Dare to Dream

“When I have been truly searching for my treasure, everyday has been luminous, because I’ve known that every hour was a part of the dream that I would find it. When I have been truly searching for my treasure, I’ve discovered things along the way that I never would have seen had I not had the courage to try things that seemed impossible for a shepherd to achieve.” (Coelho 125)
In The Alchemist, Santiago states that he is searching for his treasure and his journey has been ‘luminous’ or inspiring as he experienced many challenges and difficulties along the way, which taught him many things about the world. Santiago is a young Spanish man who pursues his destiny to obtain his treasure buried at the Pyramids of Egypt. His journey takes him from Andalusia, Spain through unknown lands across Africa. He experienced many challenges and difficulties along the way and met many people, some who helped him and others who tested him. Santiago with his ‘adventurous’ spirit, faced all challenges and obstacles with ‘courage’, soon learned to be ‘perceptive’ which helped him to eventually achieve his destiny.

Santiago has always had the adventurous spirit and this was the first step towards realizing his destiny. Ever since he was young Santiago wanted to travel around the world and hence, he decided to be a shepherd in order he could see different places and how their people lived. “Well, I’d like to see their land, and see how they live”, said his son. (9) After meeting with Melchizedek, Santiago resolves to embark on a journey to Egypt in search of his treasure. He travelled alone into a foreign land determined to pursue his destiny. “The boy told him then that he needed to get to the pyramids.” (35). After losing all his money to an Arab robber, Santiago worked in a crystal shop for nearly one year to earn money to continue his journey. Later having travelled towards his destiny, Santiago went on a journey with the Alchemist from the oasis and to the monastery in Egypt, and then all by himself to the pyramids. They had many adventurous experiences along the way where they were stopped by tribesmen twice and captured by a military tribe. “There is only one way to learn,” the alchemist answered. “It’s through action. Everything you need to know you have learned through your journey. You need to learn only one thing more.” In overcoming these obstacles and challenges, Santiago learnt about communicating with his heart, the universal language and the Soul of the World. (120) “Listen to your heart. It knows all things, because it came from the Soul of the World, and it will one day return there.”(122) Santiago’s adventurous spirit was vital in helping him achieve his destiny and to face the dangerous challenges along during the journey he needed to be courageous.

Santiago had to be brave to fulfill his desire to travel; first as a shepherd he wandered around the Andalusian terrain with only his sheep and then, he gave up his sheep and left his family and a girl. He travelled to foreign lands in Africa to pursue his destiny in Egypt. ‘His heart told the boy what his strongest qualities were: his courage in having given up his sheep and in trying to live out his destiny, and his enthusiasm during the time he had worked at the crystal shop.’(123) At the oasis in Al-Fayoum, Santiago met the Alchemist for the first time, when the point of his sword grazed the boy’s forehead. The boy did not run away and was brave to face the alchemist. ‘It didn’t occur to the boy to flee. In his heart he felt a strange sense of joy: he was about to die in pursuit of his destiny.’(105) The Alchemist guided Santiago by riding with him towards the pyramids and by telling him to immerse himself in the desert to understand about nature and the world and to listen to his heart because it came from the Soul of the World. During their journey a military tribe who threatened to kill them unless Santiago showed that he could turn into wind and destroy the camp captured them. Santiago fought his fears and bravely faced the desert, the wind, and the sun by the Language of the World and finally prayed to the hand that wrote all. He reached to the Soul of the World and successfully turned himself into wind. ‘For generations thereafter, the Arabs recounted the legend of a boy who had turned himself into the wind almost destroying a military camp, in defiance of the most powerful chief in the desert.’ (145) His courage gave Santiago the strength to face all the obstacles he encountered along the way to achieving his destiny though he also needed to be perceptive to understand the signs and omens that emerged to guide him.

Melchizedek had told Santiago to learn to recognize and follow the omens and signs that God has left for him along his path to follow his destiny. During his journey, Santiago was perceptive in recognizing the favorable omens that helped him progress towards his dream. When he was working in the crystal shop, Santiago built a display case for the crystal shop to attract people to the shop because he perceived this would increase business. “I’d like to build a display case for the crystal,” the boy said to the merchant. “We could place it outside, and attract those people who pass at the bottom of the hill.”(49) He also started selling tea in shop after observing a man complain that he needed a drink after climbing up to hill to the crystal shop. “But we could sell tea in crystal glasses. The people will enjoy the tea and want to buy the glasses.”(54) One evening while wandering in the desert, Santiago saw two hawks in the desert and a mirage of the oasis being attacked; he perceived that what he saw was going to occur so he warned the chief of the tribes. ‘Once again, he perceived the many languages in the things about him: this time, the desert was safe, and it was the oasis that had become dangerous.’ (96) Finally when Santiago arrived at his destination, the Pyramids of Egypt, he began to search for his treasure. At the place where his tears had fallen on the sand, he saw a scarab beetle and perceived it as the omen and dug at that place for his treasure. ‘His hands were abraded and exhausted, but he listened to his heart. It told him to dig where his tears fell.’(153) Although he didn’t find his treasure there it led him through the robbers to his treasure chest. Above all, his perceptiveness helped him achieve his destiny.

Throughout Santiago’s journey in search of his treasure, he experienced many challenges and difficulties all of which he overcame. Santiago also discovered hidden mysteries about the world and found a deeper understanding about himself, which he would not have seen had he remained a shepherd. Santiago’s ‘adventurous’ spirit dared him to embark on his adventure to Africa and the Pyramids of Egypt, overcame obstacles and challenges with ‘courage’ and was assisted by his ‘perceptive’ ability to read the omens and signs that God had left for him. Everyone needs a dream or a goal in life to reach their destiny. People shouldn’t be afraid to realize their destiny in order to live their life to the fullest. Life if a journey filled with obstacles and challenges; these make life interesting.