The Alchemist By Paulo Coelho

The Alchemist
By Paulo Coelho

The novel tells the tale of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who has the courage to follow his dream.

The boy had the same dream twice, which pushed him to seek a meaning of his dream. He dreamed that he was with his sheep, when a child approached him, held his hand, and transported him to the Egyptian pyramids. The child showed the boy a specific place in the pyramids. He also informed the boy that he will find a treasure in that place. The boy went to a gypsy woman in the town and told her about his dream to explain it to him. The old woman conveyed that dreams are spiritual language. She said “If the dreams were spoken in people’s language, I can interpret an explanation. However, if the dreams were spoken in the language of your soul, then it is only you who can understand what they mean”.

Santiago gets the chance to meet different faces, and observe a number of interesting places. At the beginning of his journey, Santiago meets an old man who says that he is a king. The king tells Santiago: "when you really want something to happen, the whole universe conspires so that your wish comes true". This is the focal point of the novel's philosophy and Coelho’s approach in delivering his advice to the world.

Paulo Coelho implies that those who don’t have the courage to follow their dreams are destined in misery and fear. He suggests that every person must get in touch with their inner voice and find their mission on earth. No human was created without a specific mission. Never stop trying to achieve your mission and your dream. Never stop having faith in God, the creator of the universe. Coelho says “Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the fear 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 God and eternity.” Coelho tells people what they want to hear, and what the wish to hear. He confronts them with a harsh truth; that the turn their back to their own dreams because of fear of failure. Fear of failure seems to be the greatest obstacle to happiness.

However, by the end of the novel, he discovers that "treasure lies where your heart belongs", and that the treasure was the journey itself, the discoveries he made, and the wisdom he acquired.

In the desert, Santiago meets his soul-mate and discovers that love is the core of existence. We learn that when we love, we always try to develop ourselves, and that's when everything is possible. Santiago tells Fatima, his soul-mate: “I love you because the whole universe conspired for me to come close to you."

The symbolism of the text is a corresponding element to the symbolic language of alchemism, and equally to the symbolism of dreams.Anyone can easily relate to “the Alchemist”, because we can all identify with Santiago. All of us have dreams, goals, and major focuses in our lives. We are all desperate to find somebody, who does not kill us with his/her, negative remarks about our dreams. We want to meet somebody who tells us that our dreams are possible to achieve as long as we believe in ourselves.

Paulo Coelho is a genius who combines philosophy, and simplicity of meaning in an elegant style, that adults or adolescents can enjoy effortlessly.