The Alchemist by Paolo Coelho

The Alchemist by Paolo Coelho: effectiveness through the use of characters, themes, and philosophical statements
The Alchemist is an international bestseller by Paolo Coelho. The story is about a shepherd boy – Santiago – who has the dream of traveling the world driven by the desire to find treasures. He is courageous enough to embark on the journey and follow his destiny. The journey takes him from Spain through Tangiers to the desert in Egypt. Along the journey, he gets cheated, he loses money and goes through unpleasant experiences, but he also gets loved, makes money, learns a new language, meets many diverse people, and finds himself in pleasant situations. He has adventure, learns numerous lessons, and meets a king, an alchemist, and a desert woman. All these experiences add to enrich his view of life. This essay seeks to explain the effectiveness of the novel courtesy of the use of characters, themes, and philosophical statements.
Santiago, the protagonist in The Alchemist novel is considered to be a curious, strong, and determined boy who is interested in learning new things and traveling. He states “I’m an adventurer, looking for treasure” (Coelho, 41). Even though his parents wanted him to be a priest, he had a greater goal of knowing the world, learning new things, and finding a reassure at the foot of the Egyptian pyramids. Santiago is able to realize his goal because he is strong-willed, very insightful, and intuitive. In addition, he states that “to realize one’s Personal Legend is a person’s only real obligation” (Coelho, 24). Santiago is able to follow and achieve is goals because of a number of driving factors. First, the old man triggers zeal in him to achieve it. The hold man challenges Santiago by saying “…bakers are more important people than shepherds…parents would rather see their children marry bakers than herder.” Given the girls Santiago wanted to marry was in the town where the baker was, he had to pursue his dream and not be a shepherd, lest he loses his desired girl.
Melchizedek is one of the very influence characters in the novel. Acclaimed to be the king of Salem, Melchizedek is very wise and knowledgable. When Santiago meets him near the merchant's shop, one of his quotations was “the secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world, and never forget the drops of oil on the spoon” (Coelho, 32). He was important to Santiago for he told him how t achieve one’s Personal Legend, which is one of the reasons he set out to achieve his goals. The other prominent character is Fatima. She is defined by her hopefulness and great beauty. She states that “I always looked to the desert with longing. Now it will be with hope” (Coelho, 122). She is patients and waits upon Santiago as he goes after his quest. She plays a crucial role in convincing Santiago, bot, directly and indirectly, to leave and embark on his quest especially when he is hesitant about leaving.
“But you are in the desert. So immerse yourself in it” (Coelho, 134). This is a philosophical quote by the wise man to Santiago when they were in the desert. Noting the dangers of the desert, this quotation would be taken to be an advice to make do with what was available and rely on that for survival. Through this understanding, Santiago had to adapt to the desert environment, for it was the only way to the pyramids. Another philosophical quote “Maybe God created the desert so that man could appreciate the date tree” (Coelho, 91) is an inspirational spiritual quotation that would be taken to mean, all is not as bad as it may look, somewhere in there, there is some good, even when it doesn’t seem as it. At the very point of this quote, they are exposed to the desert elements and they have stopped because of tribal wars. But at the oasis where they have stopped, they have the benefit of a shadow from a dates tree.
The novel makes an effective read to readers because of the characters used. They are a representation of the various real-life interactions or viewpoints we experience. Secondly, the themes brought out are highly relevant e.g. positivity and faith. These are virtues that almost very needs and can’t do without. Lastly, the philosophical quotations used throughout the novel are very intelligent yet simple to comprehend for the average reader. By combining all these aspects of the novel, through articulate writing skill, it is no wonder the novel was a best seller.


Work cited
Coelho, Paulo. The Alchemist. San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 1998. Print.