PlotOverview

AbouttheAuthor

PauloCoelhowasbornonAugust24,1947inRio
TheAlchemist
takesplaceinafictionalworldwith
deJaneiro,Brazil.Asateenagerhewasvery
themaincharacterbeingaboywithnoname.This troublingbecauseofhowheacted.Itgottothe
boystartedoutasashepherdwithhisfatherand
pointwherehisownparentscommittedhimtoan
hadraisedsheepduringhisadolescentlife
asylumnotonce,butthreetimes.Ashegrewhe
however,theboyseemstogetboredofthistedious realisedtheactionshehaddoneandhadbeen
taskanddecidestoventureoutandexplorethe
changed.Hethenwrotehisfirstbook
The
world.Thensuddenlyhehasadreamabout
Pilgrimage
at38yearsold.Coelhowrote
The
treasureandnowhemustleaveandhisfather
Alchemist
veryquickly.Hehadtakenonlyamere
allowshim,buthemusttakecareofhimselffrom
twoweekstowritethisbestsellingbook.Hewas
thereon.Hethenmakesthebigleapandtravelson inspiredmainlybyhimselfandhisjourneythrough
hisowntotrytogettoEgypttofindthetreasure
hislife.TheboyinthestoryislikeCoehlobecause
withhissheep.Hethenstumblesacrossacityand whenhewaswritingthestory,boththeauthorand
decidestotakeabreakwherehemeetsakingand childwereonajourneyofselfdiscovery.This
fortunetellerthatadviseshimonhowheshould
characterwasinfluencedbytheauthorbecauseit
continuehisjourney.Although,heneededmoney
helpedestablishwhohewasasaperson.
sohedecidedtosellhissheepandhadgotajobat
amerchantshop.Heworksforawholeyearand

hadfinallygainedenoughmoneytogoand
continuehisjourney.HethenmeetsanEnglishman
whoistryingtomeetthealchemistandcontinue
theirjourneytogethersincetheywereheadedin
thesamedirection.Theybothfindouttheyhadthe
TheAlchemist
waspublishedwasin
sameideologyonhowlifeandnatureworks.They Theyear
1988.ThesetimeswerewhentheColdWarand
bothtraveltoanoasisinthemiddleofthedesert
Reaganwerestillgloballytalkedabout.Hebasedit
andtheretheboydreamsoftheoasisbeing
onhishistorygrowingup.Thetroublesinthebook
invadedhowever,thisisagainsttherulesofthe
relateabouthowhegrownupintheharsh
desertandnoonebelieveshim.Hethenwanders
conditionsoftheworld.Thiscanbeseenonhow
offandmeetsamanwhoturnsouttobethe
theboylovesandneedsmoney,verymuchlikethe
alchemistandexplainswhathehastodo.The
alchemistofferstotravelwiththeboyandthenthe capitalisticvaluesofAmericaandtheworldduring
thesetimes.Inthe1980smanythingsthat
oasiswasattacked.Thealchemisttellsthisboyto
happenedtocharacterizethisbookfromeconomics
leaveandcontinuehisjourneysohesuffersno
topoliticsbutinsteadCoelhofocusedonfictional
harm.HefinallyreachesEgyptandbeginstodig
nearthepyramidsbutgetmuggedandrobbedbya aspectsmainlybutonlyreferencedsomethings
thataffectedhiswritingprocess.
thieves.Theboyexplainswhathewasdoingand
realiseshemustgohomewhenoneofthethieves
dreamtoftreasureunderneathachurch.

NovelNotes

TheAlchemist

PauloCoelho

DenizeIgnacio

03/16/16

EssentialQuotes

HistoricalContext

And,aboveall,dontforgettofollowyour
personallegendthroughtoitsconclusion(Coelho
30).
ButImnotsostupidastocrossanentiredesert
justbecauseifarecurrentdream(163).

AddWorkCitedHere:

Coelho,Paulo,PauloCoelho,andAlanClarke.
The
Alchemist
.SanFrancisco:HarperSanFrancisco,
1993.Print.
"PauloCoelho."
Bio.com
.A&ENetworks
Television.Web.28Mar.2016.

CharacterAnalysis

Thefirstmostimportantcharacterisobviouslythe
boybecauseheisthemainprotagonistwhodeeply
affectsthebook.Thestorydiffersfrompersonto
person,butmainlyrevolvesaroundthisboy.This
boytalksinaverymysticwayforsomeoneso
youngbecausehesoundsmorematureand
influentialforhisage.HethinksliketheAlchemist
sincehethinksthattheworldworksinomens,
personallegends,andauniversallanguagethat
everyoneunderstands.Althoughwhenhemeetsor
talkstosomeone,itseemsthatitisagoodthing
becausethisboyhelpsthepersonthinkmore
cautiouslyandspiritually.Thisisduetothefactthat
helikestotalkaboutspiritualomensandhowthey
work.Although,thisboysactionsarenotassmart
becauseheactfirstthenthinkslater.Occasionally
hedoesactwise,whichleadstoabetteroutcome
forhim.Thebookneversayshowhelooksbutfrom
theclues,itseemsthatthisboyisyoungandacts
intelligentforhisage.Thenextimportantcharacter
isthekingbecausethekinghelpstheboyfindhis
journey.Hetalkstotheboyappearingasa
stranger,butsoundslikeafriend.Thekings
thoughtscanbeseenaswiseandinfluential
becauseofhowhetalksandportrayshimselfasa
character.Heaffectsothersgreatly,especially
whenhetalkstotheboy.Thiskingsactionswere
notviolentandabrupt,butrathersmoothand
considerate.Thekingisportrayedasanoldperson
becausethewayhetalksandstutters.Also,the
bookssaysthatthiskingissoold,thattheboyfirst
mistakenhimasahomelessman.

Themes

MotifsandSymbols

Onesymbolthatpoppeduprelentlesslywasthe
Therearemanythemesthathavepoppedup
wordmaktub.Nowthisworddidnothavea
through
TheAlchemist
thathavenotonlymadethe specificdefinition,butoverthecourseofthestory,
bookbetter,butmadethereaderthinkmore.One
itseemstomeanthatapersonhastodowhatthey
themethatiswidelythoughtaboutaredreams
havetodobecauseitisonlysaidinsituations
becausetheyarewhathelpedtheboygoona
whereacharacteristrappedbetweentwo
journeyinthefirstplace.Dreamsareportrayedas
decisions.Anothersymbolisthedessertthattakes
somethingtobefollowedbynomatterwhat
upmostofthebookbecausethisiswheretheboy
becausetheboydoesanythinghecantogetto
findsoutanddiscoverswhoheisasaperson
Egypt,justlikehowanyonecanachievetheir
throughallthehardshipshehadtosuffer.Basically
dreamifworkedathardenough.Anotherthemeare meaningthatthedesertrepresentstheboy
omensbecausethiswhathelpedtheboydecipher becauseinthebeginningtheyarebothharshand
whatactionsanddecisionstomake.Thisboy
rapid,buttowardstheendtheybothcalmand
payedattentiontooutcomesforhisactions,and
change.Anothersymbolistheoasisformany
thuswouldhelptheboymakethebetterdecisions. reasons.Tomost,anoasisinthestorymeanta
Theseomensrelatetothereaderbecausethese
placeofsafetyandsanctuaryhowever,thiswas
areawayoftellingthereadersthattheiractions
notthecasebecauseitlookedallnice,butlater
aresomethingtobethoughtabout,andnottaken
becomeafightscenefilledwithbodies.This
lightly.Ofcourseanotherthemeispassionor
symbolrepresentedthatlooksarevery
romancebecauseofthewaytheboyfeelsforhis
untrustworthyforapersonneverknowswhatwill
maincrushthroughoutthestory.Hejourneysall
occurwithapersonthatlookssoinnocent.
theseobstacles,andintheendstillwantstobe
Treasureseemstobeamotifbecauseitseemsto
withhislovenomatterwhat.Romanceisportrayed dominatetheentirestory.Treasureisseenas
assomethingthatshouldbefollowednomatter
somethingthatalwayspopsup,regardlessofwhat
whatbecauseonceitisthere,itshouldbe
ishappeningbecauseitisthecentralideaofthis
cherishedandnotletgoof.Thethirdthemeiswill
story.Thistreasurerepresentsalldesire,greed,
becauseitwidelyinfluencedthecharacters
andgoodthatcancomeoutofapersonwhenthere
decision.Williswhatallowedcharacterstomake
isagainnonetheless,eventhoughtreasureisa
theirdrasticandabruptdecisions.Italsotellsthe
gain,thatstillhelpstheboymakemanygenerous
readersthattheirwilliswhatdecidestheaction
actsbecausegreedneverfullytakesovertheboy
someonewillmakewhetheritbegoodorevil.
intheend.