Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist

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The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho, is a third person omniscient fiction novel about a young boy named Santiago who is on a quest to fulfill his personal legend. The novel takes place in a premodern time and travels through Spain, North Africa, and the Sahara desert. The protagonist meets different mentors along the way following the Hero’s Journey. Each mentor helps him in their own way. Santiago’s most important mentor, The Alchemist, helps him understand the importance of his personal legend, helps him test his abilities to reach the soul of God, and helps him accomplish his efforts to find his treasure. The character The Alchemist is almost a legend in the book, he has stories told about how he can turn lead into gold. He serves as a great…show more content…
For example, during his stay at the oasis the boy meets a girl named Fatima who he instantly falls in love with. He begins to get ideas of wanting to stay and neglect his personal legend. The Alchemist tells Santiago what would happen if he was to abandon his plans. In the end of his discourse The Alchemist concludes by saying “‘ If he abandons that pursuit, it's because it wasn't true love...the love that speaks the language of the world’” (120). By saying this The Alchemist contradicts the boys thoughts of deserting his pursuit due to newfound love. the next day Santiago tells Fatima that he loves her, but will be continuing on his quest and will one day return to her. In this part of the book The Alchemist keeps Santiago on his path to concluding his personal legend. If the boy hadn't met The Alchemist he would have never left the oasis, and in correlation never found his treasure. During their travels The Alchemist teaches the boy about the soul of the world, and how to speak with his heart. Following along the hero’s journey the two run into an ordeal where they are taken hostage by a military camp. The Alchemist tells the chief that the boy is an alchemist and has the

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