Situational Irony In The Alchemist

The novel ‘The Alchemist’ written by author Paulo Coelho explores the idea that techniques help the audience to experience a discovery through the text. ‘The Alchemist’ delves into the journey of a young shepherd boy, Santiago, and his belief in powers of fortune and nature. He demonstrated the emotional and mental strife people have been facing every day in order to achieve a discovery. Coelho talks about the simple things in life that appealed to Santiago, but his mentality forced him to seek more then what the eye could see. He developed a new sense of adversity and resilience which fulfilled his dream and allowed him to achieve self-discovery. He accomplished this as he moved past innocence and gained experience, enhancing his ability to …show more content…
The irony used in ‘The Alchemist’ is when Santiago travelled all the way to the Egyptian pyramids from Spain because a dream told him there was treasure there. But when he got to the pyramids a man told him that the treasure was buried in Spain in a shack where the pastors slept, where Santiago originally had the dream. Coelho has used this Ironic Twist to show the audience the importance of following ones ambition to lead to a new discovery. “What you still need to know is this: before a dream is realized, the Soul of the World tests everything that was learned along the way. It does this not because it is evil, but so that we can, in addition to realizing our dreams, master the lessons we’ve learned as we’ve moved toward that dream.” Even though the trip was a disaster, without it Santiago would never have found the treasure, never met the love of his life and never would have seen the pyramids. So this journey in turn made Santiago discover something new about himself and enhanced his own personal happiness. This is exactly what Coelho is trying to get his audience to