What is the connection between alchemy and personal legends?
Since everyone's Personal Legends are linked, the dividends are even greater for those who persist and achieve theirs! This idea of a progression toward becoming something better is closely aligned with alchemy, as best evidenced by the idea of base metals becoming gold simply by becoming 'better'.
What is the main idea of the Alchemist by Alchemist?
The most prominent theme in The Alchemist is the idea that each person has a “Personal Legend”—a type of ideal fate or destiny—and that each person can chose whether or not to pursue that legend.
What is a personal legend?
According to the book, the Personal Legend is the means by which a person can regard life as fulfilling. It is the sort of thing that an old man talks about while sitting in his favorite rocking chair on the porch, reflecting on how things were 'back when I was a young man'.
What is Santiago's personal legend in the alchemist?
For Santiago, it is the force that takes him from being a shepherd boy in Andalusia to being a capable alchemist by the end of the book. A Personal Legend also shows us how interconnected we all are. This is best demonstrated through the example of a time when someone ignored their Personal Legend.
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What is a personal legend from The Alchemist?
Essentially, a personal legend is one's destiny. It's identifying your purpose and having the desire to become the greatest version of yourself.
What is personal legend?
What is a Personal Legend? A Personal Legend is your life's spiritual purpose. It's a spiritual calling that awakens a deep desire and passion to live with a sense of purpose for something greater than yourself.
What is a personal legend according Coelho?
A Personal Legend is not only a person's destiny, but also the fulfillment of one's purpose. It's what brings happiness. A king named Melchizedek explains the concept of Personal Legend to Santiago, the main character. The king says that Personal Legends originate in the Soul of the World.
Who tells Santiago what a personal legend is?
MelchizedekMelchizedek explains that Santiago has discovered his Personal Legend, which he defines as "what you have always wanted to accomplish." According to Melchizedek, every young person knows what his or her Personal Legend is.
How do you know your personal legend?
Your Personal Legend is what you have always wanted to accomplish. Everyone when they are young knows what their personal legend is, at that point in their lives everything is clear and everything is possible. They are not afraid to dream and to yearn for everything they would like to see happen to them in their lives.
How do you get a personal legend?
To find your own Personal Legend and start living your story to its fullest, follow these twelve steps:Open up to yourself. ... Take small steps. ... Learn to say no. ... Discover your talents. ... Begin to choose. ... Make that decision 'pure' (not polluted by financial gain) ... Follow your intuition. ... Don't be afraid to change.More items...•
What does The Alchemist say about love and pursuing a personal legend?
You must understand that love never keeps a man from pursuing his Personal Legend. If he abandons that pursuit, it's because it wasn't true love. There is only one way to learn … It's through action.
How did Santiago achieve his personal legend?
In the book the Alchemist (by Paulo Coelho) Santiago learns many things along the way to achieving his personal legend. He gained skills and experience in things across the board, from how to clean crystals, to the 5 obligations of Muslims, to the basics of alchemy.
What is the main message of The Alchemist?
The constant theme in The Alchemist is to pursue your dreams by following what your heart desires. During the young boy's journey, he learns to listen to the heart and to follow the language of omens. With each passing obstacle and hurdle that the young boy encounters, there is a lesson to learn.
Did Santiago fulfill his personal legend?
However, she tells him that he must first fulfill his Personal Legend. Santiago ends up meeting the Alchemist who helps him prepare for becoming one himself, even if Santiago does not know it. Ultimately, Santiago is able to call upon his connections with the Soul of the World to fulfill his Personal Legend.
What is the true treasure of Santiago's personal legend?
The treasure shows up early on, in a dream that Santiago has about a child transporting him to the pyramids and telling him that he'll find a hidden treasure there. And the treasure does turn out to be pretty awesome, "a chest of Spanish gold coins.
What does Santiago say his purpose in life is?
The narrator explains that Santiago has always known that his purpose in life was to travel despite attending a seminary until the age of sixteen. After Santiago finally finds the courage to confess his dream to his parents, who wish for him to become a priest, his father tries to talk him out of a nomadic life.
What do you understand by legends?
A legend in literature is a traditional story or group of stories told about a particular person or place. Formerly the term legend meant a tale about a saint. Some legends are the unique property of the place or person that they depict.
Why does the crystal merchant say Maktub?
Meanwhile, Santiago's aspirations have encouraged the merchant to recall his own abandoned dreams. He uses the word that will feature prominently in this section of the novel: maktub, meaning "It is written." In Western terms, maktub means that something is destined, meant to be.
What is favorability principle?
In the book "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho, the principle of favorability refers to the fact that each person's legend starts with a stroke of luck. It's a kind of selection bias, since the people who weren't lucky never got to become legendary.
What is the Soul of the world in The Alchemist?
The Soul of the World in The Alchemist is a spiritual frame that every living and non-living thing has. The Soul of the World assigns a Personal Legend to every living and non-living thing. The Soul of the World governs all things and is considered the biggest positive force in an entity's life.
What is the personal legend in The Alchemist?
A personal legend, as it's referred to in The Alchemist, is one's destiny in life. It's identifying our purpose in life and pursuing it. In the story, the main character, Santiago, goes in search of his personal legend.
What is personal legend?
A Personal Legend is, simply put , the act of achieving one's destiny. While Personal Legends differ from person to person, a Personal Legend is fulfilled by embarking on an educational journey and realizing the full importance of one's own significance in relation to the universe.
How do personal legends help people?
Lead makes a complete transformation from its ordinary self into something better. Therefore, Personal Legends help people to become the best they can be because they achieve their fullest potential. Furthermore, as stated above, the universe wants everyone to discover his or her own Personal Legend because the Soul of the World will achieve its destiny in the process.
What is the Englishman's spirituality?
The Englishman is a deeply spiritual individual who shows that he is ready to learn whatever the Alchemist has to teach him. But because all his knowledge derives from books and not experience, he lacks the wisdom necessary to become the Alchemist's protege, which is what he wants most of all in life.
Why won't the Crystal Merchant travel to Mecca?
The Crystal Merchant won't travel to Mecca because he's worried that, once he's achieved his spiritual purpose in life, he'll have nothing left to live for. However, as we see in the story of the Englishman, it's not enough to have a Personal Legend and act on it. The Englishman is a deeply spiritual individual who shows ...
Why do people use personal legends?
Therefore, Personal Legends help people to become the best they can be because they achieve their fullest potential.
Who tells Santiago about personal legends?
In Paulo Coelho 's The Alchemist , Santiago first hears about Personal Legends from the King of Salem, Melchizedek, who tells him the following: "But, as time passes, a mysterious force begins to convince [people] that it will be impossible for them to realize their Personal Legend . . . The Soul of the World is nourished by people's happiness.
What is the theme of the Alchemist?
The most prominent theme in The Alchemist is the idea that each person has a “Personal Legend”—a type of ideal fate or destiny —and that each person can chose whether or not to pursue that legend. At the beginning of the novel, the protagonist Santiago is launched on a quest for his treasure—his Personal Legend—through his encounter ...
What would Santiago have learned without the journey?
Without the journey, however, Santiago would not have learned all that he did, met the people he met, or fallen in love. Santiago also realizes that to die while in pursuit of one’s Personal Legend alleviates the horror of death. There is “rightness” to being on the course to one’s Legend, even though the journey is not easy.
Who explained the concept of personal legend?
Melchizedek explains the concept of the Personal Legend to Santiago. The wisdom he shares with Santiago about having a Personal Legend frames one of the major themes of the text. According to Melchizedek , a person’s Personal Legend manifests as a unique desire that becomes obvious to a person in their youth.
What does Santiago know about the Alchemist?
The Alchemist. But in his heart he knew that it did matter. And he knew that shepherds, like seamen and like traveling salesmen, always found a town where there was someone who could make them forget the joys of carefree wandering. As Santiago muses about the Moorish girl he has met, he makes the first of many connections between his own Personal ...
What does Santiago say about the Moorish girl?
As Santiago muses about the Moorish girl he has met, he makes the first of many connections between his own Personal Legend, or destiny, and that of many others. Santiago recognizes that his unique narrative follows a pattern he has seen before in the lives of itinerant workers. He draws the conclusion that the love of another can outweigh ...
What does Santiago reflect on?
Santiago reflects on what it means to travel and discover. Early in the novel, wanderlust combined with his attraction to the merchant’s daughter begin to take hold of his soul. His Personal Legend is at the point of departure.
What happens when someone isn't what others want them to be?
If someone isn't what others want them to be, the others become angry. Everyone seems to have a clear idea of how other people should lead their lives, but none about his or her own. Santiago has just identified his mission with the help of the old Gypsy woman interpreting his dream.
What does Santiago's heart say to him while crossing the desert?
As Santiago’s heart speaks to him while crossing the desert, he understands that people want to pass their legacy to children. As they age, life leads them off their chosen paths, and they forget what they set out to achieve or discover when young. They forget about their Personal Legends.
Does Melchizedek realize his personal legend?
Melchizedek further explains that sadly, over time, people become convinced they will never realize their Personal Legends. The closer one gets to realizing his Personal Legend, the more that Personal Legend becomes his true reason for being, thought the boy.
What is the importance of the personal legend in The Alchemist?
In The Alchemist, Coelho talks about the importance of the “Personal Legend”, that is, the path that each person should take to achieve the greatest happiness. In the book, a young shepherd boy, named Santiago is sent on a journey to find his own Personal Legend. On his journey he deals with frustration, devastation, hope, love, ...
Why was Santiago inspired by the alchemist?
Inspiration was a key factor for Santiago. He was inspired by the alchemist to keep pursuing his personal legend. The alchemist understands the desert and people and helps Santiago understand nature and people. For instance, when the alchemist saw Santiago reading the falcon’s flight he had to understand who he was.
What does Santiago learn in the book?
He learns to go against others, man vs. man, man vs. nature, and for him and the alchemist man vs. society. For Santiago’s journey, he needed motivation, inspiration, and communication.
Why does Fatima keep him going?
Fatima keeps him going on his journey because she understands that she is a desert woman and allows Santiago to pursue his personal legend even though they love each other. As a sign of this, Santiago says, ‘I’m going away and I want you to know that I’m coming back.’.
What does the Crystal Merchant tell Santiago?
The Crystal Merchant tells Santiago that even if the boy worked for a year in the shop his earnings wouldn't pay for his passage across the Sahara Desert to Egypt. What does Santiago say in response to this news? How does his response confirm the omen that was revealed when he asked the stones if he would find his treasure?
What does Santiago believe when he asks the stones to tell him if he will find his treasure?
When Santiago asks the stones to tell him if he will find his treasure, the stones fall through a hole in his pouch which Santiago believes is an omen that he must make his own decisions
What does Melchizedek tell Santiago?
Melchizedek tells Santiago the fable of the oil and the spoon. Those who understand the moral of the fable hold the key to happiness. Santiago believes he understands the moral of the story. What does he think the lesson of the story is?
Why did Santiago lose his money?
Santiago's money was stolen when a thief told him that he could help him get camels for his trip to Egypt. However, while in the market Santiago lost sight of the man who had his money and was distracted by beautiful swords. This was a Test because Santiago was supposed to keep his eye on the money/ the man however, he was distracted by the beauty of the town and in the end lost all of his money. The fable of the oil and spoon relate because the money was like the oil and the swords/ town were the beauty. Santiago was supposed to "see all the marvels of the world, and never forget the drops of oil on the spoon" (Coelho 35), however he was distracted from the "oil" and therefore lost all his money.
What does the habit of the sheep symbolize?
The habit of the sheep symbolize the action of blindly following someone. This related to the boy's parents because they wanted Santiago to blindly follow the path laid out for him and on which would give their family the most pride. However, Santiago is different from them because he chose to make his own path.
Why was Santiago's money stolen?
Santiago's money was stolen when a thief told him that he could help him get camels for his trip to Egypt. However, while in the market Santiago lost sight of the man who had his money and was distracted by beautiful swords. This was a Test because Santiago was supposed to keep his eye on the money/ the man however, ...
What is one of the first major diversions from Santiago's journey?
One of the first major diversions from Santiago's journey is the theft of his money in Tangiers. How is Santiago's money stolen? Using the terminology of the hero's journey model, we could describe this experience as a Test/Ordeal. How does the fable of the oil and the spoon relate to this Test?
