1. Antonio- Antonio is the main character of the novel, and goes through moral questioning throughout the book questioning what’s good and bad, as well as his religion.…
This essay will dissect Joseph Campbell’s Cosmogonic Cycle’s description of a hero. But what is a hero? Joseph Campbell defines a hero as one who takes a journey over land, through the mind, or of memory but one that comes out a changed man at the end of it. This essay will explain how Telemachus meets all of the standards that Joseph Campbell has set and therefore is a hero. He does not quite meet all of Campbell’s set standards, but he is still hero-like because he does all of what he needs to with maturity and finesse that only a hero could possess. Telemachus sees that he needs to go and see where his father has been, so he takes that as his “Call to Adventure,” so he sets of to go find clues about his father’s whereabouts. During this journey he encounters many trials such as tempting offers from kings, if he is ever to achieve hero status he will need to resist temptations and survive the adventures that he will take. Telemachus does not truly fulfill all of the steps of the Cosmogonic Cycle; but, he is still a universal hero.…
king. In the end he ends up being one of the most untrustworthy men in the story. In this tale…
Throughout this novel, Coelho uses archetypal men. The men he uses are the Alchemist, his father, and the King of Salem. Wise old men symbolize the ‘savior’, ‘redeemer’, and the ‘guru’. The first of the three wise men that Santiago encounters is his father. His father had wanted Santiago to become a priest, but despite those wishes he had; he still gave Santiago his blessing when he told him he wanted to travel and become a shepherd. The second wise man Santiago encountered on his journey was the King of Salem. This man motivates Santiago to follow his personal legend. He tells him that his recurrent dream is true and he should follow the dream to the pyramids of Egypt. The final and most important wise man Santiago came upon in his journey was the Alchemist. The Alchemist was the one to “push him” to stay on the right path of following his personal legend, rather than staying with Fatima in the oasis. He guided him through the desert and taught him many things along the way, including about the Soul of the World and how everything is connected. “You must understand that love never keeps a man from pursuing his Personal Legend. If he abandons that pursuit, it’s because it wasn’t…
There are many accomplishments in the world done by people who are heroes. Some of their heroic deeds are simple and some heroic deeds are important to each individual life. In the novel Cyrano de Bergerac written by Edmond Rostand is a story about a man who uses poetry to sweeten ears of love and hate. Cyrano stands tall for his pride inside himself. Cyrano de Bergerac is a heroic leader because his love and emotions are strong of showing his true self.…
Every book has the same basic hero archetype; a protagonist that faces a problem and rises up to save the day. My book was water for elephants and the protagonist was Jacob. He is the main character of the book. He is seen through two different perspectives. He is seen as the ninety something year old in a retirement home and as a 23 year old that makes a life changing decision. The journey starts when Jacob is days away from getting his degree in veterinary science from Cornell University, Jacob learns that his mother and father have been killed in car accident. His life changes as he finds put that his parents were in dept paying his tuition bills and that the bank was going to take away his father’s practice. When Jacob realizes that he is all alone with no home he jumps a train, not knowing were its going. As it turns out that it was a circus train. And his new life begins.…
The Alchemist is a novel that presents readers with numerous of lessons. It makes you think about what life's purpose is and what you can do to find it. Therefore the Alchemist offers teenagers the help they need to guide their way through high school. For instance, it teaches you to break monotonous, not let fear get in the way, and to focus so you can take action.…
Our first indications of the protagonist’s characteristics are given in the opening two paragraphs with a monologue reflecting on some of his “revelations”. It is evident from this introduction that the main character thinks poorly of himself as he describes himself as a self-contradiction, and ashamed. This opening inner dialogue serves as foreshadowing, indicating that such low self-esteem was provoked by a shameful experience. Immediately after, the story begins with a reflection on the final words of the main character’s “odd” and disliked grandfather. Vague and ominous as these words are, they are vital to the story’s theme and become very clear at the conclusion. To summarize, his grandfather refers to himself as a traitor and urges his son to continue the “good fight”, then asks that the children are taught to do the same. Forever impacted by those words, the main character is left…
The Alchemist is a story about a young shepherd, Santiago, who goes on a quest to find treasure in the pyramids of Egypt. Along the way he learns to listen to his heart and be one with the world around him. He is able to focus on his dreams, or Personal Legend, and soon learns that it is not just his but part of the Soul of the…
Alchemist is a fable. In fact, The Alchemist is subtitled "A Fable about Following Your…
Author of the Alchemist, Paulo Coelho’s expertly crafted use of theme, characters and allegory made this novel deserve literary merit. The major theme of doing what to your heart’s desires giving new perspective about life and destiny. Characters from the story challenged conformant to society. Tying the story together, the allegory gave depth to the story and required literary analysis for comprehension. The Alchemist holds literary merit due to its view-shifting…
An old man that he had met in his village awakes Santiago, a young shepherd. Awoken in the sense that this man declared he was a King, and had inspired Santiago to follow his “Personal Legend”, basically, his dream, and had served knowledge to this young fellow. Throughout Santiago’s journeys, good omens had made him pursue his goal. The shepherd encounters various strangers, which help him, willingly or not, to chase his goal. During his quest, he awakes various senses he never had before, such as profound wisdom, communicating with nature, a spiritual connection with God, and the art of Alchemy. Santiago constantly takes life-threatening risks, which are considered challenges in the face of God. Throughout his whole journey, Santiago persistently follows his one and only reason of being, his dream, which is to find the treasure he dreamed of as a shepherd, and throughout his whole adventure, every little detail that crossed him, every lesson that he had been taught, with or without words, the soul of the world that he understood to communicate with, every little detail had defined his true treasure.…
Melchizedek, the old king of Salem is a prominent figure in The Alchemist that both educates and influences Santiago. When Santiago was in Andalusia, Melchizedek explains that Personal Legends are, “ … what you have always wanted to accomplish. [and that] Everyone, … knows what their Personal Legend is” (21). Even though Santiago had been about to give up on his dream and was about to banish it from his mind, he discovers his Personal Legend and decides to follow it, because of the old king’s speech. The next day, the old king explains to Santiago as they are sitting on the bench, “In order to find the treasure, you will have to follow the omens. God has prepared a path for everyone to follow. You just have to read the omens that he left for you” (29). Because of Melchizedek’s influence, many of Santiago’s decisions are based on omens he sees, such as when Santiago is in the oasis and sees, “… a sudden, fleeting image; an army, with its swords at ready, riding into the oasis” (100). He heeds the omens, and saves the oasis by warning the leader of the approaching army. Melchizedek is always remembered in Santiago’s mind and Santiago often refers to his advice for guidance. This leads to the perception that Santiago’s expedition to search for treasure at the pyramids in Egypt would have failed miserably without Melchizedek’s valuable advice.…
The novel The Alchemist written by Paulo Coelho is about a boy that is on a journey to find his personal legend. Throughout his journey he is helped by many people he meets, but he also has to overcome many obstacles that try to prevent him from finding his personal legend. In The Alchemist the main character Santiago shows a lot of character development through the ongoing knowledge he gains throughout his journey. At the start of the book Santiago shows immaturity with having a careless job as a shepherd and when he gives up on his journey to find his personal legend. Santiago begins to develop when he is given a job as a crystal merchant's assistant and he learns a lot of knowledge to help him through his journey. Santiago really shows a lot of development when the Alchemist teaches him that he needs to listen to his heart and when Santiago learns how to turn himself into the wind.…
Throughout The Alchemist, readers see a clear view of how they are to discover the meaning of life. The first is by discovering their personal legend. People are supposed to go out and seek their life’s destiny. The second is by defeating fear. There is nothing to fear but fear itself. We shouldn’t worry about the past or future. In fact, we should be focusing on the present. When we take the focus off of our fears we begin to focus on the present and realize what we’ve been missing. Paulo Coelho portrays two main themes throughout The Alchemist: pursue your personal legend and dangers come when you fear.…