INTRODUCTION Literature represents the culture and tradition of a language or a people
INTRODUCTION
Literature represents the culture and tradition of a language or a people. It is an expression of thoughts. The concept is difficult to precisely define, though many have tried, it is clear that the accepted definition of literature is constantly changing and evolving. Literature is a form of human expression. It is not expressed in words and organized written discourse. Those writings are primarily informative technical, scholarly, journalistic. The literary work is often inspired and influenced by the own experience that the writer undergoes. Brazil was officially discovered in 15000 by Portuguese diplomat Pedro Alvares Cabral on his way to India. Brazil’s first colonizers were met by Tupinamba Indians. The Portuguese tried to enslave Indians but they toiled them to work in fields for long hours. Portuguese turned to the African slave trade for their workforce. In 1763 the country has successfully staved off invasion by other European nations. It had roughly taken its current shape.
Brazilians literature refers to literature written in the Portuguese languages by Brazilians. Literature in Brazil began in the 16th century, the first literary piece written in Brazilian literature is the Carta de PeroVaz de Caminha which says about the wonders of the new land. The next two centauries were controlled by the journals of travels and descriptive treatises on “Portuguese America”. The Romanticism began influencing Brazilian poetry on a great range in 1836.In the middle of the 19th century a new type of prose writing appeared with a social transformation including analysis of the native people and the environment. There were some significant writers such as FranklinTavora and Joao Simoes Lopes Neto.
Throughout the period between 1895 to 1922 there is no clear dominance of any style. There were some demonstration of modernism and the authors showed a distinctly modern naturethere are many Brazilian novelists who contributed to literature. They began to emphasize individual freedom, subjective and a concern for social issues. Their works were satirical secular and religious.Machado de Assis, Clarice Lispector, GilbertoFreyre, Joao Cabral MeloNeto and Paulo Coelho are some famous contributors. They also produced significant work in Romanticism. Contemporary Brazilian Literature is centered on the city life and features loneliness, hostitly, political problems and media control .some poets such as Ferreira Gullar and Manoel de Barros are the most celebrated in Brazil. Paulo Coelho he is the all-time the bestselling Portuguese language author, his books are generally considered as self-help book.
Another important author is Joyce Cavalcantle as a writer able to communicate the experience of women in modern Brazil as well as the enduring social problems of the Northeast. The novel selected for this research is The Alchemist writtenby PauloCoelho. He was born on 1947 in Rio de Janeiro. He was born to devout Catholic parents in Brazil and attended a Jesuit school. His father was an engineer. Paulo wanted to become a writer from a young age but his parents disapproved of this career choice. They wanted him to pursue a more stable profession and become a man of the world. The teenager’s rebellion made his parents commit him to a mental asylum thrice even though he kept on escaping. Giving in to his parents’ desire he abandoned his dream of becoming a writer and enrolled in law school.
Paulo Coelho could not concentrate on his studies and dropped out after one year. He became a hippie and traveled all over South America, North Africa, and Europe. He became involved in the ‘drug, sex, and rock’ culture of the 1960-70s. Once back in Brazil, he accepted a position as a songwriter for Elis Regina Rita Lee and Raul Seixas. His association with Raul made him familiar with magic and occultism. The military government even arrested Coelho once as his lyrics were considered dangerous. He was not satisfied with his career and tried his hands at a variety of professions before he finally became a writer. He had been an actor, journalist and theatre director.
In 1982 his first book Hell Archives was published. It was not successful. In 1986 he undertook a 500-plus mile trek on the Road of Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain. He had a spiritual awakening on the trip and intuitively realized that it was time he started writing seriously. His novel The Pilgrimage was published in 1987. It was an autobiographical account of his experiences during his trek in Spain which explored man’s need to find his own path in life. Paulo Coelho was influenced by The Life of Oscar Wilde by Hesketh Pearson. He was also inspired by Narcissus The Disciple from his Poems in Prose. In the book the Prologue is a separate story of Narcissus from Greek Mythology. He was also influenced by Jorge Luis Borges short story Tale of Two Dreamers, where in this story the two characters dream of treasure.
In 1987, Coelho wrote a new book, The Alchemist, over the course of one two-week spurt of creativity. The allegorical novel was about an Andalusia shepherd boy who follows a mystical trek in which he learns to speak the “Language of the World” and thus receives his heart’s desire. The book attracted little attention at first, until a French-language translation suddenly leapt onto bestseller lists in France in the early 1990s. New translations followed, and soon The Alchemist became a worldwide phenomenon. The book has sold, by Coelho’s count, roughly 35 million copies, and is now the most translated book in the world by any living author. Since the publication of The Alchemist, Coelho has produced a new book at a rate of about one every two years. In a somewhat unusual scheduling ritual, he allows himself to begin the writing process for a new book only after he has found a white feather in the January of an odd year. As odd as that may sound, it seems to be working.
His 26 books have sold more than 65 million copies in at least 59 languages. He has been married to the artist Christina Oiticica since 1980. The couple divides their time between Europe and Brazil. He founded the Paulo Coelho Institute in 1996 which provides aid to impoverished children and elderly people. He also serves as the UNESCO special counselor for “Intercultural Dialogues and Spiritual Convergences”. He was presented with the World Economic Forum Crystal Award in 1999.The President of Bulgaria, Georgi Parvanov, presented him with “The Honorable Award of the President of the Republic” in May, 2006.
Since publishing The Alchemist, Coelho has gone on to publish other titles including Brida (1990), The Valkyries (As Valkírias, 1992), By the river Piedra I sat Down and Wept (Na margem do rioPiedraeusentei e chorei, 1994), The Fifth Mountain (O Monte Cinco, 1996), Manual of a Warrior of Light (O Manual do Guerreiro da Luz, 1997), Veronika decides to die (Veronika decide morrer, 1998), The Devil and Miss Prym, (O demônio e a Srta. Prym, 2000), Eleven Minutes (OnzeMinutos, 2003), The Zahir (O Zahir, 2005), The Witch of Portobello (A Bruxa de Portobello, 2006) and, most recently, The Winner Stands Alone (O VencedorEstáSó, 2008).
Other works by Coelho include Frases (1996), a collection of short excerpts from his oeuvre, and Life: Selected Quotations (2007), a similar collection of excerpts translated into English. Coelho also compiled selections from his weekly column in the newspaper O Globo into a volume titled Maktub (It Is Written) in 1997. Using the Internet, Coelho broadened his readership by blogging, expounding upon ideas advanced in his books, and making his books available for free. He founded the Paulo Coelho Institute in 1996 to provide aid to children and the elderly. Coelho is not only an internationally acclaimed author, but is also an outspoken activist for peace and social justice. He is a Messenger of Peace for the UN, an Ambassador to the European Union for Intercultural Dialogue, a Member of the Board of the Shimon Peres Institute for Peace, a UNESCO Special Counselor for “Intercultural Dialogues and Spiritual Convergences,” and a Board Member of the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship.
He is also a member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters, the highest honor for a Brazilian author, and is one of the best-known authors to actively support the free distribution of his work. The Alchemist is a fable about a shepherd boy named Santiago but referred just “the boy” through the book which indicates the fact that the experience is common applicable to anyone. He lives a simple shepherd life herding his sheep from place to place finding them food water and occasionally selling them to fill his purse. He is adventurous and wants to travel the world. One day he meets an old king who promises to tell him where to find his treasure, in exchange for one tenth of his flock of his sheep. “Give me one-tenth of your sheep, and I will tell you how to find the hidden treasure.”(Coelho19)After giving the old man his share of sheep, he is told that he should listen to the omens and follow what they tell him to do.
He must take two hour ferry trip from the tip Andalusia Spain to Morocco, and from there must journey through the Sahara desert to Pyramids where he will find his treasure. He has many setbacks but eventually he reached his destination. When you want to achieve something the whole universe will conspire to help you to achieve it. He learns better to read omens and discover their importance; they are the voice of the soul of the world speaking directly to him. He learns the world by listing to the soul of it and listing to his heart to understand when it is lying and when it is telling the truth. He finds true love; this kind of love is only found in fables. Finding the treasure is the primary aim of the journey, it is only on the journey he finds wisdom that needed to reach his goal.
In this journey he finds he alchemist not an ordinary one but the one who can transmit any metal into gold; He has the wisdom of ages. He rides shining white steed and carries large scimitar. The Alchemist is the one who guides our shepherd in the desert. He asks him to listen to what his heart says. This tale is well founded in Christian principles. The general themes of Paulo Coelho in The Alchemist are quest, personal legend, love, lead a life one with the universe and becoming one with the universe. In the novel By The River Piedra I Sat down and Wept is a tale of forgiveness and love. Battle between good and evil, another theme that Coelho explores in his writing is the battle between good and evil. Presence of a supreme power Coelho’s writings has a vein of reference to the Supreme Power, Allah, God and other divine names.
In The Alchemist, there is a frequent reference to the universe; it influences everybody’s journey and works in tandem with them. He also uses the technique of magic realism in his writings. Magic realism is a narrative technique in which the realistic and fantastic elements seamlessly blend were he has used in The Alchemist. It is out of our inquisitive interest in learning about the way in which we can make our dreams come true and live a life with the soul of the world so that we have chosen Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist as the vantage ground for this research. This research intends to mainly focus on quest to make our dreams lead to our destiny and live one with the universe.
THE EXPLORATION OF HIDDEN QUEST IN PAULO COELHO’S THE ALCHEMIST
“Why don’t people’s hearts tell them to continue to follow their dream?” the boy asked the Alchemist because that’s what makes a heart suffer most and hearts don’t like to suffer.” (Coelho 126) No one said that following your dream would be easy- but they did say it would be worth pain. Follow your heart and keep doing what you are doing it will take you to a beautiful place. It takes you to reach your designed destination is to just a dream and a firm determination to achieve it. In Wuthering Heights written by Emily Bronte set on wild and windy moors and featuring the enigmatic Heath cliff. Victorian characters are guided by their dreams in the novels. ‘I have dreamt in my life, dreams that have gone through and through me, like wine through water, and altered the colour of my mind.”(79)
The Alchemist does not get away from the fact that dreams have a price but, as a Coelho has said in interviews, not living your dream also has a prize. For the same money, Paulo said you can either buy horrible jacket that doesn’t fit nor that fits you. It is better to have problems that make sense because they are part of what you are trying to achieve. The themes in The Alchemist are so universal. It focuses on fulfilling our own “Personal legends”. The whole story is based on a dream that the protagonist, Santiago envisioned in his sleep. A hidden treasure waiting for him in Egypt. This theme, dream is a huge theme in the story because it is pretty much what the story is about. A young shepherded boy chasing his dream.
When he says his dream to others, instead of getting negative comments he gets positive comments where people says him to follow it and the universe it trying to tell him something. During that time people do believe in dreams and trying hard to achieve it. It might inspired the author to follow his dreams. “There was a universal language in the world that everyone understood. It was the language of enthusiasm of things accomplished with love and purpose, and as part of a search for something believed in and desired.” This quote says that even though everyone from different parts of the world speaks different languages, the one language where the whole universe understands. The world speaks to you based on how you speak to the world. So the world speaks to you through dreams where it says how to connect your life with the world. The universe says something through dream. Santiago emphasizes the importances of following your dream and doing what your heart desires.
Santiago is a curious boy whose open mind makes him particularly suited to finding his personal Legend. He also values his freedom for following his dreams. He slowly realizes that playing it safe is more threatening to his freedom than taking a risk. He travels from Andalusia in southern Spain to the Egyptian pyramids in search of hidden treasure, learning life lesson along the way. Along the way to Egypt he learns a valuable lesson from a magical king, a crystal merchant, an aspiring alchemist. He uses his life lesson in order to overcome obstacles and live out his destiny.”We were all made by the same hand, and we have the same soul.” (Coelho73). When the wind says that they are two different things he says that we are all created by the universe and they have the same soul and the same hand.
In The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, Robin Sharma saying about having greater lives with simple principles, Paulo says his ideas through Santiago life. Robin Sharma says it in a direct manner in simple dialogue between Julia Mantle and his ex-assistant John. Paulo Coelho and Robin Sharma both had given the readers to grasp the principles of life and go on a treasure hunt. At the end of the journey, they could find a way for abundance joy, love and self-satisfaction. King Melchizedek is a Biblical figures who the king of Salem (Jerusalem). He is also known as “King of Peace” and “King of Righteousness”. Melchizedek is known for being gracious, holy and giving bread and wine to Abraham though a religious ritual. It is similar to the ritual Jesus did with his “body and blood”? This allusion is important to the Alchemist. He is shown as an old man. How Melchizedek gave bread to Abraham, He gives Santiago his blessing for his journey; this blessing will be very useful to Santiago to find his treasure.”Whoever you are, or whatever is that you do, when you really want something. It’s because that desire originated in the soul of universe. It’s your mission on earth.”Melchizedek says that dreams are not silly they should not be ignored. They should be served as primary means. Melchizedek says to Santiago that his desire to visit the Pyramids is a calling, and he sets him in the journey of spiritual discovery.
This quote introduced the concept of the soul of the universe. The idea is that a person’s purpose in life centers on fulfilling one’s desire and to form personal legend. In “The Alchemist, the spiritual unity represents the soul of the world. It blinds together all nature, human being and desert sand. The soul of the world creates a personal legend for everything. The soul of the world is an interconnection between all living things. As Santiago says that all things were made by same hand. Everything is connected to another. Coelho was inspired by the religion of Pantheism, which means “All is God”. Pantheism is the religious belief that Nature is divine and we human are a part of it interconnected on whole. So Coelho has put his view of religion into the novel through the character of Melchezidek.Melchezidek gives Santiago two stones; they are Urim and Thummim, fortune-telling stones. Black and white in colour representing yes and no answer to questions. He tells Santiago to ask only Objective questions to the stones. These two stones symbolize objective knowledge that Santiago needs in his journey. He carries it throughout the novel but never uses them. “The boy put the stone in his pouch. From then on, he would make his own decision” (Coelho29) were he promise himself that he will make his own decision. The presence of the stone represent that the human desire to give up control and division-making ability. Where Melchezidek says that the world’s greatest lie; is that humans don’t control their fates, when we lose control of what’s happening to us. Before leaving the old man (Melchezidek) says a story to Santiago where he concludes the story by saying. “The secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world and never to forget the drops of oil on the spoon”.
Where he tries to say him that his life is not only getting the treasure that he saw on his dream but also to live his life with the universe and not to forget what he learned in order to get that treasure . And he leaves by blessing Santiago on his journey. This character, the crystal Merchant is just the opposite of Santiago, where he afraid of the change. He doesn’t want his life to be any better; he would rather be the same. His fear of change will give an idea to Santiago that he should never be like that one. His Personal Legend is to make a pilgrimage to Mecca but he knows he will never fulfill his dream.
“I don’t much like change.”(Coelho 51) And he is afraid that he will make a mistake by making a change. Crystal Merchant says, Maktub (Coelho 56) he introduces it to him. It means “it is written” in Arab. The concept of Maktub determines in the philosophical view that give certain conditions, everything that ensues is bound to happen have to happen. Even one doesn’t have the ability to change their own destiny. It is shown that Islam believes that major events are fated by God. Maktub is also a central component in the Koran from which Muslim follow strict guidelines on how to live perfect life in the eyes of God. When Santiago left his shop Crystal Merchant gave his blessing to him. The Englishman, he is also in the quest for the “one true language of the universe”.
The Englishman is well educated and wants to become an Alchemist. He has not reached his goal because he has not reached is goal because he has not focused it sufficiently. He cannot fulfill his personal Legend because it is too vague and jumbled. When Santiago says that he go that stones from the king the Englishman said. “It was shepherds who were the first to recognize a king that the rest of the world refused to acknowledge” (Coelho 66).The Englishman speaks of Shepherds who recognized a king he means, the Jesus Christ. According to the New Testament. Mary gave birth to Jesus in a stable, where shepherds who had been attracted by a star that shorn directly overhead discovered the son of God. The Englishman introduces another function of omens to Santiago. He talks him that they are not just to follow the way to achieve ones dream but, they can also help a person to achieve the language of universe. This language of universe is a kind of lost knowledge the fact that everyone should know without reading books.
He has somehow vanished but the Englishman plans on recovering it with the help of an alchemist. Fatima is a woman in the desert oasis. As a desert woman she is stoic and steadfast. The love between Santiago and Fatima is full of faith and trust they had for each other. She believes in him and let him free to attain his personal Legend. Fatima says that she is part of his dream and she wants him to go towards his goal.”I’m a desert woman and I’m proud of that I want my husband to wonder as free as the wind that shapes the dunes.” (Coelho 94). She doesn’t want to restrict him in anything and she is really part of his dream and has faith that he will come back for her.
She says that the desert takes their men from them and they have to wait until they return. She says that I will be one of the women who wait. The daughter of a Muslim prophet Mohammed. Fatima is a good luck to Santiago were a traditional Arabic good luck symbol shaped like a palm is known as “the Hand of Fatima”. Fatima is a sign of good luck to Santiago. She is willing to make sacrifice for the people she love. She defines love as devotion she will faithfully wait for Santiago from his trip to find treasure. She loves him will all her heart and will not give up on him. So dose Santiago. She thinks love is not possessive but trusting, patient, undying, sacrificial, devoted and freedom. In the Epilogue, the wind brings the kiss and the scent of Fatima to Santiago. He says to himself “I’m coming Fatima”, and he says that this the first time she has done it. Around the middle of The Alchemist and Siddhartha’s protagonists fall in love, they promise their women that once they achieve their dream and attain their personal legend they will come back to their loved one. The writers say that love was never a barrier to attain our dreams.
The novels title’s character Alchemist 200 year old a mysterious character and an extremely powerful practioner of alchemy who resides at the Al-Fayom oasis. The ultimate goal of alchemy. It can turn any metal to Gold, and the Elixir of life able to cure all ills and he had magical powers. His connection to the soul of the world helps him to attain his powers and helps Santiago on his quest. With the guidance of the Alchemist Santiago learns to read and communicate with the world around him. The alchemist identifier the cobra in the desert as a symbol of life. The Alchemist says to Santiago, “Your heart is alive. Keep listening to what it has to say.”(Coelho 123) that he has to listen to his heart and it will keep on talking to you, you have to listen to it, but naturally it is afraid to purse your dreams but pretend you have not heard it but it will keep on repeating and thinking about life and about the world.
When the boy asked dose a man heart always help him, the alchemist says it will try to achieve the destiny but for children, drunkards and elders. Alchemist promises the desert warriors that Santiago can change himself into a wind. He believed that Santiago has learned enough from him to begin performing alchemy himself. At the same time he has faith in Santiago. When wind says Santiago that “We are two very different things.” He protests that he and the wind aren’t different things at all they share the same soul. He then says to the wind “When you are loved, you can do anything creation. When you are loved, there is no need at all to understand what’s happening because everything happens within you and even men can turn themselves into the wind. As long as the wind helps”. Ask heaven for help and then wind creates an enormous sand storm called a simum. He asks the sun to turn him to sun for the sack of love.
Sun says that people always want more and he says that each thing has to transform something better to acquire personal Legend. Santiago prays and in praying he comes to understand he is not alone in bringing the universe together. Santiago “reached through the soul of world and saw it was part of the soul of God.” He saw that the soul of God was his own soul. He could perform miracles.” At the end the alchemist leaves Santiago in the desert telling him,” No matter what he does every person on earth plays a central role in the history of the world. And normally he doesn’t know it” (Coelho 151) The Alchemist allows Santiago to make the rest of this journey to the pyramids alone. The Alchemist he has shown that the he can find for himself. And finally the boy found chest of Spanish Gold coins. He realizes that Life is really generous to those who purse their destiny and he has pursued his dream.
As Oscar wild said, “Each man kills the thing he loves.” It’s true when you love you dream and you wanted it to make it as your destiny and if you do it then your life will be one with the universe. Each and everyone have their own personal Legend and they need to follow their heart in order to attain their personal Legend. In order to learn the universal language and the soul of the world. One has to follow his heart and never give up on what he is doing. One’s he attains it he will be with the soul of God and be one with Whole universe. In Siddhartha, by Hermann Hesse written in Germen and published in 1951. This story deals with the spiritual journey of self-discovery. The protagonist in both the novels go on a journey where the purpose is different, they struggle throughout the journey to become a wiser. Where at the end of the journey they both discover themselves. They both face obstacles in the journey which makes them stronger and wiser. They both showed strong determination which resulted the journey in success.
The struggles and obstacles that they both faced made them to identify and discover their true self. Where in this novel Vasudeva is seen as the alchemist. In Anita Desai’s Journey to Ithaca published in 1995. It is a story of multiple journeys undertaken by three characters at different planes of existence. In the novel Laila (Mother) and Matteo undertake a journey to fulfill their spiritual quest and Sophie, Matteo’s wife follows her husband’s way after learning the essential significance of the journey. In the novel ‘journey’ has been used to indicate clearly the spiritual quest of the respective characters. In Cry the Beloved Country written by Alan Paton in 1948. In the novel there is the physical journey of Rev. Stephen Kumalo and Mr. James Jarvis from the village of Ndotsheni to Johannesburg and back to Ndotsheni again. The journey brings a spiritual transformation in the novel which is the significant symbol in the novel.
In, A Passage to India written by E.M. Forster in 1924.The symbol of journey is vital importance. The word ‘passage’ itself indicates the sense of journey. The word ‘passage’ also has the metaphysical connotations of a more spiritual journey. Mrs. Moore leaves India and dies on her journey towards home. Adela wants to see ‘the real India’ and undertakes a journey to Marabar Caves. Whereas Adela’s journey to India and back to homeland remains a physical journey, Mrs. Moore’s journey becomes a spiritual journey. In Pavilion of Women written by Pearl S. Buck in 1946. Madame Wu’spursuit for happiness and for eternal life is a journey for spiritual sustenance. Madame Wu initiates into her spiritual journey by announcing her detachment to married life. In her spiritual journey she encounters Brother Andre who provides her with proper spiritual guidance which helps her to attain her eternal life and becomes immortal.
The lathe Of Heavens a modern classic written by Ursula K.Le Guin revolves around a character whose dreams alter past and present reality. “Dreams are incoherent, selfish, irrational, and immortal, you said a minute ago. They come from the unsocialized part of us”. (262). Like Paulo, Ursula also says that dreams are divine and the discovery of innerself. The quest necessarily requires the basic quality of personal legend. It is this quality of personal legend that has been explored and reasserted in all the selected novels under discussion. In Siddhartha the personal Legend is represented by the characters like Siddhartha and Vasudeva, in A Passage to India by Mrs. Moore, in Pavilion of Women by Brother Andre and Madame Wu, in Cry, the Beloved Country by Rev. Stephen Kumalo, in Journey to Ithaca by the Mother and Matteo, in The Alchemist by king of Salem, the Crystal merchant, the alchemist and lastly by Santiago.
In the pursuit of spiritual quest some characters hold the communication with the elements of nature. In The Alchemist, Santiago speaks with the sand, the wind, the sun and the sky. In Siddhartha, Siddhartha learns the language of the river. In Journey to Ithaca the Mother feels they (stars) call to me. So the nature plays a major role in order to discover their selves.
CONCLUSION
In The Alchemist, the alchemist is shown as the mysterious character and the elixir of life that is able to cure all illness by his magical power. He is the one who inspires Santiago and teachers him how to attain his powers and to his dream. Santiago believed in his dream and he went forward to attain his dream without anyone’s help but with the help of his heart. He followed his heart and during his journey he met people who inspired and guided him in many ways and he also learnt the soul of the world and he became one with it. Following his dream wasn’t easy for him because he lost everything and he learnt many lessons from many characters in his journey these lessons helped him to attain his destiny. He goes on a long journey in search of his treasure which he dreamt of it and traveled in order to attain it and when he finally reached the pyramid he felt happy. He dug the whole night for the treasure.
Santiago doesn’t get anything there. He was suddenly surrounded by a group of Arab’s and they took all the gold which he had and he was beaten and bruised by them. When they asked him what he is doing here he says that he was digging for treasure near the pyramid which he has dreamt of it twice. When Santiago fell unconscious on the ground the leader of the gang said to him that you are not going to die, you will live and you should know that a man should not be so stupid and two years ago he had a dream that he have to travel to the fields of the Spain and look for a ruined church where the shepherds and their sheep’s slept, were the sycamore grow out of sacristy, and if he dug their he would find a hidden treasure. And he is not stupid to travel the entire dessert just because of a recurrent dream. Santiago felt like the pyramid is laughing at him and he was happy because now he knows where the treasure is and he burst out of happiness.
Paulo Coelho gives this twist in the last saying that you go far to attain your dream but there is something always near you but we all fail to see that and we go far in search for something. The treasure was with him in Spain but he never knew that, and only by this journey he came to know. The treasure was not only under the tree of Spain but the treasure was what he himself became in pursuit of it. We are the metal lead and what we evolve into when we chase our personal legends is the gold that we find. The whole point of the journey was to grow and learn and the treasure was reward for his journey. The growth of this journey gave him the treasure which was under his feet. The treasure was not important but the journey how much he learned about himself and the world around him was the true point of his journey and this was achieved by his dream. The writer has used dream which is experienced by all but we don’t give much importance to our dream but he tries to say that our dream tries to connect us one with the universe.
Dream led Santiago to go on a journey were he came to know his life and the soul of the world and his love. Coelho succeeded in making his alchemist as a self-study book, a growing up story. His book has made a life enhancing impact on millions of people all around the world. This book has been sold a sixth five million copies around the world. The New York Times called it a “regular fixture in paperback on the front tables of bookstore.” Everything we do in our life is to attain one goal in our life and that is an integral part of this universe. In order to know our mission we came for we should listen to the language of the universe. The alchemist is not only a fable about following your dreams but a mirror that makes you to pay attention towards your heart and to be aware of yourself and examine your soul.
“My heart is afraid that it will have to suffer, the boy told the alchemist one night as they looked up at the moonless sky. “Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself.”(Coelho 124). The author believes that each one of us has a dream given by God and he gives clues and we recognize the clues and follow those dreams. Likewise we have a destiny to discover it and follow them is the purpose of our lives. As he says that simple things are most valuable and only wise people appreciate it. Where the reader can identify themselves with Santiago, were we all need someone to tell us that our dreams may come true.
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho is a book for those who lost their dreams or for the one who are searching the meaning of their dream. It is a book to our world of lost wisdom where the youth has forgotten to question the dream and to know about it and the middle age people has forgot to find their real identity and busy in their daily works and forgotten their dreams. It is a book for people who want to be themselves and one with universe. Always believe in yourself and be the person you want to be, not the person that others want to be and remember what you have, because the treasure lies in you.
WORKS CITED
Coelho, Paulo. The Alchemist. London: Harper Collins Publication, 2017.Print.
Desi, Anita. Journery to Ithaca. India: Penguin Random House, 2013.Print.
Emily, Bronte. Wuthering Heights. New Delhi: Penguin Groups, 1990.Print.
Hess, Herman. Siddhartha. Mumbai: Jaico Publishing House, 2016.Print.
Le Guin, Ursula K. The Lathe Of Heaven. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1999.Print.
Paton, Alan. Cry, The Beloved Country. London: Vintage Random House, 1988.Print.
Sharma, Robin. The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari. Mumbai: Jaico Publishing House, 2007.Print.
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