My Essay

“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’s seemed impossible for a shepherd to achieve” (Coelho, page 125). In The Alchemist Santiago is telling his heart not to be fearful of things to come, but to embrace them. The quote shows that Santiago realizes that he had to take risks to become successful. Santiago a traveling shepherd boy whose life is turned upside down when a gypsy tells him that he must fulfill his destiny. Having never left Spain, he is being told to travel across the Sahara Desert to get to the Great Pyramids of Giza. As he does so, he meets the love of his life in a small oasis in the middle of Egypt. The only way for Santiago to achieve his destiny is to combine his bravery, determination and intelligence.

Santiago demonstrates bravery in many different scenarios. Santiago is a very brave person because he gives up his life of a happy shepherd to chase an uncertain destiny. His bravery comes from within, as he makes his own decisions, even when he is afraid or in new places: “How strange Africa is, thought the boy.” Santiago has just left his life as a shepherd and has taken the first steps towards his destiny. Another example is that he is not afraid to say what he thinks, even when he tells Fatima that he loves her on the first day they met: “ ‘I came to tell you one thing,’ the boy said. ‘I want you to be my wife. I love you.’” He is also not scared to say what he thinks, and he asks questions if he doesn’t understand, even if this means that he appears stupid or dumb. Santiago also learns bravery from the alchemist when Alchemist tells Santiago to fulfill his destiny on his own, even though the alchemist knows that the boy is worried about what is to come and about leaving the alchemist. Santiago also learns bravery from the crystal merchant, because the crystal merchant teaches him that you have to take some risks in life to enjoy it and so to live life to the fullest. Santiago’s bravery helps him fulfill his destiny because Santiago is a very brave person, but bravery will only get him so far: he needs to be determined if he wants to fulfill his destiny and find love.

Santiago may be as brave as can be, but he must also master determination if he wants to be successful in his destiny. Santiago’s feelings for Fatima “ I love you. I’m going to wait here for you every day.” This is what Santiago says to Fatima, and this shows his determination, because he loves her and he is willing to wait for years until she feels the same way about him. He learns determination from the Englishman because the Englishman has traveled the world and spent lots of money in search of an alchemist to teach him alchemy. Santiago realizes this and embraces the fact that he too must have patience if he wants to succeed in his destiny. Santiago also learns determination from his heart because his heart is determined to keep him alive and to help him with his destiny. Also from Melchizedek the King of Salem who helps him make up his mind about going to Africa but also helps him in the form of Urim and Thummin which give the boy hope and determination to get the job done. This helps him Santiago with his destiny because he often felt like giving up but when he looked at Urim and Thummin he realized that the old king was still with him so he got up and kept going. Santiago is a very determined boy but he is also extremely intelligent when he makes decisions for himself.

Santiago is an extremely intelligent person because he learns from his mistakes and ask questions when he doesn’t understand. He gain intelligence from his schooling. He learns through this because they teach him about what he should do in life also about what god would do. The school also taught him to read and write as well as decision making this help him on his quest because he must make lots of difficult decisions. He also learns intelligences from Melchizedek the King of Salem because he teaches him about the Principle of Favorability also called beginners luck. This helps him achieve his destiny because he knows why things are happening and he knows that what ever happens is meant to be and that everything is trying to help him be successful. An example of everything linking together to help you is “ The boy knew what he was about to describe though: the mysterious chain that links one thing to another, the same chain that had caused that to become a shepherd, that caused his recurring dream that had brought him to a city near Africa to find a king and to be robbed in order to meet a crystal merchant”. This quote shows that the boy knows that everything is connected and that one thing leads to another. The boy also learns intelligences from Fatima because she teaches him about desert woman and about how if it is meant to be he will always come back “If I am really a part of your dream you’ll come back one day.” This helps Santiago throughout his search for destiny because he is now willing to leave Fatima because he knows that she will let him go on his journey without being sad. Santiago is a very intelligent person because he realizes things that most people wouldn’t get or wouldn’t notice this helps him throughout his destiny because he can make many decisions based on what he knows and sees.

Santiago has many traits that lots of people have that helped him to become an amazing person. Santiago is brave because he took his chances and continued even though things looked bleak. His bravery is crucial to Santiago’s survival as he continually faced danger. He is determined because he had to search for his treasure: it just didn’t pop up. His determination allowed him to adapt as he powered through different obstacles. He is intelligent because he’s self-aware and he realizes what he did and what he has become. His intelligence has helped him when he was lost or confused about what to do with his life and if he should continue. In the end, this combination of bravery, determination and intelligence has propelled him, a humble and simple shepherds boy, towards his destiny.