The ALCHEMIST

By Paulo Coelo
Submitted to: Dr. Himanshu Rai and Dr. Neerja Pande

Submitted By: Group 1 Charlotte| Matteo| Sixtine| Pranita |Arjun| Ravi| Naveen| Kartheek | Uday| Indrasoni

Contents
Analysis of the book ..................................................................................................................................... 2 Analysis of the protagonists in the book including the chief protagonist ................................................. 4 Comparison of Protagonists with other literary characters ....................................................................... 6 Comparison of Protagonists with Business Leaders ................................................................................... 7 Analysis of the theme of the book. Discussion on the relevance of the theme in today's world ............. 8 Vision and Action ..................................................................................................................................... 8

Analysis of the book

The first part of the novel talks about a shepherd named Santiago who starts his journey from the Andalusian lands and in the pursuit of his dream meets an old lady, an old king ( who acts as an angel showing him a direction in his life), and finally ends up accepting a job at a crystal shop. Few common phrases like Soul of the world and Personal legend have been repeated quite often emphasizing the universality of the system and strength of an individuals dreams. The story also introduces Santiagos interest in the merchants daughter, his intense desire to achieve his treasure which is supposedly located somewhere in the pyramids of Egypt. The old king, Melchizedek acts as a director who persuades Santiago to move forward and pursue the pathway towards his dream. Santiago leaves home to pursue a quest, is tested several times, and, when he succeeds, he returns home as an achiever. What makes the book stand apart is that there are two parallel quests going on in the story. The first is the search for a treasure. Though this quest is simply a metaphor to Santiago's other journey, which is to realize his own Personal Legend. This section of the book suggests that the main content in the narrative is not a physical adventure rather an inner quest for self-realization (of Santiago overcoming his fears and developing the willpower to achieve his Personal Legend). The book which Santiago carries with him at all times has its own important meanings in the context of this book. It differentiates him from a common shepherd. The book is a river of knowledge and selfactualization, allowing Santiago a broader outlook on the world. However, books also propagate certain misleading ideas, as commented by Melchizedek when he claims that books endorse the world's greatest lie. Later in the book, the Englishman could not realize the truths of alchemy because he was too tied up with his complicated books. Fate has been described metaphorically as a book that was written by the one hand. Hence, the "book of fate" is the only book capable of telling the whole truth. This section of the book presents the strong decision making ability of Santiago, in changing the course of his life by deciding to forego his profession and to pursue his journey towards his dream. He wanted to be free and roam around the countryside and to explore different regions and different towns. But after meeting Melchizedek, Santiago realizes that the profession of shepherds which seemed to offer him freedom has actually imprisoned him. Also introduced in this part of the book is the importance of dreams as meaningful and powerful. His dream is now quite intense and it does call for an action. The Gypsy woman claims that dreams are actually the language used by the Soul of the World to reveal and communicate with people. They are a part of the fabric of the universal language that binds all existing things together. In the book, through the description of his dreams, and the events that chronologically unfold in the narrative, Coelho's impactful and magical, fairy-tale style takes a creative shape. Melchizedek, the old king is himself an angel and a fantastical character, who knows about Santiago's personal life, and has magical stones to offer to Santiago, and he claims to be able to turn himself into several different things. In this way, the book shows a certain amount of affinity towards magical realism. As per the book, when Santiago first travels from Spain to Africa, the reader visualizes his skeptical attitude towards the Muslims he meets on the way. While at the bar, he hears the call to prayers and watches Muslims prostrate themselves on the ground. He remarks from his memory that their actions are those of infidelity. As the novel progresses, these opinions of Santiago will change, and the image of St. Matamoros will recur in an altogether different circumstance.

The next part of the book The Alchemist shows Santiago encountering few more setbacks before he can finally reach his destination. Part of the charismatic artistry of Coelho's narrative lies in the mesmerizing way in which he talks about Santiago's setbacks and his complications, become progressively severe and more complicated. While the first setback which was getting robbed in Tangiers was serious, it is also prosaic. Looking forward, the second setback which was Santiago's love for Fatima, is even more complicated because his love is not usually presented as a direct setback. Santiago, however, contemplates suspending his quest for the treasure, something which not even being robbed in a foreign land could make him do, to stay with Fatima. The reader, once again, sees Santiago pondering over his options and relying, once again, on the outside intervention to make his decision for his quest. Even though Fatima tells and convinces Santiago that she wants him to continue his journey, he is still undecided on that. At this point, fate intervenes in the form of the omen in the desert and the alchemist convincing Santiago about his future of resentment and regret if he doesn't pursue his dream. Hence, once again, Santiago continues. In this part of the book, the final complication which occurs is Santiago's feat of turning himself into the wind. It is by far the most profound. While the first two were physical and personal setbacks, the last one is quite spiritual in nature. He comes to realize that he and God are simply one soul and that his soul is a nothing less than a small part of the greater Soul of the World. Secondly, this event is different in that Santiago overcomes it entirely by himself, which is a moment where the alchemist realizes the transformation of his student. The plot wherein Santiago turns himself into the wind is the climax of the spiritual journey. By working at the glass and crystal shop, Santiago learns many important lessons. One of the most important is that it does not take any exterior force to prevent one from realizing his/her dreams. The crystal shopkeeper is actively trying to avoid achieving his dream of life, because he (the crystal merchant) believes that if he achieves his dream he will have nothing to aspire to in his future life. But Santiago decides to continue on his own quest. The theme of fate is touched upon in the meeting of the Englishman and Santiago, the shepherd. They two form two sides of the same character - A seeker of knowledge. They are both seeking a treasure: the Englishman wants to learn Alchemy: how to turn lead into gold and Santiago is seeking a buried treasure somewhere in the pyramids. Both of them realize that there is much more at stake than just wealth. They are different in the aspect that the Englishman insists on learning everything from just books. These books form the basis of all of his knowledge, so much that the real world appears secondary to him. Santiago, on the other hand, is consistently learning by observing the world, the desert and the omens. In this section, the alchemist chooses Santiago as his disciple over the Englishman. This is counterintuitive, given the fact that the Englishman is much more educated in the secrets of the field of alchemy than Santiago. The old alchemist, though, shows that the intuitive method of the shepherd Santiago is preferable to the intellectual pursuit of the bookish Englishman. The shepherd Santiago has been trying to explore the universe by diving into it, experiencing it, seeing and tasting it - not just reading about it. This section of the book also presents a substantial aggravation in Santiago's powers. Santiago, the shepherd is now able to use his charismatic skills of divination to protect those that he cares about. He is childishly tempted, however, to use those powers, which he acquired in order to pursue his treasure,

the Personal Legend, for short-term gain. He would be squandering his abilities if he were to use them for something as short-sighted as such a position which he was offered in the oasis Love comes to the front in this part of the narrative, but it is highly complicated by the book's philosophy. Fatima, Santiago's love, tells him that she would rather see him achieve his Personal Legend than stay by her side. Her reasoning is that she truly loves Santiago and therefore must equally love his dreams as well. The old alchemist, who encourages Santiago to pursue his treasure, the Personal Legend, has a slightly different logic. He explains that, although Santiago, the shepherd will be extremely happy for a short while, but he will come to distaste Fatima for preventing him from achieving his dreams. Hence, it is better to pursue the dreams than to allow them to fester. The other side of the alchemists logic is that the alchemist claims that there shall be no conflict between true love and one's Personal Legend. This is because true love is something which does not get in the way of the Personal Legend. In this way, the book sets up the Personal Legend as the central principle of a spiritually contented life. Hence, once the Personal Legend is identified, all other things will become clear.

Analysis of the protagonists in the book including the chief protagonist

Santiago The character, Santiago, a shepherd boy from a small Andalusian town in Spain, is the protagonist of the book The Alchemist. He is free, determined, headstrong, and curious to learn all that he can about the world. As a result, he went against his parents desires of becoming a priest and chose instead to work as a shepherd steering sheep around the world, so that he will have the freedom to travel throughout the country and those lands. Despite his natural trait of adventurousness, Santiago remains a bit conservative and to some extent self-satisfied until he dreams of realizing a treasure hidden somewhere near the pyramids in Egypt. Santiago, the shepherd though hesitates to pursue his dream until he meets the old king Melchizedek, a mysterious old man who is the king of Salem. After the old king, Melchizedek reveals the magical powers of the nature, Santiago becomes motivated to become a spiritual seeker and hence sets off to fulfill his Personal Legend, the strong innate dream which each person on this planet has of accomplishing. As the story moves forward and Santiago gets closer to his treasure, he becomes more and more focused on his growing understanding of the mystical forces of nature that imbues everything and connects all entities, called the Soul of the World. The journey of crossing the desert on his way to the pyramids teaches him to pay attention to the world around and to feel the power of creation in his surroundings, even in a single grain of sand. The experience he gains from the desert teaches him to recognize nature as a single unified whole. His greatest spiritual progress, however, comes after he meets the mighty alchemist, who helps him understand himself and read the omens in the environment. Santiago ultimately learns to communicate with the forces of nature, the wind and the sun and the Hand That Wrote All, a force evidently synonymous with God or Allah or soul of the world. The Alchemist The alchemist supposedly 200 years old is a mysterious personality and an extremely powerful practitioner of alchemy who resides at the oasis. Many in Al-Fayoum are unaware of his existence. He has the Master Work, considered the ultimate objective of alchemy, which consists of the Philosophers Stone, a stone capable of turning any metal into gold, and the Elixir of Life, a liquid able to cure all ills.

Moreover, he appears to possess several magical powers. The alchemist acts as a mentor, a teacher to Santiago, though he speaks in riddles and expects Santiago to learn more through his own experience than through instructions. The alchemists teachings connect the metaphor presented in the booktransforming an element into another more valuable elementrelated to Santiagos own journey. The alchemists wisdom connects him to the Soul of the World. This connection provides him supernatural abilities, and it allows him to guide Santiago to understand the Soul of the World. Santiago learns to read and communicate with the world around him, ultimately leading him to the treasure and to his own supernatural powers. In other words, Santiago undergoes his self-transformation. The alchemists hands-off method of teaching suggests that no direct instruction teach someone to connect with the Soul of the World. Instead, Santiago must teach and transform himself by listening to his own heart and environment. The Crystal Merchant The crystal merchant turns out to be an important friend to Santiago during Santiagos time in Tangier. He also functions as a cautionary case who has become complacent and has given up his pursuit of his Personal Legend. He operates a crystal shop on the top of a hill. He is a good man who is devoutly religious and kind hearted to take Santiago in. But he fears pursuing his dream to make a pilgrimage to Mecca because he fears he will have nothing to live for once hes achieved his dream. The crystal merchant feels rooted in his ways. The crystal merchant is the most irredeemable character in the book. The baker in a shop is another irredeemable character, so is Santiagos own father, but we dont see either of them as much as the crystal merchant. The novel portrays his fate as something not to follow, despite the fact that he comes across as a kind person. The merchant understands that he is acting foolishly in not pursuing his dream, even after Santiago shows him the fruits of taking risks. He serves as an example of the threats of an unfulfilled life, evident from his disappointment over his own decisions. Melchizedek The old king, Melchizedek, who claims to be the King of Salem appears to Santiago as an angelical old man living in the town of Tarifa. Although he appears for a brief stint in the book, he plays a key role as he introduces several of the fundamental concepts that we see repeating throughout The Alchemist. He tells Santiago about Personal Legend, Soul of the World, and beginners Luck. He, the old king, also gives Santiago two magical stones, Urim and Thummim to help guide him on his legendary journey. Melchizedek is also the first character in the book to display magical powers. Those powers convince Santiago to pursue his dream of finding his treasure. Melchizedek plays a key role in the lives of everyone who pursues his/her Personal Legend. He motivates people to continue pursuing their Personal Legends in times of doubt, as he motivates Santiago. He explains that he appears to people as a symbol, an idea and a motivation. He has been involved in his job of motivating people for quite long as he recalls helping the Abraham in his own journey. At times, when Melchizedek is not physically present with Santiago, the magical stones he gives to Santiago help him to remain hopeful and focused as he pursues his Personal Legend. The Englishman

The Englishman (the man in books) is a well-educated and ambitious aspirant of alchemy. He is adventurous enough to associate with a caravan in search of the alchemist who lives at the oasis, but is rather quite anti-social. He prefers to engage himself in reading his large collection of books rather than interacting with others or take interest in the surroundings. Because the Englishman and Santiago share a commitment to pursue their respective Personal Legends, they become friends. The Englishman, however, challenges Santiago with his intellectual rather bookish, knowledge-focused approach to life. He teaches Santiago the intense value of book learning and introduces him to the important concepts in the field of alchemy. But he should learn from Santiago the importance of practical experience, exploration and friendship. Because the Englishman focuses too much on books, the alchemist believes that he has not yet reached the point in his personal development that would allow him to be his protg. Using the Englishman as an example, the book suggests that even though knowledge from books can be useful, one should not solely rely on it unconditionally. True wisdom comes from true experience, which one must learn and earn through action. Fatima The prime female character in the book, Fatima is defined by her intense beauty and her willingness to wait for Santiago while he pursues his Personal Legend. She lives at the oasis of Al-Fayoum where her life is of a local girl involved in gathering water from the local well. She says that as a woman of the desert she realizes that men of the desert must leave the women they love for long periods in the quest of their treasure of life. When Santiago hesitates to leave his love, Fatima and the oasis, she convinces him that he must go. She has total confidence that he will return one day if he loves her. Fatima says that her ultimate goal is to love Santiago, and she appears to have no other Personal Legend of her own.

Comparison of Protagonists with other literary characters

Comparison of Santiago With Eragon (Inheritance Trilogy by Christopher Paolini): Eragon like Santiago is a young man who has the will and courage to come out of his comfort zone. They both leave the comforts of their homes in order to fulfil their destinies. They undergo an exploratory journey, find and absorb new things and also learn from them along the way. Throughout their journey they undergo into the transformation of responsibility, maturity and ultimately power. Another similarity amongst these two characters is that constantly were in a buddy system with another individual. This buddy used to teach them either voluntarily or involuntarily. The ability to pass lifes obstacles and learn from them is the trait which is common to both of these characters. With Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert ): These two characters though set in different time are similar in multiple contexts of life. They both pick themselves up when completely fallen down. Emotionally and mentally prepared to give up. Its at that time when they gather they broken pieces and mend themselves up. The whole context of reading omens on your way is also followed by both the characters. Listening to your heart or the inner voice is also a similarity between the two protagonists, they do it in different yet they act upon they conscience.

 Robert Langdon (protagonist of Dan Brown books): These two characters have a lot in common. Both have a persistent attitude towards their goals. They both find symbols and sign which are often blinded to common sights. They both trust their instincts about situations and goes in the direction in which their instincts point. Comparison of Alchemist Lord Krishna (Mahabharat): As Krishna guided Arjun in the battle of Mahabharat, similarly the Alchemist guided Santiago in his journey across the dessert. Their teaching styles were very similar as they never fed direct answers to their disciples rather they probed them to answer their own questions by being more aware of their surroundings. Comparison of the Old King Dumbledore (Harry Potter books by J K Rowling): The old king being projected as a demi-god or an angel comes closest to Dumbledore, as a father-figure to Harry, only interjecting at key moments to show him the path. The initial nudge which the chief protagonist of each of these books required were given by these two characters. Their style is very similar as they both never asked explicitly to follow a said path rather they let their mentees decide for themselves after weighing each circumstance.

Comparison of Protagonists with Business Leaders

Comparison of Santiago with Steve Jobs: They both are driven by pure passion and the desire to do amazing things. They wanted to experiences the world in all its wonder. They both had the knack of doing things unconventionally; Santiago doesnt understand the methods and books of the Englishman. Their definition of success were different though, Jobs achieved significant success, lacked business success in areas, but pushed technology further. Santiago achieves success and it means a lot to him personally. Comparison of The Englishman with Bill Gates: The Englishman was focused on his goal, yet he goes by the rule book. He is methodical and calculates his each step. Bill Gates on other hand was passionate and also has a keen eye on the business aspect and not just for the pure love of it. The Englishman couldnt get the philosophy of the desert as seen by Santiago. He had the will to achieve success in due time. Similarly Gates achieved success which was more in business terms than as path breaking discoveries. Comparison of Alchemist with Warren Buffet: If we consider lead to be stocks/shares and gold to be money, Warren Buffet can surely be an Alchemist in the modern business word. Buffett is called the "Wizard of Omaha", "Oracle of Omaha", or the "Sage of Omaha". They both have a sort of mystic aura. They both are master in understanding the language of their respective words. They both have followers who want to learn their art.

Analysis of the theme of the book. Discussion on the relevance of the theme in today's world Vision and Action
The book is an intense example of the power of vision and action. A shepherd boy who has a dream, a vision of his life (to explore the world and uncover the hidden treasures) moves forward and learns from the journey keeping himself excited and humble, finally achieving the treasure of his life, the Personal legend. He had a vision, and he took the corresponding actions. That defines the reason behind his success. No doubt his actions led him through severe experiences where his physical and emotional strengths were tested, but his prime action of never giving up and moving ahead in all circumstances brought to him the treasure which he once visualized in a nights dream. Thats the power of having an intense vision and a series of actions. A leader is never complete without a merger of both. Santiago, the protagonist and the leader of the book, inspiring millions of readers worldwide has proven himself to be a terrific leader having a clear vision of his life and pursued his dream with relevant actions transforming himself into something else altogether. There are four kinds of people: the first one is the person with an action but no vision, such are followers. The other is a person with vision but no action, such is a dreamer. A third is someone who has no vision and no action and he is no resource in a system. But the fourth and the most powerful person is the one with vision and action both. And they are leaders who inspire others and lead people in their lives. In the book The Alchemist by Paulo Coelo, there are several leaders and several non-leaders. The old king, has a vision which is he wants the boy to realize his dream and hence pursue his treasure. Hence, he takes a requisite action of motivating Santiago at the moment when he is about to give up and return back to Andalusia. Hence, the old king has a vision in this context and takes actions to realize his own vision of seeing the boy achieving his dream. Hence, he has proven his mettle as a motivating leader. The alchemist, the master and the saint, has a vision to see the boy realize his dream because he is pursuing his dream with a complete heart. Hence, the alchemist needs to take a few actions in this context and hence he decides to mentor Santiago and guide him through the desert. The first question is why did the alchemist help Santiago? The direct answer is that the universe conspires in favor of Santiago because he is behind his dream with all his heart and he is acting courageous and moving forward against all odds. The indirect possibility can be that the alchemist, in his own journey towards complete actualization would have gone through similar rough terrains and he would have definitely been mentored by several other great leaders. Hence, leaders of the same breed identify their students and hence with all motivation they jump forward to help the person who is in pursuit of his/her dream. Hence, the alchemist is a person with a vision and an action. There are other characters in the novel who lacked the conjugation of both vision and action. For instance, the crystal merchant, always dreaming of his pilgrimage to Mecca but not making any effort to do so is a mere dreamer. He has a vision but no actions. Hence he is not a leader and is a fate which one should avoid. Vision without action will lead to no significant results. The Englishman though having a vision to learn the master art of alchemy is not taking actions in the right direction. Hence, just vision and any action wont work. The action has to be in alignment with the

vision in concern. The Englishman wanted to learn alchemy the bookish way or through a lab experiment the master, the alchemist. But in the opinion of the alchemist and hence the author, to learn the art of alchemy one should first try to develop the self and hence things around will transform accordingly. Hence, actions need to be in alignment with the vision in the context. Fatima proves to be a courageous lady even without any personal dream. She has a vision that her love, Santiago will one day return back with a satisfaction of having achieved his treasure. But to help him out in his quest, Fatima needs to take some actions. Hence, she convinces him to pursue his journey and she in turn will wait for him. She also believes that her true love will definitely bring him back. Hence, we see that vision and action are definitely supreme for a successful life. But more important is the fact that its not just the vision and action of Santiago which led him to his treasure. There were others who had some visions for Santiago and they all wanted him to achieve his destiny. Hence, they took their actions and helped him out in the course. Once again Paulo Coelo has proved that when Santiago pursues his dream with all his heart, the world conspired in favor of him and hence, it became achievable. Thats the core message that the author is trying to present. We all should have our respective dreams (or vision or purpose of life) and we should be willing to take appropriate actions for that with all our heart. And if we are successful in doing just this much, there is a great world out there which conspires in our favor and helps us achieve our destiny. We should always keep on moving forward towards our vision, but also enjoying the journey.