The Alchemist is an allegory novel that was written by Paulo Coelho and first published in 1988. This book was originally written in Portuguese but was later translated into 71 languages. The Alchemist is about an andalusian young shepherd boy called Santiago Santiago. It tells of Santiago’s journey through countries in search of his personal legend in order to satisfy his life. It also explains the hardships he encountered on his journey on the way and how he solves these problems. Santiago chose to be a shepherd because he loved travelling and he could only reach his goal and pursue his dreams by travelling. Coelho shows Santiago’s determination and how he pursues his dreams of getting the hidden treasures he dreamt of in the Egyptian pyramid. The book shows how he got help from Melchizedec and the Alchemy. "When you really want something to happen, the whole universe conspires so that your wish comes true”. These were words of Melchizedec to Santiago so as not to give up.
The most powerfully conveyed theme in The Alchemist is the theme of trying to find one’s destiny by pursuing one’s personal legend. Santiago had a dream of hidden treasures in the Egyptian pyramids and finding the treasures was his personal legend. The theme of finding one’s destiny is conveyed throughout the novel by the protagonist Santiago. Santiago’s main focus was to find his destiny which he believed was in the Egyptian pyramids he had dreamt of and nothing could have stopped him because he seriously believed in his dream. In pursuit for his personal legend, he even defied his parents’ wish of becoming a priest just to pursue his dreams. Santiago never gave up on following his dream despite the hardships he encountered on the way he took risks as long as he finds his personal legend. Coelho explains this when he says “were in danger of being crushed against ship by the pressure of the water” (Coelho 74) but Santiago continued pursuing his dream of finding the treasures.
The theme of personal legend is also seen where Santiago has to leave the flocks and Fatima so as to pursue his dreams. The flock was the only thing he got but he had to sell them and part ways with them so as to be free to pursue his destiny. Even though he loved Fatima, he had to leave her behind because he felt that she might be a hindrance for him finding his destiny. Santiago could not find happiness in Fatima the woman he loved because his happiness was focused in finding his destiny which was finding the hidden treasure then other things would follow. He had to leave her after the alchemy described to him that "true love is love that allows you to reach your personal legend" and Fatima allowed him to pursue his personal legend. The alchemy also advised him to listen to his heart and pursue his persona legend first then come back for Fatima. “Listen to your heart. It knows all things, because it came from the Soul of the World, and it will one day return there” (Coelho 98)
In The Alchemist, the theme of personal legend is also conveyed by the alchemy which is the central symbol in the book. The alchemy has to coax metal in order to achieve its personal legend of turning into gold ( Coelho 113). If one does not live in pursuit of their individual dreams, they will end up regretting since they will not be able to reach their personal legend. This is clearly shown by the crystal merchant whose personal legend was to visit Mecca and Tarifa Bakers who was to travel but they never pursued their dreams. They are later seen regretting why they gave up because they cannot get the wealth the earth offers to those who followed their personal legends.
When we connect this book’s theme with culture, traditionally, dreams were valued and people were told to follow on what they dream and make them come true. In the world today, people do not take dreams serious but they pursue their personal dreams in order to achieve their personal legend. At the end of the story, Santiago becomes successful because he discovered, pursued and achieved his personal legend and if he did not follow his personal legend then he could not have found the treasure.
Works Cited
Coelho, Paulo. The Alchemist. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 2005. Print.
