The Alchemist

Paulo Coelho

Presentation byAnkur

Characters• Santiago – a Shepard in search of his destiny. Santiago’s

passion and ambition inspires him to see the world and follow his personal legend of discovering a treasure in Egypt. He gains wisdom throughout his travels and this wisdom allows him to understand the mysteries of the world.

• King Melchizedek – an old wise man who inspires Santiago to sell his sheep and pursue the treasure. Throughout the story he is a symbol of truth and his wisdom surprises and shocks people.

• The Alchemist – understands the language of the world and helps Santiago understand that all people are connected to the soul of the universe. He serves as a guide to Santiago. He has the ability to turn lead into gold.

The Alchemist: Theme

"Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second's encounter with God and with eternity."

This book has a central theme that if you do not follow your dreams then you will be wasting your life afraid of taking a chance, when you could be encountering an emotional, spiritual, and life changing experience.

Explication• “Lead will play its role

until the world has no further need for lead; and then lead will have to turn itself into gold”

• This passage symbolizes a person’s journey toward their future. The book’s theme is revealed in this passage: the world has no use for a person who does not follow their dreams, so in order to turn into gold (be the person they were meant to be), they must find their purpose and live their dreams.

Plot The story begins with a poor Andalusian shepherd boy

named Santiago tending his flock in the countryside. He stops for the night beneath a sycamore tree in the courtyard of an abandoned church and dreams of great treasure. Curious as to the meaning of his dream, Santiago and in search of a merchant’s daughter (who he had met years prior), Santiago enters the town of Tarfia where he meets a mysterious stranger, Melchizedek, who speaks to him of his dream and the location of the treasure. Melchizedek convinces the boy to embark upon a physical and spiritual journey in search of both self and financial reward.

PLOT….Hungry for adventure, Santiago sets out on a

journey from his homeland in Spain to the Egyptian pyramids (where Melchizedek suggests he will find his treasure). Along the way he encounters various forces which attempt to dissuade him from discovering his destined treasure. In Tangier he is robbed of the money he raised by selling his flock and, at the edge of despair, is forced into working at a crystal shop where he learns that everyone’s fate is written and that there is an unspoken Language of The World which he must learn to speak.

PLOT….After a lucrative year in the service of the

crystal Santiago must decide whether to return to Spain and purchase another flock of sheep or to return to fulfill what Coelho refers to as his ‘personal legend’- the journey towards his treasure. Deciding to continue his journey, Santiago joins a caravan that will take him across the desert. While in the caravan, Santiago meets an Englishman who is in search of the secret of alchemy. Santiago reads the Englishman’s books on alchemy and concludes that there is nothing to be learned.

Plot (con’t) In the middle of the desert, the caravan arrives at an oasis

where it is learned that it cannot proceed due to the danger of tribal wars. While at the oasis, Santiago falls in love with Fatima, a young desert girl and meets an old alchemist and he must choose between remaining with his love or strike out once more on his personal journey.

Convinced by the Alchemist, Santiago leaves the oasis for the dangers of the desert. After journeying a short way, Santiago and the alchemist are captured by one of the warring tribes. The alchemist attempts to convince their captors that Santiago possesses the power of the wind. Unconvinced, the captors demand demonstration and Santiago is forced, over a three day period, to learn to speak with the elements of the natural world and to harness their power. Santiago initiates a competition between the wind sun and sand that convinces his captors he has great powers and, afraid for their safety, allow Santiago and the alchemist to carry on with their journey.

Plot (con’t)Three hours from the pyramids, the alchemist vanishes and

Santiago continues on to the pyramids. Arriving at his goal, Santiago seeks to realize his treasure and begins to dig in the sand (after recognizing an omen that he is in the right spot). At the moment he discovers his treasure, Santiago is over come by thieves who steal what he has found and leave him for dead. However, as they are leaving, one of the thieves mentions a dream he has had of a treasure hidden under a sycamore tree by a church in the Andalusian countryside and Santiago realizes that his true treasure is at the location where he begun his journey, completing his cyclical transformation.

Santiago then travels back to the Spain where he finds his treasure and reflects upon the journey. Finally, as the breeze picks up, he is reminded of the oasis and Fatima, to whom he vows to return.

Prevalent Themes, Motifs & Issues

• Questing• Fate v. Free Will

• Love• Spiritual Enlightenment

• Personal Discovery• Omens/Dreams

• Personal Legends• Religion/Spirituality

• Language• Intuition

• Wisdom/Maturity• Mentoring

Fate v. Free Will• A key focus of the novel is how much of one’s life is

controlled by fate and how much is controlled by one’s self.

• As Melchizedek suggests, “at some point during our lives, we lose control of what’s happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate.”- this suggests that we have the power to control our lives, but that it is within the confines of fate.

• Further, Coelho suggests that fate conspires with free will to aid an individual as long as the individual is following their dreams-The concept of favorability

• This discussion may be augmented with philosophical concepts of free will like that of Boethius’ Consolation of Philosophy and would be sure to ignite classroom debate!

Love• What is the nature of love?• Coelho investigates the relationships

between humans and humans, humans and the natural world and humans and animals

• Familial love is compared with romantic love and self love which segue into discussions of love in other literary works

• This can be compared with Eleanor of Aquitaine’s court of courtly love and/or Andreas Capellaneus’ The Art of Courtly Love.

Spiritual Enlightenment• The search for the ‘personal legend’ is a

spiritual journey of self discovery• Santiago is in a spiritual crisis• There is a distinct discovery of ones nature,

limitations and beliefs• The language of the soul and soul of the owrld

have clear religious connotations as Santiago, in learning them, is able to perform miracles

• This is a good segue into a discussion of religion in literature while, at the same instance, being non-denominational as the ‘soul of the world’ is essentially the ‘light’ prominent in many of the world’s religions

Language• Coelho talks about the language of

the world• Language is key to understanding

within the context of the novel• There are many forms of language

employed: spoken language, language of the natural world, Esperanto

• Segue to issues of language and the transmission of language- see James Murphy resource

Omens & Dreams• Dreams precipitate and end action in the text-

they bookend the story and initiate discussion on the role of the subconscious mind

• Conscious self v. subconscious self. This could bring about the idea of the collective unconscious- Carl Jung

• Reading and interpreting omens is key within the text- omens move the plot along and foreshadow events

• Omens reveal Santiago’s fate within the text• Omens and dreams and the interpretation

thereof are important throughout literature in all ages

Teachable Lessons in The Alchemist• Importance of looking into the

roots and foundation of our lives• Voyaging outward to find the way

back home• Trusting our dreams even when it

seems they have slipped beyond our reach

Discussion Questions• A recurring theme throughout The Alchemist is the occurrence of fatalism

(The belief that "what will be will be”) in everyday life. What are your thoughts on fatalism? In any way do you agree with this quote from the book “‘To realize one's destiny is a person's only obligation,’ the old man tells him. ‘And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.’"

• Are omens really out there and are they important? What are omens? Are they just illusions that we see to justify something we feel or want to do, or are they something more?

The Alchemist

I believe this is a valuable choice read because it inspires and influences people to follow their dreams. This book explores the “pilgrimage that life should be” (M. Scott Peck). Understanding that the world will help a person toward their destiny if they trust in their dreams is the main theme in this book and is illustrated with symbolism and imagery.

THANKS !