Personal Legend in The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Have you ever thought that the world is more than just being born, go to school, go to university, graduate, find a job, get married, have a family, retire and die? Well, this essay will show you how the world is way more than that. The Alchemist’s main character is an Andalusian shepherd boy named Santiago, who one night dreams of a child transporting him to the Egyptian pyramids to tell him that there is a treasure nearby and before he tells him where it lies, he wakes up. After having his dream interpreted by an old woman, and learning the concept of “Personal Legends,” he sets out to find those pyramids. Melchizedek tells Santiago that omens are a language of the universe. He also gives Santiago two stones: Urim (yes) and Thummim (no). If he doesn’t understand an omen, then he should consult these stones. In The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho Personal Legend, dreams, and omens help the main character Santiago by giving him the confidence to progress with his challenging adventure; to me, they are a source of hope, confidence, and faith in my life. Dreams and omens are signs that gradually direct me to my Personal Legend.

The Personal Legend portrays the role of providing Santiago with the courage to progress with his difficult adventure; it gives me confidence for my future knowing that there is something big waiting for me. “In his heart, he felt a strange sense of joy: he was about to die in pursuit of his Personal Legend.” (Coelho, Paulo. “The Alchemist.” Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho, Harpercollins Publishers, 2018, pp. 114) This text shows us how powerful following a Personal Legend is, Santiago was willing to die in pursuit of his Personal Legend which he didn't even know about since a few months ago. That strange sense of joy is something we can expect that Santiago would've never got if he didn’t leave his home in search of his Personal Legend. This is not the only time in the book where Santiago goes through drastic measures to reach his Personal Legend. “His parents had wanted him to become a priest, and thereby a source of pride for a simple farm family. They worked hard just to have food and water, like the sheep. He had studied Latin, Spanish, and theology. But ever since he had been a child, he had wanted to know the world, and this was much more important to him than knowing God and learning about man’s sins. One afternoon, on a visit to his family, he had summoned up the courage to tell his father that he didn’t want to become a priest. That he wanted to travel.” (Coelho, Paulo. “The Alchemist.” Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho, Harpercollins Publishers, 2018, pp. 8–9) This text shows the courage that believing in your Personal Legend can give you, I also believe in my Personal Legend and I will go through drastic measures just to make sure I will achieve it. For other people who are the same age as Santiago at this point, having this discussion may be very challenging because some families have a job that they pass on to their child, and having your child not want to have this job can be heartbreaking. This paragraph explains how someone's Personal Legend can give them hope and inspiration to achieve them no matter how dangerous the quest is.

The dreams play the role of starting the Santiago journey, it is because of his dreams that Santiago can achieve his Personal Legend; dreams provide clues and directions of where my Personal Legend may lie. “I have had the same dream twice,” “I dreamed that I was in a field with my sheep, when a child appeared and began to play with the animals.” “And suddenly, the child took me by both hands and transported me to the Egyptian pyramids.“Then, at the Egyptian pyramids, the child said to me, ‘If you come here, you will find a hidden treasure.’ And, just as she was about to show me the exact location, I woke up. Both times.”(Coelho, Paulo. “The Alchemist.” Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho, Harpercollins Publishers, 2018, pp. 13–14)This text explains the dream that Santiago has, which he later accomplishes, but learning that his treasure doesn't have treasure, instead, it's the journey he had. The importance of dreams is that they are your inner desire and that dreams can replicate a life you would want to be in, they can be many forms of dreams but in the end, it is the message that matters the most. “Naturally it’s afraid that, in pursuing your dream, you might lose everything you’ve won.” (Coelho, Paulo. “The Alchemist.” Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho, Harpercollins Publishers, 2018, pp. 134) This text shows us to be careful in pursuing our dreams. There were many times in my life where I almost lost everything that I have won. I am always careful because I know that the simplest of slip-ups can cost everything so you have to be extremely careful so that you won't cost everything. This paragraph explains how important dreams are in your life because it shows your inner desire. Trying to accomplish your dreams can also have some negatives because it may lead you to lose everything you have won.

The omens play the role of pointing to where Santiago's Personal Legend may be and answers any question that Santiago has in mind; omens also help me because they hint at how to achieve my Personal Legend. “In order to find the treasure, you will have to follow the omens. God has prepared a path for everyone to follow. You just have to read the omens that he left for you.”(Coelho, Paulo. “The Alchemist.” Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho, Harpercollins Publishers, 2018, pp.30) Santiago follows omens throughout the book which helps him to find his treasure, he uses the Urim and Thummim to find omens. When Santiago was unsure about attempting to fulfill his Personal Legend, a butterfly appeared and fluttered between him and the old man. He remembered something his grandfather had once told him: that butterflies were a good omen. This was a message for Santiago to fulfill his Personal Legend. “If he pushed forward impulsively, he would fail to see the signs and omens left by God along his path.”(Coelho, Paulo. “The Alchemist.” Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho, Harpercollins Publishers, 2018, pp.92). This text explains how you have to take things slow or at the right place because if you fail to see omens that might either help you in pursuing your Personal Legend or show you where the Personal Legend may lie. Whenever I have omens or signs I take my time to acknowledge them and understand them, because I know if I push impulsively I will miss an omen which might be extremely useful. This paragraph explains how omens are crucial hints that could make your journey to find your Personal Legend even easier. This paragraph also explains how you shouldn't rush the process of finding your Personal Legend, because if so you may miss out on an omen or you may end up not finding your Personal Legend, it also shows why omens can save your life.

Throughout “The Alchemist” we see Personal Legend, dreams, and omens continuously help the main character Santiago by giving him confidence and hope to progress with his challenging adventure. After realizing that the treasure that he was searching for wasn't the treasure that he was thinking about wasn’t the treasure he saw in his dreams and that the actual treasure was the journey he had. Believing in his Personal Legend gives Santiago faith to continue with his challenging adventure to attain his treasure that he has dreamed about. He also later notices how some of his omens signs that he didn't know what this treasure was. His ‘treasure’ was finding love, meeting new people, and learning important life lessons which can change his life forever. Even in the real world Personal Legend, dreams, and omens can give you the confidence to progress with whatever challenges life throws at you.