By Scott MacLean
Years ago, I received The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho as a gift from my thoughtful sister. She understood that reading had become an integral part of my identity, and that I loved nothing more than discovering themes within a text. The book remained on my shelf for years before I decided to read it; I opted to read young adult series that often spanned five or six books. I believed that by remaining with the same characters over the course of a series, I’d come to better understand their intentions and development. The Alchemist is a standalone book and I entered the text with a healthy amount of skepticism: How would I derive deeper meaning from such a short novel? Would I be able to grasp the themes and feel connected to the characters?
Based on the jacket copy, I was able to deduce that the book had been beloved for many years all over the world. The small summary reminded me of the hero’s journey, discussed at length in The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell. In my previous studies I had come to know that the hero’s journey is a template of sorts that involves a hero who is called to action, takes off on a quest, and returns transformed.
As I read The Alchemist I wanted to determine the premise. Robert McKee, in a chapter dubbed “Structure and Meaning” of his book Story, defines premise as “the idea that inspires the writer’s desire to create a story… an open-ended question: What would happen if … ?” (McKee 112). With this definition of premise in mind, I was able to determine early on in the text that the premise was “What would happen if a shepherd gave up everything and went in search of his Personal Legend?” In The Alchemist, the protagonist, Santiago, is confronted with a choice: he could remain a shepherd, a profession which has brought him a good life and allowed him to travel many places, OR he could give up his flock and pursue his Personal Legend, his soul’s mission on earth.
During the early stages of the book, Santiago falls asleep in an abandoned church and experiences a recurring dream of a child telling him of hidden treasure at the Egyptian pyramids. Through the wise words of a Gypsy and an Old King, Santiago comes to learn that this dream is a nudge in the direction of his Personal Legend, a mission assigned to him by The Soul of the World. Santiago gives up his flock and travels from Spain to Africa in search of the treasure hinted at in his dreams. During his travels he encounters a Crystal Merchant, an Englishman, a woman named Fatima, and an Alchemist, as well as many other people who teach him new things about the Soul of the World, and the universal language that all are capable of understanding in their heart if they learn to listen. The novel roughly follows the pattern of the hero’s journey.
- The Call to Adventure (Call to head off into the unknown) – Santiago’s recurring dream.
- Refusal of the Call (Sense of duty or obligation, fear, insecurity etc.) – Disbelieves the Gypsy’s claims that his dream is worth pursuing, doesn’t want to leave his flock.
- Supernatural Aid (Magical helper appears) – The Old King teaches him what Personal Legends are and convinces him to go in search of it.
- The Crossing of the First Threshold (Journeys into unknown) – Santiago makes it to Africa and is robbed of all the money he gained from selling his flock, comes to understand that he is in an unknown world.
- The Road of Trials (tests to overcome) – Aids the Crystal Merchant in revitalizing his shop to earn money. Joins the caravan on their journey through the desert and meets the Englishman. Learns to interpret the world’s omens at the Oasis and meets the love of his life, Fatima.
- The Meeting with the Goddess (hero gains something that will help in the future) – Santiago meets the Alchemist, who gives him gold and knowledge.
- Woman as the Temptress (lead astray from quest) – Santiago is tempted to quit pursuing his personal legend to stay at the Oasis with Fatima.
- Atonement with the Father/Abyss (Must confront the ultimate power) – The Alchemist and Fatima convince Santiago to continue in search of his Personal Legend. Must speak the universal language with the Soul of the World and become the wind to gain safe passage to Egyptian pyramids.
- Apotheosis (Point of realization) – Santiago becomes the wind and realizes the power of the Soul of the World has been within him all along.
- The Ultimate Boon (Achieves goal) – Santiago makes it to the pyramids only to discover the treasure was at the church where he first had the dream. He returns to Spain, gets the treasure.
- Master of the Two Worlds (Balance/confidence achieved) – Santiago understands his journey was necessary in order for him to become the man he is now.
- Freedom to Live (Return to normalcy) – Santiago resolves to go back to the Oasis, treasure in tow, and find his beloved Fatima.
Reading the story and thinking in terms of Campbell’s hero’s journey helped me better understand McKee’s approach to graphing a narrative. It’s clear the events go back-and-forth between two opposing ideas: Santiago has a dream (+), He disbelieves the Gypsy’s claims (-), The Old King convinces Santiago to pursue his Personal Legend (+). The structure follows this continuous ebb and flow that keeps the reader guessing. Did I have an idea how the story would end? Yes, I assumed he’d realize his Personal Legend and value his journey. However, the back-and-forth made it impossible to be certain what obstacles he would be forced to overcome and if he’d rise to the occasion. In a way, I felt as though I was undergoing the journey with Santiago, walking alongside him through the desert, interpreting omens. During the scene where Santiago must transform himself into the wind, I too felt a determination and a certainty that the world was indeed governed by a universal language, in the small unconscious ways all living things communicate.
According to McKee, “a true theme is not a word but a sentence—one clear, coherent sentence that expresses a story’s irreducible meaning,” a Controlling Idea. “The Controlling idea has two components: Value plus Cause. It identifies the positive or negative charge of the story’s critical value at the last act’s climax and it identifies the chief reason that this value has changed to its final state” (McKee 115). The Controlling Idea of The Alchemist seems to be that pursuing your Personal Legend will lead to knowledge and riches. McKee states that there must then be a Counter-Idea, which is played against the Controlling Idea. The Controlling Idea is positively charged, and the Counter-Idea is negatively charged, and “progressions build by moving dynamically between the positive and negative charges of the values at stake in the story” (McKee 119). The Counter-Idea of The Alchemist must be that avoiding your Personal Legend and settling on a different path is the safest way to live. We can see how the narrative bounces between these two contrasting ideas and ends a positively charged note, an Idealistic Controlling Idea. Once Santiago unearths the treasure and achieves his Personal Legend, we can see the Idealistic Controlling Idea win out over the Counter-Idea.
“We are travelers on a cosmic journey, stardust, swirling and dancing in the eddies and whirlpools of infinity. Life is eternal. We have stopped for a moment to encounter each other, to meet, to love, to share. This is a precious moment. It is a little parenthesis in eternity.”
Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
All You Read is Love 
I would like to propose a counter idea, which bears a slightly different meaning to the reader. As you said in your blog, “The Counter-Idea of The Alchemist must be that avoiding your Personal Legend and settling on a different path is the safest way to live.” I’d like to further elaborate on your take of the controlling idea. Santiago pursues his personal legend in order to fully understand the universal language and ultimately, obtain the treasure he is told of. Through pieces of the text, especially his encounter with the crystal merchant, the counter idea becomes apparent to the reader. Instead of pursuing his own personal legend (the pilgrimage to mecca), the crystal merchant chooses to stay where he is most comfortable, with his personal legend just out of reach. The boy notes this, and at one point, thinks he will do the same. This led me to believe that the counter idea of The Alchemist would be, Choosing not to pursue one’s Personal Legend will cause them to lead a life that they will find unsatisfactory. I think it’s also important to note the conversation Santiago had with the alchemist, which can be found on pages 123-124. If the boy chose not to pursue his Personal Legend, it would be buried forever and in the alchemist’s words, “You’ll spend the rest of your days knowing that you didn’t pursue your Personal Legend, and that now it’s too late,” (Coelho 124). The author says a version of what could be considered the counter idea through these few lines, which I took, to say it bluntly, at face value.
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I liked that you could compare Santiago’s journey to Campbell’s template of a hero’s journey. That is most likely what you were reading for. However, as I was reading this interesting story, I felt that the word “hero” wasn’t such a fitting label for Santiago, rather an “enlightened soul”. I was first pulled in by the ornate, bright orange and gold cover, which already ticks one of the boxes of a good read for me. When I read about Santiago’s dream of Egyptian treasure and a Personal Legend, I immediately was expecting a fun adventure with some obstacles in between. With genre awareness, you expect that key component. However, I didn’t want to be presented with a typical “hero” story. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this adventure came with deeper meanings and an understanding of life itself. Throughout Santiago’s journey, he becomes more enlightened of the things around him, even in the challenges and obstacles that he faces. He becomes one with the desert, the wind, the people he meets along the way, and the omens, therefore earning the title of an “enlightened soul” rather than a hero.
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