Enriquez 1

Arielle Enriquez

English 10H Period 3

Ms. Chung

11 September 2019

The Alchemist Essay

The Alchemist b​ y Paulo Coelho is a book that we can learn many life lessons from. Many

of the themes in it are very relatable in our lives. It’s about an Andalusian shepherd boy named

Santiago who is in pursuit of his personal legend and along the way learns to understand the

language and soul of the world. We learn that your personal legend is your destiny in life. For all

of Santiago’s life, he has wanted to travel the world. His father helped him with his dream to

travel and gave him the funds to buy a flock of sheep. Shepherds were always traveling, never

staying in on place because they have to keep looking for good fields for their sheep to eat and

places where they can sell the wool so they can have money to keep on surviving. Santiago has a

dream of a child telling him to look for treasure at the great pyramids in Egypt. On his way to the

pyramids, he meets the Alchemist, Melchizedek, and the Crystal Merchant that teach him many

valuable lessons concerning his personal legend.

Anyone familiar with ​The Alchemist​ should agree that Santiago’s personal legend was his

journey to the great pyramids of Egypt itself. When Santiago thinks to himself “In his heart, he

knew it did not matter. And he knew that shepherds, like seamen and like traveling salesmen,

always found a town where there was someone that makes them forget the joys of carefree

wandering.” He is denying himself his dream to travel over this merchant's daughter in a town

he sells his sheep’s wool that he has a thing for. Along his journey, he meets a person named
 Enriquez 2

Melchizedek that helps him understand what a personal legend is and when it becomes apparent

to people. When Melchizedek explains, “It’s what you have always wanted to accomplish.

Everyone, when they are young, knows what their personal legend is.” He explicitly states that a

personal legend manifests as a unique desire that becomes very obvious to everyone when they

are young. Early on in the book, we learn that Santiago’s parents wanted him to go to the

seminary to become a priest. Santiago had a different plan for his future even as a young boy. All

he wanted to do was get out of his small town and explore the world. After Melchizedek explains

that as people get older they fail to realize that can reach their personal legend. Santiago later

realizes that “The closer one gets to realizing his personal legend, the more that personal legend

becomes his true reason for being, though the boy.” His whole perspective changes on

coincidences which gets him thinking about all the mysterious events that lead him to Egypt. His

sheep, the dream, the king, the thief, the merchant, and the caravan.

In conclusion, Santiago’s personal legend was his journey itself. He learned so much

along the way that will make him a better man because of it.