The Alchemist 

Essay Specs

POV: Third person ONLY
Minimum Word Count: 1,500 words
Format: MLA format
LINK ALERT: 
(Please consult AND study this source to see how your paper should be set-up. Do not assume you know how to set up your paper. Confirm the expectations by looking at this source). (Links to an external site.)
Assignment Type: Essay One
Topic: The topic of your essay is completely up to you. HOWEVER the essay must summarize but more so analyze a primary from Module 2.  

Additional Instructions: You are required to borrow material from the primary source. Avoiding including borrowed material in the introduction and the conclusion. 

Ensure that there is at least one element of borrowed material, cited, in each body paragraph of your essay. 
This is very important. Essays failing to include borrowed material, formatted correctly, and not cited, will receive no less than a 15 point penalty. 

ADDED: 

Please don’t forget to add the Essay Supplemental Form to your assignment:

From Reading to Topic to Thesis to Focused Essay

In class, I did a short exercise showing you how to go from reading to identifying a topic, to developing a thesis on that topic, to staying focused throughout the essay. 

Here is the story you should write about

https://mimispassion.files.wordpress.com/2016/12/paulo_coelho_-_the_alchemist.pdf

In the above link use that part 1 only story. Write analysis and interpretation also thesis in the introductory paragraph. My professor said don’t summarize analyze and interpret the story. When you write the citation please use write the author last name and use page numbers in sentences.  

Answer

Building Character

The first part of The Alchemist shows the journey of accepting challenges as well as the subsequent setbacks that come with it. Furthermore, the section also presents some main themes like love, dreams as well as fate. The narrative of this section is rather interesting because it straddles an immense geographic division between Africa and Spain, which forms the physical story of the main dialect. This division is not focused on the character’s physical adventure, but rather it emulates his internal struggles of overcoming his fears while harnessing the strength to reach a better version of himself. Therefore, this essay will focus on identifying one’s calling while embarking on life’s journey of discovery and how it builds one’s character. 

Each person is motivated in different ways in order to achieve their dreams. In order to do this, one must overcome several challenges which influence behavior to attempt to attain certain outcomes and goals. Factors like recognition, achievement, and advancement in life stages encourage an individual to reach contentment. According to the story, no matter what the main character does, he comes to realize that each person has a significant role to play in the world, even though this may not be known initially (Coelho 4). Therefore, motivation is a crucial driving force, especially when it comes to human actions or why an individual does something. 

Since childhood, people have been instilled with a fear of failure because it is the most critical time in their lives. According to Coelho (9), Santiago’s father told him that people usually pass through their hometown to find new things, but they fail to find purpose. It is important for people that surround you to offer support, especially when pursuing your dreams but sometimes society imprints fallacious ideologies in people, just like it happened to Santiago. Often people view pursuing their dreams as a way of offering love for others in a mutually exclusive manner rather than viewing them as their own reflection for a greater purpose. 

People are often afraid of defeat as they progress in their life’s journey because most times, a lot of factors determine their path. It is important to acknowledge that there will be failures and setbacks, and one needs to know which way to turn by remembering that other people’s opinions do not matter. Coelho shows how the concept of fear acts as an impediment against one’s ability to attain goals by highlighting the instance when the Alchemist tasks Santiago to become the wing (Coelho 8). The consequences of failure fuel doubt, especially if there is the risk of death. This kind of apprehension can make it complex for someone to progress into overarching ambitions. 

There are various major and minor obstacles that have been represented in the first part of the story, which emulates the internal conflicts of each individual. However, conflicts are usually abstract in reality because they are generated from various experiences in our past. Santiago, for instance, faced resistance for following his dreams from his sheep, and this leads to unexpected emotions from him (Coelho 3). Most people want and crave acceptance, and they are willing to hold back their progress so that they can be with others because they believe that if things did not work for the other, it might not work for them either. This is because we often do not want to separate ourselves from the rest of the group, and this hinders the ability to grow or become successful in things we want to pursue. 

The quest that Santiago begins shows that anyone can fix their mind to doing something just as long as they possess the desire and passion for finishing the uphill task or journey. Such lessons help us understand there is a power within us that can only be generated through a strong will, and this pushes us to go beyond normal limits. For instance, when Santiago wanted to travel, his father discouraged him by telling him that he would still come back to the village because he would find nothing (Coelho 5). However, the fact that he still did it despite the negativity shows that he was ready and was willing to push himself to achieve what he needed. Based on this, it is important to understand that in life, not everything can be determined, but it does not mean that we should view life negatively because we never know what our fate is. 

In the novel, when Santiago was starting the journey, his money was stolen just because he placed his trust in the wrong person, and he was conned as a result (Coelho 6). We should learn that the real purpose of life is not always material because we often journey to the real destination through positive or negative experiences. In the process, we get to learn and grow. Accepting growth assists us to become a better version of ourselves, which enables us to embrace the lessons revealed through life’s journey, irrespective of how unpleasant it may seem. 

Mental strength is not something that humans are born with, but rather it is influenced during childhood. As adults, our mental strength becomes something that we need to enhance via experiencing adversity as well as profound pain. People gain strength with each obstacle that is overcome, and this stretches their will to find solutions or rather adapt to the circumstances. Santiago, in the story, met a man, ‘Melchizedek,’ who describes to him about Personal Legend and fate (Coelho 11). This is the beginning of the character’s understanding of what he needs to be strong and push on with his desires. It is important to note that our life lessons always reflect in our minds until we find a degree of maturity and cognizance in how we shape our mindset. 

It is important to be optimistic when facing adversity because this helps in intentionally shifting from negative elements that may consume someone. Once this is understood, one can affirm the power of having a positive mindset. The things that individuals go through in their lives help broaden think and release people from a closed mindset by instilling an amplified and transformed intelligence. In the story, Santiago had lost hope and had no money, but he still managed to be offered a job by a merchant in the marketplace that he was seeking shelter in (Coelho 8). This shows that what we grasp from the hurdles of life constitutes the strength drawn within us to shape our courage and confidence in pursuing our dreams. 

In the story, Melchizedek interpreted Santiago’s dream and urged him to continue pursuing his dream (Coelho 6). This conveys that dreams should be interpreted as messages generated by the universe to give a sense of direction. When someone embarks on doing something, the whole world usually conspires to ensure that it is done by introducing one to people of circumstances that favor what needs to be done. This shows the spirit of ‘never giving up,’ which people usually do when they question whether they are able to accomplish their goals and achievements. The story is an important reminder as to why we should not give up. 

It is also important to note how meeting different people can have a significant influence on your life. In the story, the character has met different people in his journey who have convinced him that he needs to keep on going whenever he describes his dream to them. For instance, Santiago was convinced by the merchant that he should pursue his dream of going to Egypt, especially after he described his dream to him (Coelho 8). This shows that in life, it is important to be surrounded by people that encourage you to become a better person and do more to achieve your goals. Therefore, life is not always about one person but rather the community that builds one’s character through encouraging or discouraging different characteristics, which help in the progress one makes in achieving happiness and success. 

In summary, this story stresses that people need to take action on what they desire to do and not let challenges prevent them from doing so. The context of the story also shows that challenges are normal in life’s journey, but they should not make us stop pursuing our goals because they should be learned from. Santiago found out that he needed to find a higher purpose so that he can be truly happy. Factors like recognition, achievement, and advancement in life stages encourage an individual to reach contentment. It is important to acknowledge that there will be failures and setbacks, and one needs to know which way to turn by remembering that other people’s opinions do not matter if they want to follow their dreams. Most people want and crave acceptance, and they are willing to hold back their progress so that they can be with others because they believe that if things did not work for the other, it might not work for them either. In this essay, we have described how to identify one’s calling while embarking on life’s journey of discovery and how it builds one’s character. 

Work Cited

Coelho, Paulo. The Alchemist. HarperCollins, 1992. Internet resource. 

Order your Copy Today