The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho StoryShots Book Analysis and Summary.pdf

STORYSHOTS The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho StoryShots Book Summary and Review A Fable About Following Your Dream First published by StoryShots 2023 Copyright © 2023 by StoryShots All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission. StoryShots has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party Internet Websites referred to in this publication and does not guarantee that any content on such Websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. Disclaimer: This is an unofficial summary and analysis. It is not affiliated with, authorized, approved, licensed, or endorsed by the subject book’s author or publisher. 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Find out more at reedsy.com Contents Preface iv Introduction 1 About Paulo Coelho 2 StoryShot 1: Dreaming Is What Makes Life Interesting 3 StoryShot 2: We All Have a Personal Legend We Want to... 5 StoryShot 3: Everything Happens for a Reason 9 StoryShot 4: Love Helps You Hear the Soul of the World 11 StoryShot 5: Our True Treasure Is Not Always What We Think... 14 StoryShot 6: The Alchemist Teaches Us Lessons About Fear,... 18 Final Summary and Review 22 Rating 23 Related Book Summaries 24 PDF, Free Audiobook, Infographic, and Ani- mated Summary 25 Preface Life gets busy. Has The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho been on your reading list? Instead, learn the key insights now. We’re scratching the surface here. If you don’t already have the book, order it here or the audiobook for free on Amazon to learn the juicy details. iv Introduction Do you have a Personal Legend? You probably do, even if you don’t know it yet. Your Personal Legend is what you want to achieve in life. In The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho explores this theme through the mystical tale of a shepherd boy named Santiago. He thinks his desired goal is to find treasure, but after going on a long, difficult quest, he realizes his true goal, or Personal Legend, is what he learns along the way. Since it was first published in 1988, The Alchemist has de- lighted and inspired millions of people around the world. Read our summary (Continue reading) to discover why. 1 About Paulo Coelho Paulo Coelho is a Brazilian writer who specializes in spiritually inspired novels. Coelho had a troubled childhood and rebelled against his Catholic parents’ religion. Subsequently, they committed him to a psychiatric hospital on three occasions. Coelho used this hardship and his spiritual awakening, while on his 500-mile journey to Santiago de Compostela, as inspiration for his books. Before becoming a writer, Coelho engaged with multiple professions. He has worked as a lawyer, songwriter, actor, journalist, and theater director. The Alchemist was initially a slow seller but has grown to become the most-translated book by a living author. Coelho lets the world around him guide his writing. His ritual is to begin writing a novel when he sees a white feather in January of an odd year. 2 StoryShot 1: Dreaming Is What Makes Life Interesting “It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.” — Paulo Coelho The main character in The Alchemist is a shepherd called Santi- ago. The story starts with Santiago pondering the nature of his work. Santiago is close to his animals. He calls each of them by name, his schedule revolves around them, and he has conversations with them. Recently, Santiago’s conversations have been about a girl he met a year ago. He met her in the village that is the next destination on his journey. Santiago hasn’t stopped thinking about this girl all year. She is a merchant’s daughter he met while delivering wool to a shop where she was browsing. The shop owner bought the wool from Santiago and encouraged him to return a year later. Hence, Santiago is on the way back to the village where he first met the girl. Santiago views his shepherding life as providing him with considerable freedom. He allows his sheep to lead the way and eventually finds a new path. However, Santiago realizes this is not a real discovery. He once dreamed of traveling the world. 3 THE ALCHEMIST BY PAULO COELHO STORYSHOTS BOOK SUMMARY AND REVIEW He accepts that dreaming about what you don’t have is what makes life interesting. This is why he has been dreaming for a year about seeing this girl again. 4 StoryShot 2: We All Have a Personal Legend We Want to Achieve There are two key themes in The Alchemist: “Personal Legends” and pursuing your dream. Personal Legends Once Santiago reaches Tarifa, his last stop before the village where his dream girl lives, he visits an old gypsy woman. This woman claims she can interpret dreams. Santiago has had a recurring dream where a child shows him the location of some treasure. However, he wakes up just before he finds out exactly where it is. The gypsy woman tells Santiago this treasure is legitimate. She explains to him that dreams are a language used by the Soul of the World to communicate with people. The woman accepts as payment one-tenth of the treasure when Santiago finds it. Upon leaving the gypsy woman’s house, Santiago sits in the plaza to read a book. An old man comes up to him and tells him he has read that book. The man reveals himself to be Melchizedek, the king of Salem. He bestows wisdom upon Santiago. This wisdom is that the world believes fate prevents 5 THE ALCHEMIST BY PAULO COELHO STORYSHOTS BOOK SUMMARY AND REVIEW people from achieving their Personal Legend. Personal Legends are dreams that people have wanted to achieve their entire life. Just as the gypsy woman said, Melchizedek explains that Personal Legends come from the Soul of the World. However, fear and routine obscure our Personal Legend. Melchizedek explains to Santiago that he only appears to people who are ready to achieve their dreams. He will tell Santiago about the treasure in his dream if the boy gives him one-tenth of his sheep. 6 STORYSHOT 2: WE ALL HAVE A PERSONAL LEGEND WE WANT TO... Pursuing Your Dreams After deliberation, Santiago decides his sheep and the mer- chant’s daughter were merely steps on the way to his Personal Legend (i.e., the treasure). He decides to sell his flock imme- diately and gives Melchizedek six sheep for free. Melchizedek tells Santiago to always follow the omens and gives Santiago two stones. One stone is black and called Urim (meaning “yes”), and the other is white and called Thummim (meaning “no”). These stones will help Santiago if he struggles to understand the omens. With the money from selling his flock, Santiago buys a ticket from Tarifa to Africa and sets sail to find the treasure. Upon arriving in Tangiers, Santiago realizes that obtaining his Personal Legend will be more complicated than he first imagined. For starters, he does not speak Arabic. While sitting alone in a bar, a young man approaches Santiago. In Spanish, the man offers to help him get to the Egyptian pyramids where the treasure lies. However, when the young man offers to help Santiago buy a camel, he robs him of all his money. Santiago weeps with despair. He has nothing and asks the stones if Melchizedek’s blessing is still with him. The answer is yes. So, Santiago continues on his journey toward obtaining his dreams. Wandering the streets in search of opportunities, Santiago comes across a crystal shop struggling financially. Santiago cleans the front window, and the owner offers him a job. The owner is willing to pay Santiago enough to save up for a new flock of sheep and his passage back home. Santiago agrees and takes the job. 7 THE ALCHEMIST BY PAULO COELHO STORYSHOTS BOOK SUMMARY AND REVIEW Personal Legends Explained Personal Legends serve as the only means by which a person can live a satisfying life. Those who put off their Personal Legends will suffer from regret and fail to experience the wealth associated with achieving them. Additionally, following your Personal Legends will allow the world to bestow favors upon you. The novel even explains that natural elements must aim to achieve their Personal Legends. For example, alchemy involves turning metal into its own Personal Legend: gold. 8 StoryShot 3: Everything Happens for a Reason After obtaining enough money to buy another flock and travel home, Santiago has a conversation with the crystal shop owner. He asks for the owner’s blessing to go home. Although the owner gives his blessing, he also tells Santiago that he knows he will not return to Spain. He says Santiago will continue to pursue his Personal Legend. Santiago accepts he is far from home and closer to the Egyptian pyramids and the treasure. He takes a chance and starts living in a caravan in the desert to search for the treasure. While living here, he meets an Englishman in search of his own Personal Legend. Melchizedek also gave this man Urim and Thummim. Santiago realizes the series of events he has experienced have all guided him closer to his Personal Legend. Even being robbed was part of his journey toward finding the treasure. While traveling across the desert, the Englishman talks to Santiago about the Soul of the World. He describes this as the principle that governs all things. If we have an intuition or genuinely want something, we are immersed in the Soul of the World. Santiago reads some of the Englishman’s alchemy books. 9 THE ALCHEMIST BY PAULO COELHO STORYSHOTS BOOK SUMMARY AND REVIEW He discovered that almost all famous alchemists dedicated their lives to realizing their Personal Legends. However, Santiago wants to read the world’s omens through everyday life, rather than in old books. 10 StoryShot 4: Love Helps You Hear the Soul of the World The caravan finally reaches the oasis where an alchemist has been waiting for its arrival. This alchemist knew from reading the desert’s omens that someone in a caravan sought them out. At this time, a war is taking place between the tribes of the desert. This war makes the desert too dangerous to cross. Therefore, the caravan must stay at the oasis indefinitely. Santiago meets a beautiful girl, Fatima, at a well and falls in love with her. He learns that being in love helps you hear the language of the Soul of the World. Santiago starts meeting Fatima at the well every day. He tells her about his story and everything he has learned during his journey. 11 THE ALCHEMIST BY PAULO COELHO STORYSHOTS BOOK SUMMARY AND REVIEW Santiago’s Vision Saves Him Santiago is so in love with Fatima, he tells her he wants to marry her. He’s even thinking about giving up on his quest so he can be with her. Fatima tells Santiago she understands he needs to find the treasure to realize his life goals. While pondering this alone on the outskirts of the oasis, Santiago has a vision of an invading army. After consulting one of the caravan’s guides, Santiago resolves to tell the oasis chiefs what the desert’s omens have shown him. After he tells them, they deliberate and decide to prepare for war. This war is against the oasis tradition, as the area is usually considered neutral ground. 12 STORYSHOT 4: LOVE HELPS YOU HEAR THE SOUL OF THE WORLD The chiefs make a deal with Santiago. If the enemy arrives, they will give Santiago a gold piece for every ten enemies slain. If Santiago’s vision is wrong, he will be killed. Walking home from his meeting with the chiefs, Santiago is pensive but sure he has made the right decision. Santiago Is Ambushed A man with a falcon on his shoulder, dressed all in black and riding a white horse, assails Santiago. The attacker holds a sword to Santiago’s head and demands to know how he knew of the approaching army. Santiago is frightened and explains to the man about the omens of the desert and his Personal Legend. He says he had no choice. To Santiago’s surprise, the man understands completely. He leaves, telling Santiago to find him if he survives in the coming days. As the horseman rides away, Santiago realizes he has just met the alchemist. The next day, the men of the oasis kill all the intruders. Subsequently, the oasis chiefs award Santiago fifty pieces of gold and ask him to become the oasis counselor. Instead, Santiago makes the difficult decision of leaving Fatima and the opportunity to become a counselor. He chooses to pursue his Personal Legend alongside the alchemist. 13 StoryShot 5: Our True Treasure Is Not Always What We Think It Is Through Santiago’s journey in The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho teaches us that the “treasure” we are aiming for may not be our true goal. Nearing the Treasure “Why do we have to listen to our hearts?”... ”Because, wherever your heart is, that is where you’ll find your treasure.” — Paulo Coelho Santiago travels across the desert with the alchemist. He grows restless, wanting to learn more about the alchemist’s secrets. However, the alchemist explains that, although he has learned much, some things cannot be taught. Santiago must learn these things himself. The alchemist also explains that men complicate matters by seeking their Personal Legend’s treasures without living their Personal Legends. He advises Santiago to listen to his heart. When nearing the treasure, the two men are traveling through dangerous lands. Santiago’s heart is becoming agitated. He hears from the Soul of the World about others who have failed 14 STORYSHOT 5: OUR TRUE TREASURE IS NOT ALWAYS WHAT WE THINK... to find their fortune. He is scared and wants to return to Fatima. However, he learns to be at peace with these worries. War Catches Up With the Travelers A warring tribe captures the travelers and threatens to kill them. To save their lives, the alchemist gives the tribe all Santiago’s money and tells them Santiago is a powerful wizard. He says Santiago can turn himself into the wind and destroy them. The tribesmen do not believe them but give Santiago three days to prove his powers. Although the alchemist is unaffected, Santiago continues to worry about proving his abilities. On the third day, he goes to the top of a cliff. He tries to speak to the desert and explains he needs to turn himself into the wind to return to his love, Fatima. However, the desert does not know how to do this. Santiago then asks the wind, but the wind is unaware of what love is. Finally, the sun suggests Santiago asks the Hand That Wrote All. Santiago begins to pray. His prayer is not a request but an acknowledgment that his heart and the Soul of the World are the same. Upon this realization, Santiago turns into the wind. The tribesmen arrive to learn that Santiago has disappeared, then he reappears on the other side of the camp. Impressed, the tribal chiefs let the two travelers go and give them a guide to find their destination. 15 THE ALCHEMIST BY PAULO COELHO STORYSHOTS BOOK SUMMARY AND REVIEW The Alchemist Leaves Santiago The next day, the alchemist takes his leave at a Coptic monastery. Santiago continues his travels and reaches the pyramids where the treasure is located. He realizes the real treasure in life is not the gold or jewels that lie there. It is the wisdom he has gained on his way to the pyramids and his love for Fatima. Santiago is happy to walk back home at this point. However, the alchemist tells him to listen to his heart. His heart tells him to start digging in the spot where there was a scarab beetle. As he is digging, some men approach him and beat him savagely. They also take all his money. Santiago tries to explain what he is doing and how he has come to be there. The men tell him that he is a fool and they have the same recurring dream. They dreamed of treasures in Spain, but say they were not stupid enough to 16 STORYSHOT 5: OUR TRUE TREASURE IS NOT ALWAYS WHAT WE THINK... chase after their dream. Santiago has been beaten down but is ecstatic. He now knows where his treasure lies. 17 StoryShot 6: The Alchemist Teaches Us Lessons About Fear, Dreams, Fate, and Omens Coelho teaches us many lessons through the story of Santiago and his quest to find treasure. Fear Fear of failure is the primary obstacle Santiago must overcome on his journey. Throughout the book, wise individuals tell Santiago this fear becomes irrelevant if you faithfully pursue your dreams. This wisdom is supported by the times Santiago truly pursued his dreams, like turning himself into the wind. Dreams Although dreams are common throughout The Alchemist, the most important dream is Santiago’s Personal Legend. Personal Legends enlighten the characters and form communication with the Soul of the World. You can use life goals to guide you through 18 STORYSHOT 6: THE ALCHEMIST TEACHES US LESSONS ABOUT FEAR,... hardships. What’s more, the possibility of achieving your dream is what makes life interesting. Fate Many characters use the term “Maktub” throughout the book. Maktub means “it is written.” Santiago’s story shows that fate always cooperates with those in pursuit of their Personal Legends. Everything in the universe conspires to help you achieve what you desire. Therefore, you should remain focused on your goals and find comfort in the belief that your destiny is already written in the world’s history. Omens Omens allow you to find your meaning, no matter the environ- ment. This is because omens are part of the Universal Language of the World. We should also try to find meaning in random events. Every event can be applied to our Personal Legend and considered another step toward achieving our goals. You’ll be happy if you keep your eyes on the present. Life will be a grand party for you because life is the moment you’re living now. 19 THE ALCHEMIST BY PAULO COELHO STORYSHOTS BOOK SUMMARY AND REVIEW Don’t Be a Sheep The sheep in The Alchemist are symbolic. Although Santiago cares for his sheep, he also understands they lack something he has. He understands his sheep do not have the same capacity as him to have a Personal Legend. This is why they follow him wherever he goes. Before Santiago started chasing his dreams, he was like a sheep. He followed others and was focused on material desires and social acceptance. Identifying your Personal Legend is vital in preventing you from becoming dependent on others. 20 STORYSHOT 6: THE ALCHEMIST TEACHES US LESSONS ABOUT FEAR,... Hardship Helps You Find Your True Personal Legend Santiago’s journey to find his Personal Legend was not easy. The Alchemist is filled with challenging times for Santiago. He was robbed, abducted, and threatened with death, then beaten and robbed again. However, Santiago ends the book happier than he was before embarking on this journey. The most important takeaway message from this book is that desiring a goal in life is where we gain happiness. A life of challenges in pursuit of a Personal Legend is happier than a safe and directionless life. According to Coelho, “The secret of life is to fall seven times and to get up eight times.” 21 Final Summary and Review The Alchemist tells the mystical story of Santiago. This Andalu- sian shepherd boy yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure. Santiago regards this treasure as his Personal Legend. However, his quest to obtain this treasure leads him to different riches that are far more satisfying. Santiago experiences hardship, love, and friendship. He also learns that staying focused on a life goal provides him with the drive to carry on. The pursuit of the dream becomes more important than the outcome. Beaten and exhausted, Santiago is happier than before embarking on this journey. What is your Personal Legend? Tag us on social media and tell us what your true goal is in life! 22 Rating We rate The Alchemist 3.9/5. How would you rate Paulo Coelho’s book based on this sum- mary? Cast your vote here. 23 Related Book Summaries The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin Sharma Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins The Dip by Seth Godin Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins The Obstacle Is the Way by Ryan Holiday The Mamba Mentality by Kobe Bryant Mindset by Carol Dweck Originals by Adam Grant Grit by Angela Duckworth The Magic of Thinking Big by David J. Schwartz 24 PDF, Free Audiobook, Infographic, and Animated Summary This was the tip of the iceberg. To dive into the details and support Paulo Coelho, order the book here or get the audiobook for free. Comment here and let others know what you have learned or if you have any other thoughts. New to StoryShots? Get the PDF, audio, infographic, and animated versions of this summary and hundreds of other best- selling nonfiction books in our free top-ranking app. It’s been featured by Apple, The Guardian, the UN, TechCrunch and Google as one of the world’s best reading and learning apps. 25

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