The Alchemist

Everyone will learn many important lessons throughout his or her life, especially when one is in the process of achieving his or her lifetime goals. For instance, in Paulo Coelho’s fable, The Alchemist, Santiago learns numerous lessons from both his own experiences and various people during his journey towards his Personal Legend of finding treasure at the Egyptian Pyramids. Paulo Coelho’s use of the three modes of persuasion, ethos, pathos, and logos, reveal that we must make sacrifices and take chances in order to fully realize our goals.

      Santiago’s trust in knowledgeable and respected figures helps him to realize what he must forgo in order to achieve his Personal Legend. For example, when Santiago converses with King Melchizedek about his treasure, King Melchizedek informs him, “If you want to learn about your own treasure, you will have to give me one-tenth of your flock” (24). Santiago’s sacrifice does help him gain new knowledge about his treasure. This experience teaches Santiago that he must make some sacrifices in order to learn more about the world. Secondly, after Santiago notifies the chieftains of his vision, the elder chieftain tells him, “For every ten dead men among our enemies, you will receive a piece of gold… but… if at least one [weapon] hasn’t been used by the end of the day tomorrow, one will be used on you” (108). Even though Santiago has taken an enormous risk and could lose his life, the tribal chieftain eventually “present[s] him with fifty pieces of gold” (113), demonstrating that it is sometimes necessary to take risks in order to get rewarded. Finally, after Santiago loses all his money to the tribesmen in the desert, the alchemist says, “Well, what good would it be to you if you had to die? ... Your money saved us for three days. It’s not often that money saves a person’s life” (141). Although Santiago is initially angry at the alchemist for giving the tribesmen all of his money, he learns that one’s life is much more...