The_Alchemist

Everyone will learn many important lessons throughout his or her life, especially when one is in the process of achieving his or her lifetime goals. For instance, in Paulo Coelho’s fable, The Alchemist, Santiago learns numerous lessons from both his own experiences and various people during his journey towards his Personal Legend of finding treasure at the Egyptian Pyramids. Paulo Coelho’s use of the three modes of persuasion, ethos, pathos, and logos, reveal that we must make sacrifices and take chances in order to fully realize our goals. Santiago’s trust in knowledgeable and respected figures helps him to realize what he must forgo in order to achieve his Personal Legend. For example, when Santiago converses with King Melchizedek about his treasure, King Melchizedek informs him, “If you want to learn about your own treasure, you will have to give me one-tenth of your flock” (24). Santiago’s sacrifice does help him gain new knowledge about his treasure. This experience teaches Santiago that he must make some sacrifices in order to learn more about the world. Secondly, after Santiago notifies the chieftains of his vision, the elder chieftain tells him, “For every ten dead men among our enemies, you will receive a piece of gold… but… if at least one [weapon] hasn’t been used by the end of the day tomorrow, one will be used on you” (108). Even though Santiago has taken an enormous risk and could lose his life, the tribal chieftain eventually “present[s] him with fifty pieces of gold” (113), demonstrating that it is sometimes necessary to take risks in order to get rewarded. Finally, after Santiago loses all his money to the tribesmen in the desert, the alchemist says, “Well, what good would it be to you if you had to die' ... Your money saved us for three days. It’s not often that money saves a person’s life” (141). Although Santiago is initially angry at the alchemist for giving the tribesmen all of his money, he learns that one’s life is much more precious than gold and that he needed to make this sacrifice so he could continue searching for his treasure. On the whole, Santiago’s trust in respected and informed individuals helps him to discover that he needs to give up certain things in order to achieve his Personal Legend. Paulo Coelho also describes poignant events to evoke a feeling of sympathy in order to illustrate what one must sacrifice in pursuit of his or her dreams. Before Santiago even became a shepherd, “he had studied Latin, Spanish, and theology. But ever since he had been a child, he had wanted to know the world, and this was more important to him than knowing God” (8). Even though Santiago and his family were assuredly delighted that he has been learning so much in school, Santiago realized that he needs to give up all of his education for him to be what he wants to be. Afterwards, when Melchizedek tells Santiago about the miner that he had helped out in the past, he says, “The miner had abandoned everything to go mining for emeralds…the miner was about to give it all up…and there, embedded in the broken stone, was the most beautiful emerald in the world” (24). Santiago can relate to the miner’s story because he is also searching for a treasure and has to abandon his sheep, so he learns that he will need to make sacrifices but that he will eventually succeed in achieving his goals if he does not give up. Finally, when Santiago starts traveling with the alchemist, he feels gloomy because he has realized that “to continue his search for the treasure meant that he had to abandon Fatima” (118). Santiago is forced to choose between his true love and his Personal Legend. However, Santiago ultimately decides to search for his treasure because he now understands that he must make some sacrifices in order to get what he wants. Overall, Paulo’s Coelho’s use of emotional appeal has taught both Santiago and the audience that we must make certain sacrifices in order to reach our goals. The logical thinking and reasoning of Santiago and the people he meets on his journey teaches the audience the importance of taking chances. For example, when the dream interpreter tells Santiago that she will charge him for the consultation, he thinks, “Another trick…But he decided to take a chance. A shepherd always takes chances with wolves and with drought, and that’s what makes a shepherd’s life exciting” (13). Santiago is unsure about the trustworthiness of the Gypsy woman but he decides to take a chance because he believes that acquiring more information about his treasure is more important than his money. Later on, after Santiago suggests to the crystal merchant that they build a display case for the crystals, the merchant says, “I’ve never had one before… People will pass by and bump into it and pieces will be broken” (52). Even though the crystal merchant’s argument makes sense, Santiago is disappointed that the merchant is unwilling to do something that could possibly attract more customers because he is afraid of what he might lose. The crystal merchant also tells Santiago, “You and I aren’t like Hassan, that rich merchant. If he makes a buying mistake, it doesn’t affect him much. But we two have to live with our mistakes” (53). Once again, the crystal merchant utilizes logic in an attempt to discourage Santiago from building the display case because they could lose money and customers. However, Santiago eventually manages to convince the crystal merchant to build the display case “and the shelf brought many customers into the crystal shop” (56). Santiago’s disputes with the merchant illustrate that we will never be able to move forward in life if we do not take chances and that even though taking chances can create loss, it can also positively impact our lives. The lessons Santiago learned during his journey towards his Personal Legend still apply to the world today. Santiago has learned that he must give up some of his possessions in order to gain other objects of greater value. However, many people are reluctant to learn how to play a sport, an instrument, or another activity because they think that learning a new skill will cost too much of their time or money. Although these people may have saved some of their time and money, they will have missed an opportunity to learn a new skill since they were unwilling to make a few sacrifices. Santiago’s experiences in The Alchemist have taught us that taking chances and trying new things will provide many more opportunities for success.