Alchemist essay

A Brave Hero Nothing in the universe that is sought after comes naturally. Those with the greatest achievements in the worlds’ history input tireless and diligent work, advancing towards their goals gradually but surely. The greatest attainments of all time are made in new fields and are based on providing new information. With every attribute necessary to accomplish a goal the most dominant stands to be the feature of bravery; bravely moving into new unknown work, or sticking with ill proven concepts. In the novel The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho the author puts forward heavy usage of bravery in the concept of his book. Within the text the protagonist Santiago has several experiences in which he displays bravery through his ability to remain focused and take risks. In order for one to successfully accomplish his/her personal legend, one must put forward multiple acts of bravery. Throughout Santiago’s brave movement towards his personal legend he exerts the strong characteristic of risk taking. To begin with, the first presence of bravery in Santiago’s journey is when he gets his dream interpreted by a gypsy; a type of character which is constantly feared by village citizens. When reading Santiago’s dream the gypsy woman says, “I’m not going to charge you anything now, she said. But I want one-tenth of the treasure if you find it” (14). Displaying Santiago’s risk taking nature, he gives away a tenth of a treasure which he does not yet possess; he is going to work vigorously towards a goal and he will not even be rewarded with the entire treasure. Secondly bravery is emphasised as Santiago’s heart returns to the soul of the world and he moves forward on his adventure even though his major guide to his personal legend is no longer with him. Santiago converses with the Alchemist stating, “So what should I do now? The boy asked. Continue in the direction of the Pyramids, said the Alchemist” (132). This portrays the inner risk taker within Santiago; he does not have