The Alchemist is a very convincing and exhilarating book that tells us about following our dreams and taking them to the very end. This novel tells us to leave our boring, everyday lives, risk everything we have, and pursue our “personal legends.” It emphasizes and elucidates the fact that most people in this world want to be told that all their dreams and desires are to come true sooner or later, but Coelho states that in order for them to actually come true we have to struggle and strive to make our fantasies a reality.
This compelling story is about Santiago, a normal shepherd boy, who is indeed, a dreamer. He dreams of finding great treasures and becoming rich, but he just doesn’t know where to start achieving his “personal legend.” Then, just when he was about to give up, Santiago met a very wise man that told him to listen to the omens, and he realized that these omens, good or bad, were all around him. He now knew that on your pursuit of your dreams, the universe and everything that surrounds it would do everything to help you accomplish your “personal legend.” We all believe that the universe is against us in our quest to make our dreams come true, but this novel tells us that if we just strive hard towards our goals, everything will work out in the very end.
As Santiago started heading towards the desert, where he was destined to be, he faced eminent challenges and obstacles that he was yet to overcome. That is another thing that Coelho was trying to explicate, as we strive towards our dreams, we will surely face tough challenges and temptations to try and stray us away off course. These temptations and desires are there to test us if we are really determined and ordained to fulfill our “personal legends.” That is why Coelho created the character of Santiago, who conquered all obstacles and fought away his temptations. For example, Santiago had fallen in love with Fatima at the oasis, but it didn’t stop him from pursuing his dreams.