Alchemist Answers Study Guide

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The Alchemist is subtitled 'A Fable About Following Your Dreams.' Fables are cautionary tales that have a point to make. The universal point this story makes is that everyone has a special destiny, and yet not everyone resolves to attain it because it takes hard work. Reaching one's destiny requires leaving behind familiar surroundings. It also demands persistence, the ability to change when appropriate and the willingness to respond to omens that point the way.

A type of desert beetle which was sacred to the Ancient Egyptians. They believed that it symbolized the Sun and spiritual rebirth. Who is the protagonist in a story? In The Alchemist? The protagonist is the main character who usually goes under some type of change. Santiago is the protagonist. This study guide and infographic for Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist offer summary and analysis on themes, symbols, and other literary devices found in the text.

Like the title character, most of the characters in this story are not given names. In a traditional fable, characters are often animals that represent a specific trait. The characters here are humans, but they are only identified by what they do or whom they represent. The main character, a young Spanish shepherd, does have a name, Santiago, which is a derivative of 'saint.' Santiago is disturbed by a recurrent dream that seems to have a message for him. He seeks a gypsy to explain its meaning. She affirms what the dream is trying to tell him, that he will find his treasure at the Egyptian pyramids. He meets an old man who is actually an unassuming king, who tells him that he needs to learn to respond to omens. The king explains 'the principle of favorability, beginner's luck. Because life wants you to achieve your destiny.'

Santiago leaves his sheep to embark on a long journey across foreign territory in search of a hidden treasure, his destiny. The journey is a universal analogy to the journey of life itself. Though Santiago travels far, learns much and faces mortal danger to get to his treasure, in the end he finds that treasure, his destiny, back at home in the very place where he started. From the start, as in life, the journey is filled with difficulties and unanticipated challenges. Through the challenges of loss and hard work, Santiago learns to recognize and respond to omens. He meets and interacts with several characters along the way from whom he learns something important about himself. Whether they intend to or not, the characters along the way help guide him to his treasure.

How does the story of Narcissus relate to the broader message ofThe Alchemist?The myth of Narcissus usually ends when Narcissus becomes sothoroughly entranced by his own reflection that he falls in the lake anddrowns. In the novel’s version of the myth, however, we learn that the lakefelt upset because Narcissus died, since it enjoyed looking at its ownreflection in Narcissus’s eyes. This version of the myth presents a morecomplicated picture of vanity than the original. As opposed to being anundesirable trait that leads to death, vanity appears to be an entirelynatural characteristic, so much so that the lake displays it.Like the introductory Narcissus story, The Alchemistitself has a message that focusing on oneself can connect a person to natureand the spiritual world. Only through single-mindedly pursuing his ownPersonal Legend does Santiago learn the secrets of the Soul of the World,for instance. Throughout the book, Santiago must put his own interests firstrepeatedly, as when he chooses to be a shepherd rather than a priest andwhen he leaves the oasis to continue on his journey. But throughdisregarding everything but his own dream, Santiago realizes his truepotential.

In this way, he penetrates to the Soul of the World. What attitude does The Alchemist take towardromantic love?Unlike many popular literary tales, The Alchemistinitially presents love not as a goal, but as an obstacle. Santiago says hisinitial love of the merchant’s daughter acts as the only thing that makeshim want to stay in one place forever. This desire stands in directopposition to the journey he must complete in order to fulfill his PersonalLegend. When Santiago finds his true love, Fatima, in the oasis, he feelseven more convinced to abandon his Personal Legend. Fatima and the alchemistmust show Santiago that his dream holds more importance than staying withher.This picture of love is unique compared to traditional illustrationsof romantic love.

For one, this love is completely distinct from possession.Santiago has a significant internal dialogue about this distinction, and heputs it to the test when he leaves Fatima. Love, in TheAlchemist, is also secondary to pursuing one’s Personal Legend.As the alchemist tells Santiago, Santiago’s love for Fatima will onlysurvive if he continues living out his Personal Legend so that he will haveno regrets later. Despite these facts, which seem to downplay the importanceof love, Fatima’s kiss serves as the final image of the book, suggestingthat love remains necessary for Santiago to live a contentedlife. What is the attitude of The Alchemist towardsmaterial wealth and individualism, and how does it differ from major worldreligions in this regard?Unlike many religions, The Alchemist does not draw adistinction between the material and the spiritual world. The book alsoespouses individuality as a means for achieving the ultimate goals ofcreation. Additionally, elements of pantheism appear throughout the book.For one, Santiago communicates and finds omens in natural entities such asthe desert and the wind.

The alchemist says that these elements havePersonal Legends just like humans do, and that they were also born from theSoul of the World. The alchemist also associates the process of purifyingmetal into gold with spiritual purification.The book’s dominant strain of evolutionary spirituality appears mostclearly when Santiago tries to turn himself into the wind. In the context ofthe novel, when a natural element or individual pursues a Personal Legend,it will evolve into a higher state of being.

The goal of creation consistsof all nature, humans and inanimate objects included, undergoing thisevolution until the universe achieves perfection. This philosophy differsfrom traditional spirituality in that it requires everything pursuing itsindividual dream to achieve this state rather than practicing selflessness.In fact, the novel even portrays religious characters that practiceself-denial, such as the crystal merchant, as failures.