A Journey to Destiny
“I’m an adventurer, looking for treasure.” (Coelho 40) In The Alchemist, a young boy embarks on a journey in search for his treasure, which changes his life. Santiago has a reoccurring dream about a treasure hidden near the Pyramids of Egypt. This dream made him realize his destiny and compelled him to start his journey from Andalusia, Spain to Egypt. During his journey he meets many people including the Alchemist, Melchizidek (king of Salem) and Fatima (the girl who he falls in love with in the desert). They all change his view on many different things making Santiago make decisions about his life and his destiny. There have been many obstacles and decisions Santiago had to make or overcome when following his destiny, that didn’t stop Santiago from achieving his destiny. He used his knowledge about the Language of the World, Soul of the World and his heart to overcome these obstacles and decisions. Santiago, a faithful dreamer, is determined to achieve his destiny with his brave, hopeful and curious personality.
Santiago comes across many obstacles on his quest to his destiny; his bravery helps him overcome these obstacles. If Santiago weren’t brave he would have never gone to Egypt and would have stayed the rest of his life as a shepherd. He went to achieve his destiny when most people would have been too scared to go on an adventure as they might lose many things. Once Santiago starts his journey he reaches an oasis in the desert. In the oasis he sees some hawks in the sky, telling him that the oasis was in danger. He then goes to the chieftains to warn them about the upcoming crisis. They said that if the oasis does get attacked, for every ten dead enemies, Santiago will receive a piece of gold. But if the oasis doesn’t get attacked, they would kill him. Santiago was not afraid of dying because even if he did, he had already crossed the strait, worked in a crystal shop and saw Fatima’s eyes. “It is I who dared to do so” (105) As Santiago is walking back from the chieftains’ tent, he comes across a stranger on a white horse. The stranger was equipped with a sword in his hand held up against Santiago. He asked Santiago how he dared to read the meaning of the flight of the hawks. Santiago with his bravery stood up against the stranger and told him that he was the one who dared to do so. If he hadn’t done this, he would have never gotten to know the stranger who was really the Alchemist. Santiago did not only use his bravery to lead him to his destiny but also used his hopeful personality.
Santiago would have never achieved his destiny if he weren’t hopeful. Santiago is hopeful to achieve his destiny which is to find his treasure; if he didn’t hope to achieve his destiny he would have never started his journey to Egypt. In Egypt at the oasis, Santiago meets a beautiful girl named Fatima who tells Santiago to leave and only come back when he has found his treasure. Santiago is hopeful to see Fatima again, his loved one after he finds his treasure which makes Santiago even more eager to achieve his destiny faster. “A scarab beetle was scuttling through the sand, during his time in the desert, he learned that, in Egypt, the scarab beetles are a symbol of god. Another omen!” (153) Throughout the whole book Santiago hopes to come across omens which guide him to the right direction straight to his destiny.
Curiosity helps Santiago understand the world better and helps him understand his heart and his destiny better. Santiago gains some knowledge by asking the alchemist a few questions about alchemy such as what the Emerald Tablet is, what’s written on the Emerald Tablet, how does it make the world better and he keeps asking questions to make sure he understand s alchemy. He uses his knowledge about alchemy to overcome obstacles on his way to his treasure.”Why do we have to listen to our hearts?” the boy asked, when they had made camp that day.” (122) As Santiago is in search for his treasure he starts to talk to his heart which makes him come up with many questions, how to communicate with it and when to listen to it and when not to listen to it. This helps Santiago a lot because now he knows how to talk to his heart and his heart guides him straight to his destiny and teaches him some knowledge about the world. If Santiago wasn’t curious he would have never started his journey in search for his treasure. If he was never curious about his reoccurring dream he would have never gone to Egypt. When he had that dream, he didn’t leave it alone and let it pass by and live his normal life which is what most people would do. He actually went and asked an interpreter for help and asked her if this means anything or is it leading him to something. He wanted to understand why he had that same dream two nights in a row. Santiago’s curiosity really motivated him to go and achieve his destiny in Egypt.
Santiago is a fulfilled adventurer who traveled from Andalusia, Spain all the way to Egypt. When he finally arrived at the pyramids he realized that the treasure was lying right where he started from, underneath the ruins of a church where he had the reoccurring dream. He met many people who changed his views on many different things, and he successfully faced obstacles along on the way. Without his brave, hopeful and curious personality, Santiago would have never achieved his destiny. From Santiago’s experiences, the reader learns many important lessons. One of the most important lessons is that anyone anywhere can embark on a journey to achieve their destiny. One simply must be brave enough to take up the challenge.
Santiago's personality really helps him accomplish his destiny traveling from Spain all the way to Egypt. One character trait which would help me achieve my destiny would be my curiosity. Whenever I don't understand anything I ask questions until I understand. I don't just give up when I encounter difficult obstacles to overcome, I think of different ways to pass the obstacle instead of sidestepping them. Curiosity will definitely help me achieve my destiny by helping me pass my troubles along the way.
