Alchemist Compared to Tuck Everlasting

Alchemist Compared to "Tuck Everlasting"

There have always been legends that a place or substance existed that would prolong the normal lifespan of a human. This goes beyond a simple health regimen or exercise. Famously, in the United States, one of these places was supposedly in Florida at a fountain of youth. But, no one was ever able to find it. Two of the substances were the philosopher's stone and the elixir of life. Sometimes the two are separated by legend (the elixir is separate from the stone), but one of the meanings of the word elixir is "liquid gold" (Gillabel). This probably has more to do with where the potion comes from, but it also speaks to its value. These substances have been immortalized in several books; among them are "The Alchemist" by Paul Coelho and "Tuck Everlasting" by Natalie Babbitt. The purpose of this essay is to first understand the alchemist's use of the philosopher's stone and elixir of life, and then to examine the two novels to see how they deal with the subject.

Both concepts, the philosopher's stone and the elixir of life, have been studied and written about for thousands of years. Most ancient cultures have some legend of an elixir that prolongs life and one of the names for the elixir was the philosopher's stone. Another interpretation is that it is "a symbol of perfect man, the end result of the philosophical work," and "The philosopher's stone is first and for all the creation of man by himself, that is the entire conquest of his potentials and his future; it is especially the complete liberation of his will" Gillabel. This conception of the stone and its relation to the elixir is a perfect segue into the book by Coelho.

"The Alchemist is an allegory of a boy's journey. He originally has a dream that he desires to investigate because he believes that he will find treasure at the ancient Egyptian pyramids. He has many different types of adventures, but along the way he meets an old philosopher. Melchizedek, the philosopher, tells him "When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it." This is actually the message of the book and helps him to discover the true meaning of the philosopher's stone and the elixir.

The other book, "Tuck Everlasting," is about a young girl who meets a family that has discovered a spring that is basically a fountain of youth. The story relates the events of the girls life after she meets the family. It is closely related to "The Alchemist" in some respects, especially those related to what happens when people discover the secret.

The stone does not become an issue in the story of "The Alchemist" until about half way through. But, at that point, the boy meets an Englishman who is seeking the secrets of alchemy. The boy reads a series of books that have to do with how the stone and the elixir are created. "The book that most interested the boy told the story of famous alchemists. They were men who had dedicated their entire lives of the purification of metals in their laboratories; they believed that if a metal were heated for many years, it would free itself of all its individual properties, and what was left would be the Soul of the World...They called that discovery the Master Work -- it was part liquid and part solid." (Coelho 83). These two parts of the master work had different properties. "The boy learned that the liquid part of the Master Work was called the Elixir of Life, and it cured all illnesses; it also kept the alchemist from growing old. And the solid part was called the Philosopher's Stone." (Coelho 84). So the properties of the elixir are actually healing and long life. This property of long life was also whay the spring in "Tuck Everlasting" is special.

The secret of the spring was kept secret because the protectors of the spring did not believe that people could handle it. When the girl first found the spring, "she was kneeling on the ground, insisting on a drink from the spring, and the next thing she knew, she was seized and swung through the air" (Babbitt 54). The family told her "If people knowed about that spring down there in Treegap, they'd all come running like pigs to slops. They'd trample each other, trying to get some of that water (Babbitt 64).

The secret of the master work was a little different; it kept itself. The old philosopher told the boy and the Englishman that some of the alchemists "tried to evolve as gold had" and "others stumbled on the stone by accident" (Coelho 143). Both of these types found the stone because of their honest search. The other types of alchemists did not find the stone because they were only interested in having the gold. The philosopher told them that this type did not realize "that lead, copper and iron have their own Personal Legends to fulfill. And anyone who interferes with the Personal Legend of another thing will discover his own" (Coelho 143). If the person did not have a pure purpose from the beginning, they could not find the secret.