Finding Forrester And The Alchemist

765 Words4 Pages
The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho, follows a shepard boy named Santiago who is trying to find his personal legend. He has learned that it is to find a treasure in the Egyptian Pyramids. But Santiago is not the only one who has a personal legend; Jamal from “Finding Forrester” is on a journey to find his personal legend. Jamal is a 16 year old high school student who is a literary genius. Even though he does not have the best teachers, live in a nice neighborhood, or have intelligent friends, he gets the attention of a private high school near his home area. If he takes the free scholarship, he would have to play on their basketball team. The choice that Jamal has to go between is if he wants to play professional basketball or wants to write the…show more content…
The omens showed Santiago places to go and people to see. One of the omens was a merchant, who gave Santiago a job and food. Another lead him to a place where he met a King. The King gave him advice for his journey and two special rocks named Urim and Thummim. Without the King to help, Santiago would not have found his treasure as easily. Just like in “Finding Forrester”, Jamal had help from a famous author, William Forrester, who hid in the confines of his apartment. William is also like most in The Alchemist, in which they do not go to different places because they are scared of change. The only people to travel are shepards and those who want to follow their personal legends. A personal legend is “…what you have always wanted to accomplish”(Coelho 21). At a young age, everybody realizes what their personal legend is , but they have to be ready themselves to dream to do it. “They are not afraid to dream, and to yearn for everything they would like to see happen to them in their lives. But, as time passes a mysterious force begins to convince them that it will be impossible for them to realize their personal legend” (Coelho 21). This happens to Jes when her parents find out about her joining a girls soccer…show more content…
When caught in the act, he leaves his packback behind. When getting his backpack back, he finds his writing journal is hand corrected. Returning to the apartment day after day with essays for Forrester to revise, they form a type of bond. The only rule Forrester had was that none of the writings done in his apartment were to be taken out. When Jamal breaks that simple rule, he gets caught for plagiarizing by his English teacher. This is like Jes when she gets caught by her parents for playing on a soccer team. After dramatic events of Forrester coming out of his apartment, he makes his first stop to Jamal’s school to read a letter Jamal wrote to him. After reading the letter, the teachers and students were giving a standing ovation for Forrester until he reveals he did not write the letter, that it was Jamal. After decisions were made, Jamal’s act of plagiarizing was settled. Like in “Bend it Like Beckham”. Jes’ parents allow her to play soccer after lots of arguing and realizing that her personal legend is to play soccer and that she is good at it. While Santiago is at the pyramids, an omen is shown to him. At that moment he realized where his treasure
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    opportunity to meet and learn from a great mind, equips himself with knowledge and confidence to seize critical moments while overcoming hurdles and eventually reach an ultimate goal. As the protagonists from Paulo Coelho’s novel The Alchemist and the movie Finding Forrester embark on a journey to pursue their personal legends, they are guided by mentors and tested by obstacles which change and shape their perspectives of the world. The main character of Coelho’s novel, Santiago, meets advisors who all

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