The Alchemist
A recurring dream troubles Santiago, a young and adventurous Andalusian shepherd. He has the dream every time he sleeps under a sycamore tree that grows out of the ruins of a church. During the dream, a child tells him to seek treasure at the foot of the Egyptian pyramids. Santiago consults a gypsy woman to interpret the dream, and to his surprise she tells him to go to Egypt. A strange, magical old man named Melchizedek, who claims to be the King of Salem, echoes the gypsys advice and tells Santiago that it is his Personal Legend to journey to the pyramids. Melchizedek convinces Santiago to sell his flock and set off to Tangier. When Santiago arrives in Tangier, a thief robs him, forcing him to find work with a local crystal merchant. The conservative and kindly merchant teaches Santiago several lessons, and Santiago encourages the merchant to takes risks with his business. The risks pay off, and Santiago becomes a rich man in just a year. Santiago decides to cash in his earnings and continue pursuing his Personal Legend: to find treasure at the pyramids. He joins a caravan crossing the Sahara desert toward Egypt and meets an Englishman who is studying to become an alchemist. He learns a lot from the Englishman during the journey. For one, he learns that the secret of alchemy is written on a stone called the Emerald Tablet. The ultimate creation of alchemy is the Master Work, which consists of a solid called the Philosophers Stone that can turn lead to gold, and a liquid called the Elixir of Life that can cure all ills. Santiago learns the Englishman is traveling with the caravan to the Saharan oasis of Al-Fayoum, where a powerful, 200-year-old alchemist resides. The Englishman plans to ask the alchemist the secret of his trade. As it turns out, the caravan must make an extended stop in Al-Fayoum in order to avoid increasingly violent tribal wars taking place in the desert. There, Santiago falls in love with Fatima, who lives at the oasis. During a walk in the desert, Santiago witnesses an omen that portends an attack on the historically neutral oasis. He warns the tribal chieftains of the attack, and as a result, Al-Fayoum successfully defends itself against the assault. The alchemist gets word of Santiagos vision and invites Santiago on a trip into the desert, during which he teaches Santiago about the importance of listening to his heart and pursuing his Personal Legend. He convinces Santiago to leave Fatima and the caravan for the time to finish his journey to the pyramids, and he offers to accompany Santiago on the next leg of his trip. While the alchemist and Santiago continue through the desert, the alchemist shares much of his wisdom about the Soul of the World. They are mere days away from the pyramids when a tribe of Arab soldiers captures them. In exchange for his life and the life of Santiago, the alchemist hands over to the tribe all of Santiagos money and tells the soldiers that Santiago is a powerful alchemist who will turn into wind within three days. Santiago feels alarmed because he has no idea how to turn into the wind, and over the next three days he contemplates the desert. On the third day, he communicates with the wind and the sun and coaxes them to help him create a tremendous sandstorm. He prays to the Hand That Wrote All, and at the height of the storm he disappears. He reappears on the other side of the camp, and the tribesmen, awed by the power of the storm and by Santiagos ability, let him and the alchemist go free. The alchemist continues to travel with Santiago as far as a Coptic monastery several hours from the pyramids. There, he demonstrates to Santiago his ability to turn lead into gold using the Philosophers Stone. He gives Santiago gold and sends him off. Santiago begins digging for the treasure at the foot of the pyramids, but two men accost him and beat him. When Santiago speaks to them about his dream vision, they decide he must have no money and let him live. Before leaving, one of the men tries to illustrate the worthlessness of dreams by telling Santiago about his own dream. It concerns a treasure buried in an abandoned church in Spain where a sycamore tree grows. The church is the same one in which Santiago had his original dream, and he finally understands where his treasure is. He returns to Spain to find a chest of jewels and gold buried under the tree, and plans to return with it to Al-Fayoum, where he will reunite with Fatima, who awaits him.
The Alchemist Character List
Santiago- Santiago is the main character in The Alchemist. He is a young sheperd boy who has a dream about buried treasure in Egypt. Instead of passing it off as just a dream Santiago decides to follow his heart and go in search of the treasure. Along the way he begins to grow up and become wise in the ways of the world. Melchizedek, the old king- The old king comes to Santiago the day after his prophetic dream, and tells him that he has succeeded in discovering his Personal Legend. He assists Santiago in making the decision to go searching for his treasure, and although Santiago does not know it the old king is a god.
The Crystal Merchant- The Crystal Merchant hires Santiago after he is robbed in Africa. Santiago has given up on his treasure and begins to transform the crystal shop. The merchant is a kindly man who is fair to Santiago, and even though he is afraid of change he takes Santiagos advice about the shop. The money begins pouring in, and the shopkeeper is very grateful to Santiago. The Englishman- Santiago meets the Englishman on the caravan across the desert. The Englishman has spent many years and many fortunes in pursuit of his own Personal Legend to learn alchemy, and is not on his way to find an alchemist at an oasis in the desert. He and Santiago strike up a friendship on the way. Fatima- Fatima is a young girl at the oasis. She is very beautiful, and as soon as Santiago sees her he loves her, and never wants to leave the oasis. She loves Santiago as well, and convinces him that he needs to go searching for his treasure, that she will wait for him to come back. The Alchemist- The Alchemist is a wizard at the oasis who helps Santiago on the second-half of his journey across the desert. He helps teach Santiago about the Soul of the World, and also tells the boy that right before hes about to discover his treasure he will be tested hardest. He also performs alchemy for Santiago just to show him its possible to turn minerals into gold.
THEMES
The theme of ones own Personal Legend recurs many times in the story. It refers to that which is your own dream or goal in life and is part of the path God has created for you. You have the free will to turn your back on your Personal Legend, but it is a decision which you could live to regret. Most people never achieve it because it is a journey filled with hardships and many turn back. For those who continue their search, the fulfillment of their Personal Legend is immensely satisfying and rewarding. The theme of perseverance is also an important idea. Many times, Santiago finds himself wanting to turn back and its only when he reaches deep within himself that he finds the strength of will to go on. It teaches us all about how good things come to those who reach out for them, not to those who wait! Life is a struggle no matter what path we may choose, but if we stay strong and continue on, the consequences are all good. The theme of the Soul of the World is a theme which makes the reader think about how we are all connected in some way to each other, to the animals around, to the plant life, and to every element created by God. The Master Work is actually his creation of earth and everything on it and around it in six days. So we are all an element of his creation. Once we realize that, we can find our Personal Legend and understand the language of the world. The theme of faith is also an intrinsic part of this story. Without faith that he could succeed and without the faith others had in him, Santiago would have been lost. Again, it is a message to us all about believing in ourselves and our part of the Soul of the World. The final theme is very close to perseverance, but refers to the need to confront the four obstacles of life and overcome them. We first must overcome the voices that have told us from childhood that what we want to do is impossible; second, we must overcome love, i.e. recognize that those who truly love us want us to achieve our dreams; third, we must overcome fear of defeat or failure; and fourth, we must overcome the fear of realizing the dream we have fought for all our lives. If we can climb over these four walls, our treasure will be close at hand and we will have discovered our fulfilled our own Personal Legend.
