Vleminckx 1

Mitchell Vleminckx
Mrs. Cramer
College Composition I Period 2
11 November 2016

Dream On
What would following one's dream truly feel like? Living a life searching for dreams that
are never pursued. To follow one's dream requires great strength. The Alchemist is a short novel
written by Paulo Coelho that conveys a motivational story of his main character Santiago. Who
is a Shepherd in Andalusia, that dreamt about finding a treasure that will lead to his personal
legend. With an extraordinary story, Paulo Coelho established a main theme throughout the book
by following Santiago's dream. Coelho uses the desert, the sheep, alchemy, and two stones
named Urim and Thummim as symbols within The Alchemist to accentuate the theme of
following one's dreams.
In The Alchemist, the main theme is for an individual to follow their dream. During the
circumstances of Santiago's journey of achieving his dream, he will experience adversity along
the way. Adversity can be anything that causes misfortune or difficulties. Making an individual
give up on their dreams or can even motivate them to continue. Throughout the novel, Coelho
uses the desert to represent adversity. The desert is a place with harsh environmental conditions
and tribal war, with great emptiness that can make it unbearable for anyone to overcome. The
book it says, "The desert takes our men from us, and they don't always return. We know that, and

Vleminckx 2

we are used to it." (pg 98). This quote from the book displays that the desert gives people a tough
time when traveling across it, and that certain people will not be able to withstand the adversity
that one may encounter. Santiago's journey through the desert is necessary to create spiritual
growth when discovering a personal legend. Spiritual growth is necessary to create a better
understanding of the world. During Santiago's journey, he interferes with the tribes at war. The
Alchemist and Santiago were taken and the Alchemist made a deal with the tribesman, that
would allow them to be free. The deal was that Santiago had to turn himself to wind. If he turns
himself to wind, it will allow for him to overcome the desert. When faced with this adversity, he
had to overcome the desert to continue on his journey.
Along Santiago's journey of finding his personal legend, he had to overcome adversity to
continue his [Link] following one's dream, there are people who may lack motivation that
can hinder an individual from accomplishing their dreams. Coelho uses the sheep to symbolize
people who do not follow their personal legend. The sheep have the same routine and desire the
same necessities day after day, having no desire to change. (pg 22-23). Santiago learns the
Language of the World to gain an understanding to why his sheep desire nothing more than the
average day. Once Santiago learns this, he does not see why his sheep are blinded to the
opportunities they have to do more with their lives. Santiago will continue on his journey, even
with his misunderstanding of his sheep's desires.
Although Santiago faces adversity and is presented a reason to remain average, he must
stay pure to his dream. Paulo Coelho used alchemy as a symbol of purity. The meaning of
alchemy in the book is to remain pure. When Santiago meets the Alchemist, he teaches him to
overcome his impurities by teaching him the secrets of alchemy through the Emerald Tablet (pg
127). To receive alchemy, Santiago realizes he must use his instinct and the omens to find his

Vleminckx 3

Personal Legend. The idea of remaining pure to Santiago's dream is that he cannot allow the
world around him to change who he is. Not letting anything take him off the path of achieving
his dream.
Throughout the book Paulo Coelho uses omens to help convey the message that the book
is presenting. Omens are used as a motivating factor for Santiago during his long journey, as an
event that is regarded as a portent of good or evil. Santiago received two stones, Urim and
Thummim, that he used to help interpret ideas and make decisions when he could not. He was
given these two stones by Melchizedak, the King of Salem. Melchizedek does this for Santiago
to help guide him in his journey of finding his Personal Legend. These stones will allow
Santiago learn the Universal Language of the World to assist him within his journey, guiding him
to the path of enlightenment towards his dream. In the book, Melchizedek tells Santiago that the
stones will help him read omens when he comes across them (pg 40-41). Later, Santiago dropped
the two stones out of his pocket. Since this occurs, Santiago eventually understands the meaning
and purpose behind the two stones, which inspires him to continue on his journey. Highlighting
the point that omens he encounters will only propel him closer to the discovery of his Personal
Legend. Understanding the omens as they come will help Santiago overcome adversity, search
for motivation, and to stay pure to following his dream.
In conclusion, Paulo Coelho uses the desert, the sheep, alchemy, and two stones named
Urim and Thummim as symbols within The Alchemist to accentuate the theme of following one's
dreams. Each symbol has its own meaning that helps develop the main theme of the book with
following one's dream. Santiago's dream was not hindered by adversity or slowed down by the
lack of motivation he saw in others. With help from the Alchemist he remained pure to achieve

Vleminckx 4

his dream of finding his Personal Legend. The Alchemist was a good novel and had a meaningful
message behind it, that can allow the reader to be inspired by the idea of following one's dream.