“I’m an adventurer, looking for treasure.” (Coelho, 40) In The Alchemist, a young shepherd boy named Santiago leaves his beloved Andalusian countryside in search of his destiny. Santiago takes this courageous step after dreaming about a treasure buried by the Great Pyramids in Egypt. Throughout the journey, Santiago meets new people, learns new lessons, and finds new meaning to life. In the end, Santiago’s risk taking, spirituality, and open mindedness contribute to him achieving his destiny.
Santiago’s risk taking is what helps him begin his journey. When meeting with the dream interpreter, Santiago is unsure about whether he should let the woman interpret his dream, since it will most likely be useless and expensive. “But he decided to take a chance. A shepherd always takes his chances with wolves and with drought, and that’s what makes a shepherds life exciting.” (12) It is in Santiago’s nature, as a shepherd, to take chances and to be daring, whether dealing with his sheep, or his life. If he does not do so, he will never be able to learn from mistakes or move forward in life to new and greater things. Another time Santiago is daring is when he decides to give up everything he has and go to Egypt. This takes an immense amount of courage, even if he has lived his entire life taking chances and new paths. Santiago is dealing with a much larger situation that could reward him greatly, or disappoint him deeply. Finally, Santiago is daring when he decides to tell the oasis chiefs about his vision with the hawks. “He was alarmed by what had happened. He had succeeded in reaching through to the Soul of the World, and now the price for having done so might be his life. It was a frightening bet. But he had been making risky bets since the day he had sold his sheep to pursue his destiny.” (103) Santiago could have kept the vision private, and saved himself much trouble, but instead he was daring, and reported it to the chiefs, in the hope that many lives would be saved. Though Santiago’s life now hangs on the visions outcome, he has faith that because his daringness has helped him in the past, it will not turn against him this time. While risk taking is a great contributor to Santiago’s success in achieving his destiny, he is also led to his treasures by his spirituality.
Santiago is guided on the journey by his deep spirituality and faith in God. Santiago is slightly nervous, when first meeting with the dream interpreter. However, he is comforted by signs of God; “She has the Sacred Heart of Jesus there, he thought…He recited an Our Father silently.” (11) Though Santiago is frightened that this woman might be a gypsy, he takes refuge in the image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which reassures him that she cannot be too terrible, if she too, is spiritual. Santiago also recites an Our Father, because he believes in God and trusts him to keep him safe. Another example of Santiago’s spirituality is when he finally transforms into the wind, and reaches through to the Soul of the World. This is the main turning point for Santiago, when he realizes that the Soul of the World, God’s soul, and his own soul, are all the same thing. Everything he has learned becomes much clearer now, and his faith in God is stronger than ever, because it takes a very spiritual person to understand the Soul of the World. Lastly, Santiago is spiritual when he arrives at the Great Pyramids of Egypt. “He thanked God, for making him believe in his destiny, and for leading him to meet a king, a merchant, an Englishman, and an alchemist. And above all for his having met a woman of the desert who had told him that love would never keep a man from his destiny.” (152) It is because of God and Santiago’s strong relationship with him that all of these things happened. If Santiago had not believed in God or destinies or anything, it would have been very difficult, almost impossible, for him to achieve his destiny. With a deep and profound spirituality, Santiago moves towards his destiny, yet it is his open mind that allows him to perceive the treasures along the way.
Santiago’s open mind keeps him focused and at ease throughout his journey. After Santiago’s money is stolen in Tangier, he keeps an open mind, and looks for a way out of this disaster. “But the stones had told him that the old man was still with him, and that made him feel more confident. He looked around at the empty plaza again, feeling less desperate than before. This wasn’t a strange place; it was a new one.” (39) Though he is lost, alone, and penniless in another country, Santiago manages to find the bright side of the situation: Melchizedek is with him still, in the stones. Suddenly the once strange city has a much different feel, because Santiago realizes that he really is not alone, and that with the stones, he can find a solution. Santiago also has an open mind when he thinks about death. “And, as the camel driver had said, to die tomorrow was no worse than dying on any other day. Every day was there to be lived or to mark one’s departure from this world.” (103) After informing the oasis chiefs of the attackers coming tomorrow, Santiago grasps that fact that he will have to die at some time, and he is okay with that. He learns that he should simply live each day to the fullest, and not worry about what the next day will bring. Some people fear death, but Santiago’s open-mindedness helps him accept death. Finally, Santiago is open-minded when talking to Fatima about him leaving to find his destiny. Many things could happen to Santiago while he travels through the desert, and he may be unable to ever return to Fatima. However, Santiago does not dwell on the things that could go wrong to stop his returning; he focuses on the good, and doing so helps those things play out in Santiago’s favor. With an open mind, Santiago is able to realize the bright side of a situation, therefore easily fulfilling his destiny.
After much effort and perseverance, Santiago comes full circle, discovering that his treasure was right where he started, in Andalusia. Santiago fulfilled his entire destiny because of his risk-taking, spirituality, and open-mindedness. It was because of his courageous risk-taking that Santiago was able to begin and successfully complete the journey. He was guided throughout the adventure by his spirituality, and his open mind helped him remain focused and optimistic with everything he came across. By writing The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho’s aim was to inform everyone that we all have a destiny, and that it is essential that we fulfill it. If we fail to, we will never be happy, because the thought of what could have been will always hang there. We must learn to be like Santiago, and listen to our heart, our soul, and our friends, all of which will be telling us to go after our dreams and our destiny.
A characteristic that is part of each and every one of us, no matter how deep down, is patience. I'm glad to say that I have realized the patience in me, and try to show it as much as possible. Like Santiago at the beginning of The Alchemist, I do not yet know what my destiny will be, but I don't think I will find out any sooner if I go looking for it, because I'm unable to wait until it wanders across my path. We all have to just let life go on, because there's only so much of it, and if we try to rush it, the sooner life will be over. It is important to exercise patience, because that is the only way it will ever become stronger. In class, at home, and in public, are some of the places I have to be patient, whether it be engaged in group discussions, helping my siblings, or waiting in lines. We all must try to find and use the patience inside of us, because that is the only way we will ever be able to live content and well-paced lives.
German, North: Christ Carrying the Cross
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