“… Dreams are the language of God. When he speaks our language, I can interpret what he has said. But if he speaks in the language of the soul, it is only you who can understand,” wrote Paulo Coelho. Omens are events that hold great prophetic power, and in the case of Santiago, can change one’s life. Fatima, Santiago’s sheep, and Urim and Thummim are omens and are symbols that project the story of The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho forward by shaping a theme of “some risks are worth taking”.
In the first half of the novel, the sheep embodied what was keeping Santiago in his position as a shepherd. The sheep were presumptuous to Santiago and he had to sell them to be broken out of routine. “People say strange things, the boy thought. Sometimes …show more content…
For example, “when you are unable to read the omens, they will help you to do so. Always ask an objective question.” Santiago could pull a stone from the pouch after asking an equitable question and the stone that was emitted from the pouch would answer his question. When Santiago was trying to acquire more money to get himself to the pyramids, he had lost most of his attention that he once had on omens. Furthermore, “As he took his jacket out of the pouch, thinking to give it to someone in the street, the two stones fell to the floor. Urim and Thummim. It made the boy think of the old king, and it startled him to realize how long it had been since he had thought of him. For nearly a year, he had been working incessantly, thinking only of putting aside enough money so that he could return to Spain with pride.” Because of his ability to recognize omens in a way he couldn’t before, he had knowledge and catalyst to get himself his treasure, then back home with dignity. On the other hand, Fatima connotes Santiago’s need for his Personal Legend. ‘“The desert takes our men from us, and they don't always return," she said. "We know that, and we are used to it. Those who don't return become a part of the clouds, a part of the animals that hide in the ravines and of the water that comes from the earth. They become a part of everything . . . they become the
In the first half of the novel, the sheep embodied what was keeping Santiago in his position as a shepherd. The sheep were presumptuous to Santiago and he had to sell them to be broken out of routine. “People say strange things, the boy thought. Sometimes …show more content…
For example, “when you are unable to read the omens, they will help you to do so. Always ask an objective question.” Santiago could pull a stone from the pouch after asking an equitable question and the stone that was emitted from the pouch would answer his question. When Santiago was trying to acquire more money to get himself to the pyramids, he had lost most of his attention that he once had on omens. Furthermore, “As he took his jacket out of the pouch, thinking to give it to someone in the street, the two stones fell to the floor. Urim and Thummim. It made the boy think of the old king, and it startled him to realize how long it had been since he had thought of him. For nearly a year, he had been working incessantly, thinking only of putting aside enough money so that he could return to Spain with pride.” Because of his ability to recognize omens in a way he couldn’t before, he had knowledge and catalyst to get himself his treasure, then back home with dignity. On the other hand, Fatima connotes Santiago’s need for his Personal Legend. ‘“The desert takes our men from us, and they don't always return," she said. "We know that, and we are used to it. Those who don't return become a part of the clouds, a part of the animals that hide in the ravines and of the water that comes from the earth. They become a part of everything . . . they become the