THE
ALCHEMIST
:- By
Paulo Coelho
" The Alchemist"
by Paulo Coelho is probably the simplest story
and the deepest philosophy, a rare combination of
seemingly contrasting attributes. It is the story
of a simple shepherd in search of a treasure. But
it is also the story of every person who dares,
not only to dream, but also to pursue the dream
with all his heart.
The story begins with the
dream of a young boy, Santiago, whose love for travelling
makes him choose to be a shepherd, though he is
schooled in a seminary until he is sixteen. A recurring
dream about finding a treasure in the pyramids of
Egypt and the course of events that follow, throw
him out of his normal life of rearing sheep, reading
books to them, selling wool and dreaming of the
merchant's beautiful daughter.
Even in his life as a shepherd,
Santiago learns to draw wisdom out of small things
but the dream sets him off in a tougher journey
towards a larger goal.
"To realize one's destiny
is a person's only real obligation" - with
these words, the King of Salem inspires Santiago
to pursue his dream and this marks the beginning
of the most remarkable journey through which the
reader goes along with the young shepherd with as
much perseverance.
The shepherd's journey begins
on a bitter note as he is robbed of all his money
and left alone and miserable. In this process, he
learns to " see the world not in terms of what
he would like to happen, but what actually does".
He learns a lot of things, which he had experienced
earlier but never perceived before.
His life in Tangiers as an
assistant to a crystal merchant teaches him to apply
the lessons his sheep had taught him - " There
was a language in the world which everyone understood…
The language of enthusiasm, of things accomplished
with love and purpose, and as part of something
believed in and desired". The lesson about
"moving on" no matter what happens is
also something he learnt from his sheep.
He also faces harsh realities
in his path and almost gives up on his dream and
decides to get back to his life as a shepherd. He
likens himself to people like the crystal merchant
whose dream would remain dreams forever, because
of the fear of realization of dreams or disappointments
in the process, ties them to the drudgery of a monotonous
life but the hope of fulfilling them some day gives
them a reason to go on living.
As destiny would have it,
Santiago is drifted back into the pursuit of his
dream - " when someone makes a decision, he
is really diving into a strong current that will
carry him to places he had never dreamed of when
he first made the decision". The closer one
gets to realising his destiny, the more the destiny
becomes his true reason for being.
In the next phase of his journey, he learns of the
alchemist who possesses the Elixir of Life and the
Philosopher's stone. Through the old and wise desert,
he acquires more wisdom and in search of his destiny
he meets the love of his life, a woman of the desert.
Once he finds the Alchemist,
he goes through a tumultuous life between warring
factions and wicked generals, surviving on the wise
guidance of the Alchemist." Every search begins
with beginner's luck. And every search ends with
the victor's being severely tested".
At the end of his journey,
Santiago achieves the delighting realisation of
where his treasure lies and how his efforts had
borne fruit. He goes on to find his treasure and
that makes him a symbol of perseverance and its
assured outcome.
Ultimately the reader shares
the incomparable joy of the simple shepherd who
never gave up and feels inspired to draw one's own
lessons from it. As one of the characters in the
story says " It is the simple things in life
that are most extraordinary". "The Alchemist"
would be the most appropriate example for this universal
truth.
Book
Review by : Poornima. S
