Introduction/Theme

Introduction/Theme

Every individual in the world has their legend, which they follow with the aim of achieving greatness in their lives. As a result, these personal legends or dreams are what drives human beings to work hard and give up some material things to attain what they deem to be the most important achievement in their lives

The centrality of Personal Legend

In the story of The Alchemist, the author demonstrates the theme of the centrality of personal legends through Santiago, who is the main character. The book depicts that people are always in pursuit of their dreams as the end goal of living a fulfilling life. For example, this could be through attaining individual social status in the society or career opportunity.

The theme of the centrality of personal legend is in conjunction with Maslow’s theory of motivation, where individuals are usually motivated to take part in different activities in life in order to reach self-actualization. In this case, once a person achieves their personal legend, they will end up living a self-actualized life. In the process of pursuit for an individual’s own legend, human beings have to part ways with material things in order to achieve more meaningful goals. For example, from the story, Santiago was able to give up his love for Fatima, his flock of ships, and his favorite job as a shepherd in order to attain his personal legend.

The Danger of Fear

Fear has been one of the main reasons why some people fail to achieve personal greatness in their lives. Fear in human beings has become a psychological huddle which makes people retreat from events that cause fear. Fear can make a person become more hardworking in order to overcome their concerns or could make an individual give up. For example, the fear of failing exams could make a student study more and pass their exams while if the same fear is not handled well could make a student drop out of school. Just live our daily lives; fear is a constant theme in.

The Alchemist. Different characters became fearful of different situations, which made them rethink if it was wise for them to continue with the pursuit of their dreams. For example, in the book, Santiago faces different situations that instill fear in him. First, when required to let go of his ship so that he can follow the dream to go to Egypt in search of his hidden treasures, he felt fearful of letting go of the only lifestyle that he was used to his entire life. While traveling to Egypt and faced with the war at Al-Fayoum, he experiences fear that he might die in the desert and wonders whether all that was worth it. Another character is the crystal merchant, who was filled with fear of losing his business to the extent that he gave up his business. This is a demonstration that fear could be destructive and a sign of weaknesses in human beings. If allowed in, it can ruin a person’s life and goals. The same thing happened with the crystal merchant who lost his business.

Self-discovery

In our life, we live to discover different things and characters about ourselves, whether it through learning from people who inspire us or through personal experiences. In the end, human beings seek to know more about themselves as they grow old. The theme of self-discovery has been highlighted in the book from the start to the end of it. The author depicts the fact that if people continue to search for their own self-discovery, then they will be able to achieve greater things which they would not have made without the pursuit of self-discovery. In the book, Santiago sets out a journey to self-discovery in many ways. In order to discover himself, he decides to become independent and living on his own with his animals in the field. There Santiago discovers the animal language and how to interact with his ship. Also, as he goes to Egypt at the time when he was requested to turn wind into a storm, he is able to do so.

Also, the book sheds light on the idea that human self-discovery could be a result of good role models with whom we live. Role models have been significant contributors to people who have attained greatness in their lives. For example, in the book, Santiago has role models like his father, who is a well known priest who inspired him, the gypsy woman who inspired Santiago to search for the treasures, and Melchizedek, who inspired Santiago to go for anything that he wanted. For example, Melchizedek says to Santiago, “when a person intends upon doing something, the whole world seems to conspire to stand by him stands true in his case.” These words pushed Santiago to continue self-discovery.

In conclusion, the book of The Alchemist has been very influential in the lives of many readers who have come across it. The themes in this book are very relevant and applicable to everyone’s life and could influence a person to become more concerned with finding their own personal legend.