "The Alchemist" reads: "When someone makes a decision, he is really diving into a strong current that will carry him to places he had never dreamed of when he first made the decision" (Coelho 37). The importance of Santiago's courageousness is crucial to the story. The entire novel revolves around Santiago's choices, which continuously bring the next step to completing his Personal Legend into his path. In essence, the journey would not have taken place if Santiago had not endured the indispensable hardships that inevitably followed his endeavors. Each of his actions has brought him to a new realization of his potential. In continuation, Coelho presents Santiago's journey of selfhood through using metaphors that compare his destiny to the history of the world. For instance, "We are afraid of losing what we have, whether it is our life or our possessions and property. However, this fear evaporates when we understand that our life stories and the history of the world were written by the same hand" (Coelho 41). Fear acts as the most prevalent impediment Santiago faces on his trek. More specifically, he fears giving up what he has already earned. At first, Paulo Coelho shows Santiago being tempted to quit his expedition yet, towards the end he begins to act more audaciously. Ironically, Santiago earns even greater rewards each time he deserts his fears and gives up his possessions. The sentiment voiced in the quotation embodies the view that a person should have no reason to fear anything if they recognize that they play a role in something greater than their own life. This realization does not prevent a person from suffering tragedies, but if the individual acknowledges that their tragedy serves a higher purpose, they have no reason to fear any loss. This insight becomes important to Santiago as he faces challenges later in the book, considering that he learned to stop fearing
Initially, Coelho portrays Santiago's gain of self-knowledge with the use of allegory. When the author says, "The desert is a capricious lady, and sometimes she drives men crazy," (Coelho 38) he is saying how tricky the desert can be. The desert is an emblem of hardships and stipulates an arduous journey that people must undertake to achieve what they want. Santiago learns from the alchemist that …show more content…
An excerpt from "The Alchemist" reads: "When someone makes a decision, he is really diving into a strong current that will carry him to places he had never dreamed of when he first made the decision" (Coelho 37). The importance of Santiago's courageousness is crucial to the story. The entire novel revolves around Santiago's choices, which continuously bring the next step to completing his Personal Legend into his path. In essence, the journey would not have taken place if Santiago had not endured the indispensable hardships that inevitably followed his endeavors. Each of his actions has brought him to a new realization of his potential. In continuation, Coelho presents Santiago's journey of selfhood through using metaphors that compare his destiny to the history of the world. For instance, "We are afraid of losing what we have, whether it is our life or our possessions and property. However, this fear evaporates when we understand that our life stories and the history of the world were written by the same hand" (Coelho 41). Fear acts as the most prevalent impediment Santiago faces on his trek. More specifically, he fears giving up what he has already earned. At first, Paulo Coelho shows Santiago being tempted to quit his expedition yet, towards the end he begins to act more audaciously. Ironically, Santiago earns even greater rewards each time he deserts his fears and gives up his possessions. The sentiment voiced in the quotation embodies the view that a person should have no reason to fear anything if they recognize that they play a role in something greater than their own life. This realization does not prevent a person from suffering tragedies, but if the individual acknowledges that their tragedy serves a higher purpose, they have no reason to fear any loss. This insight becomes important to Santiago as he faces challenges later in the book, considering that he learned to stop fearing