Themes
In The Alchemist, one of its many themes is dreams. The story mentions both literal dreams as when a person sleeps and has a dream and dreams such as when a person desires for something to happen. The plot of the story begins by mentioning that Santiago had a reoccurring dream about finding a treasure in the pyramids of Egypt. Later on, his dream turns into reality because Santiago is willing and striving to achieve his dream to find his treasure. He is able to find his treasure because he heard someone else’s literal dream describing where it was located. Also, Santiago always wished that he could travel that is why he became a shepherd and he even travels all the way to the pyramids of Egypt because he followed his literal dream. Other characters in the story also have personal dreams that they would like to fulfill such as the crystal merchant wants to travel to Mecca and Fatima wants to feel happy just like the other desert women who waited for their men when they were required to leave to the desert.
Omens are another theme in this book because Santiago experiences a lot of them that helps him move along in his journey. One of the first omens that Santiago sees is a butterfly. The author, Paulo Coelho, states, “He remembered something his grandfather had once told him: that butterflies were a good omen.” The butterfly that Santiago sees is a good omen because it leads him to decide to follow his Personal Legend. Another omen that Santiago sees is when he is watching hawks and “Suddenly, one of the hawks made a flashing dive through the sky, attacking the other” which causes him to see “a sudden, fleeting image” of “an army, with its swords at the ready, riding into the oasis.” This omen helps save the oasis from being unexpectedly attacked by the soldiers because once Santiago warns the chief about the omen that he saw, the whole oasis becomes prepared. Throughout his journey, Santiago needs to pay close attention to the omens because they would tell him what would happen in the future and he would be ready.
The theme of feeling fear appears frequently in The Alchemist. It first emerges when Santiago travels to Tarifa and a man steals his money. Santiago becomes afraid because he does not know anyone or anything about Tarifa; he was a “stranger in a strange land.” The crystal merchant also demonstrates fear because at the same time he wants to and does not want to travel to Mecca since he is “afraid that it would all be a disappointment” and he is also afraid because if his dream is realized then he will lose his reason for living. Santiago is afraid of losing Fatima if he chose to follow his Personal Legend and he is also afraid that someday his heart will stop speaking to him. Another fear that Santiago experiences is when he thought that he could not turn himself into the wind and that the soldiers were surely going to kill him. However, the alchemist states, “There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure”, which helps Santiago realize that he should not be afraid so that he could reach his dream.
Omens are another theme in this book because Santiago experiences a lot of them that helps him move along in his journey. One of the first omens that Santiago sees is a butterfly. The author, Paulo Coelho, states, “He remembered something his grandfather had once told him: that butterflies were a good omen.” The butterfly that Santiago sees is a good omen because it leads him to decide to follow his Personal Legend. Another omen that Santiago sees is when he is watching hawks and “Suddenly, one of the hawks made a flashing dive through the sky, attacking the other” which causes him to see “a sudden, fleeting image” of “an army, with its swords at the ready, riding into the oasis.” This omen helps save the oasis from being unexpectedly attacked by the soldiers because once Santiago warns the chief about the omen that he saw, the whole oasis becomes prepared. Throughout his journey, Santiago needs to pay close attention to the omens because they would tell him what would happen in the future and he would be ready.
The theme of feeling fear appears frequently in The Alchemist. It first emerges when Santiago travels to Tarifa and a man steals his money. Santiago becomes afraid because he does not know anyone or anything about Tarifa; he was a “stranger in a strange land.” The crystal merchant also demonstrates fear because at the same time he wants to and does not want to travel to Mecca since he is “afraid that it would all be a disappointment” and he is also afraid because if his dream is realized then he will lose his reason for living. Santiago is afraid of losing Fatima if he chose to follow his Personal Legend and he is also afraid that someday his heart will stop speaking to him. Another fear that Santiago experiences is when he thought that he could not turn himself into the wind and that the soldiers were surely going to kill him. However, the alchemist states, “There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure”, which helps Santiago realize that he should not be afraid so that he could reach his dream.