the alchemist

1. The Fable About
Following Your Dreams

3. About the Author
Paulo Coelho was born in Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil in 1947. His own life has in many ways
been as varied and unusual as the protagonists of
his internationally acclaimed novels. Like them,
Paulo Coelho has followed a dream in a quest
for fulfillment. His own dream, to be a writer,
met with frustration throughout much of his
early adult life, a time in which he worked at
various professions, some of them materially
rewarding but spiritually unfulfilling. He was
thirty-eight when he published his first book.

4. In 1970, after deciding that law school
was not for him, he traveled through
much of South America, North Africa,
Mexico and Europe. Returning to
Brazil after two years, he began a
successful career as a popular
songwriter.

5. In 1974, he was imprisoned for a short time
by the military dictatorship then ruling in Brazil.
In 1980, he experienced one of the defining
moments of his life; he walked the five hundred
thousand-plus mile Road of Santiago de
Compostela in northwestern Spain. On this
ancient highway, used for centuries by pilgrims
from France to get to the cathedral said to house
the remains of St. James, he achieved a self-
awareness and a spiritual awakening that he later
described in The Pilgrimage.

6. Paulo Coelho once said that following your
dream is like learning a foreign language; you will
make mistakes but you will get there in the end. In
1988, he published The Alchemist, a novel that
explores this theme, and it launched him as an
international bestselling author. Specifically, Paulo
Coelho is recognized for his powerful storytelling
technique and the profound spiritual insights he
blends seamlessly into his parables. His books
have sold over 150 million copies worldwide. A
winner of numerous literary prizes, he has been a
member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters since
2002. Paulo Coelho is also a prominent speaker
for humanitarian causes. In 2007, he was named a
United Nation Messenger of Peace.

7. Summary of the Story

8. It is a story of a boy named
Santiago who wanted to know the
world so he decided to become a
shepherd in order to follow his
dream- to travel. He went into
different places, do different work,
and meet different people.

9. Santiago had a same dream twice, he
dreamed about that he was with his sheep
in the field, when a child appeared and
began to play with the animals. They keep
on playing with the animals for quite a
while. Suddenly the child took his both
hands and transported him to the Egyptian
pyramids where the child told him, “if you
come here, you will find the hidden
treasure” and he woke up.

10. To understand his dream, he went
to an old woman who know how to
interpret dreams. The old woman
make him swear that he would give
her one-tenth of his treasure in
exchange for what she was about to
tell and the boy agreed.

11. The dream is about the “Language of
the World”. The boy needs to go to the
Pyramids in Egypt. There he can find a
treasure that will make him a rich man.
After his conversation with the old
woman, some stranger approach him
and that's where his journey begins.

12. He sold his sheep and went overseas where he
became a worker at the crystal shop. He makes
the shop successful once again and he was
rewarded. He worked there for almost six
months but decided to leave to pursue his dream.
From then, he was engaged in the caravan
leading to the desert where he met an
Englishman that is looking for an alchemist of
the desert. They become friends while in the
caravan. They reached the oasis where he found
Fatima and fell in love with here.

13. While at the desert he learned many things.
He was able to save the oasis from its
enemy and he was paid for his action. He
met the alchemist of the desert and they
continue to cross the desert once more.
They reached the monastery which is three
hours away from the pyramid. The
alchemist showed him how to turn lead into
gold. The piece of gold was into four parts.

14. The first is for the monk for his generosity
to the pilgrims. The second is for the
Santiago to make up for what he gave to
the general to let them cross the desert. The
third part is for the alchemist because he
needed to return to the desert where there
are tribal wars. And the last piece was
given to the monk reserved for the boy if he
ever needs it. Before they got separated, the
alchemists leave a proverb to the boy.

15. It says that “everything that happens once
can never happen again. But everything
that happens twice will surely happen a
third time”. And his gone.

16. At the end of the story, the boy was
able to fulfill his dream. He found
the treasure hidden at the
abandoned church that he had in his
dream.

17. Criticism

18. 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. – (Alchemist)

19. Every one of us has a dream and the author
calls it as Personal Legend. To achieved this, we
need to know about the essential wisdom of
listening to our hearts, of recognizing
opportunity and learning to read the omens
strewn along life’s path and most importantly, to
follow our dreams. The destiny of a person is
already written before birth. To fulfill this, we
need to follow what our hearts desire. It’s not
bad to sacrifice big-time as long as it is for the
better. Life has a purpose. To fulfill our Personal
Legend, it is important to know our purpose first
so that we will be able to make steps in achieving
our dreams.

20. The Alchemist gives me lessons like;
whoever we are, whatever we do, wherever we
are, even the unfortunate ones, when we want
something, it will come true as long as it came
from our hearts. Like in The Alchemist, “all
the universe conspires in helping you to
achieve it”. It is not impossible for the things
to come when you give your best to reach it.
Sometimes we may feel that it is nonsense to
continue believing, but when the Language of
God speaks for us, it gives us strength to keep
on fighting.

21. As we continue with our lives, sometimes what
people think of us becomes more important than
our own destinies. We give much attention on what
people will say to us if we do this and we do that.
And it can cause us to have a doubt if we’re going to
continue or not. The Alchemist once said that “all
the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it”,
so we must not let others to influence us to stop
pursuing our dreams and be content on what we
have if our hearts desires for more. Maktub it is
mentioned many times in the story. It is an Arabic
word meaning “It is written”. We should not stop
dreaming even if we feel a sudden comfort from
what we have today, but instead we must continue
with our Personal Legend.

22. Never think what we left behind in search for
our Personal Legend. Always remember
Maktub, everything that will happen to us is
already written. Even when we leave, it will
stay there forever. Santiago found the love of
his life in the desert and he came to the point
that he wanted to stop his journey and better
stay with her because his having a doubt. But
he wonder about his past, his experiences that
bring him where he was now and he came to
realize that he needed to go on.

23. In life, it’s the simple things that are
the most extraordinary. We ignore simple
things and take it for granted without
realizing that even the smallest has a great
purpose. We just need to learn how to read
omen that is spread along our life’s path.
Simple things has a great purpose,
sometimes we became ignorant because we
think of it as small. We should know the
Language of God and recognize
opportunity even in a very simple way.

24. We may not even notice that the darkest hour of
midnight comes before dawn. There comes a time that
we are weakened by the trials we experienced in life. It
makes us stop in pursuing our dreams. We were
surrounded with darkness. And we forget that during
the darkest hour there is a light behind waiting for us at
the end. Life is not always about happiness. It is most
precious when we spend it according to what our hearts
desire. If we possess great treasure and we try to tell
others about them, seldom are you believed. We must
be willing to share everything we had to them. Life is
about sharing. Material things are just matter, it is not
important. What more important are the feelings that
we felt and lessons that we learned. Because life is
about our Personal Legend, it is about our dreams.

25. In the story The Alchemist, the author
wants the reader to learn, to realize what life
is, and to internalize. What is life if we just
seat? If we just wait for miracle to happen
without doing anything. What is dream if we
don’t know the meaning of this and we don’t
have one? The Alchemist is not about an
ordinary story of a one’s journey, but it is the
author’s ways of communicating and for
spreading the Language of God to others that
is having doubt in their lives. For those who
need inspiration and are experiencing
darkness we must not forget to keep on
believing and have faith.

26. That every challenge in our life, has it’s
purpose. It is not given to make people suffer but for
us learn. For us to realize that every one of us is
different. We have different personality, life,
purpose, and destiny and most especially we have
different heart that will tell us what we really want.
Learn to read our heart and follow it because it will
bring us into something that we really wanted. Have
courage in doing everything to make our life worth-
living. Also it can awaken our inner soul and mind
that there is hope. Just like in the desert, there is an
oasis that gives hope for those who travelled. We
should not put ourselves into something that will
make our life miserable.

27. The Alchemist can change our
perception in life. It was written because
it has a purpose. It inspires me, it
encourage me to keep going and aim
high. There is no ordinary person; every
one of us is special in our own way. We
were created equal. Always remember
“Maktub”.

28. To see the world, things dangerous
to come to, to see behind walls, to
draw closer, to find each other and
to feel. That is the purpose of life.
-the secret life of Walter Mitty

29. ReferenceHARPER
An Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
10 East 53rd Street
New York, New York 1022-5299
English version copyright©1993 by Paulo Coelho and Alan R. Clarke.
Foreword © 2014 by Paulo Coelho. Prologue translation copyright ©
1998 by HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. illustrations © 2014 by James
Noel Smith.
ISBN 978-0-06-235530-0
HarperCollins ® and Harper ® are registered trademarks of
HarperCollins Publishers.
Printed in the United States of America
www.harpercollins.com

30. Thank you 