The alchemist by paulo coelho7/3/2023 In the desert, Santiago meets his “twin-soul” and discovers that love is the core of existence and creation. Austen in “ Mansfield Park“, and Shakespeare in “ King Lear“. The “wilderness” is a symbol that has been used by many great writers e.g. It is also symbolic that Santiago finds his soul-mate, and the secrets of wisdom in the wilderness of the desert. However, only few people choose to follow the road that has been made for them, and find God while searching for their destiny, and their mission on earth.Ĭonsequently, is Coelho suggesting that the alchemist found God while searching for the elixir of life and the philosopher’s stone? What is certain is that the symbolism of the text is a parallel to the symbolism and the symbolic language of alchemism, and similarly the symbolism of dreams is presented as “God’s language”. It is interesting to see that Coelho presents the person who denies to follow his dream as the person who denies to see God, and that “every happy person carries God within him”. This is where Coelho really captures the drama of man, who sacrifices fulfillment to conformity, who knows he can achieve greatness but denies to do so, and ends up living a life of void. As the old crystal-seller tragically confesses: “ I am afraid that great disappointment awaits me, and so I prefer to dream”. Fear of failure seems to be the greatest obstacle to happiness. Perhaps this is the secret of Coelho’s success: that he tells people what they want to hear, or rather that he tells them that what they wish for but never thought possible could even be probable.Ĭoelho also suggests that those who do not have the courage to follow their “Personal Myth”, are doomed to a life of emptiness, misery, and unfulfillment. And isn’t it true that the whole of humankind desperately wants to believe the old king when he says that the greatest lie in the world is that at some point we lose the ability to control our lives, and become the pawns of fate. This is the core of the novel’s philosophy and a motif that echoes behind Coelho’s writing all through “ The Alchemist“. That may sound like an oversimplified version of new-age philosophy and mysticism, but as Coelho states “simple things are the most valuable and only wise people appreciate them”.Īs the alchemist himself says, when he appears to Santiago in the form of an old king “when you really want something to happen, the whole universe conspires so that your wish comes true”. “ The Alchemist“, is an exciting novel that bursts with optimism it is the kind of novel that tells you that everything is possible as long as you really want it to happen.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |