Destiny is Self Realization
Picasso: The Dance “When I have been truly searching for my treasure, every day has been luminous, because I’ve known that every hour was a part of the dream that I would find it.” (Cohelo, 125). In The Alchemist young shepherd, Santiago traveled to Egypt to find his treasure. He abandoned his sheep in Andalusia and journeyed to Africa because the treasure he sought there was his destiny. Along the way, he overcame obstacles, fell in love, and met many significant people who helped him to reach his destiny. Santiago, from The Alchemist, was assisted on his journey by being adventurous, adaptable and faithful.
Since Santiago was adventurous, he was greatly helped on his journey in a variety of ways. Santiago’s parents wanted him to be a priest, but the boy became a shepherd and, because of this, realized that his purpose in life was to travel. Santiago was brought up to be a priest, so he had been attending seminary since he was 16 years old. Had he not had that love of adventuring in his heart, he would have never changed his mind and became a simple shepherd. Being a shepherd, he traveled constantly, and lived a nomadic life. It was then that he realized his purpose in life was to travel, but little did he know how far. Santiago realized just how far off he was to journey when he felt the levanter. Something about him was thrilled to think of adventuring to Egypt, while another part was reluctant to leave his beloved sheep. The wind was sent by the Soul of the World, attempting to keep him on the path to his destiny by tantalizing him with the all the adventures he could have on his journey to Africa. The Soul of the World succeeded when Santiago gave in, due to him being an adventurous boy, and set off on his travels. When finally in Tangier, Santiago was alone. He was stuck in the marketplace shortly after he had had been cheated. However, instead of calling himself an unfortunate victim who had been taken advantage of, he said, “I’m an adventurer, looking for treasure.” (40) This is because he had a desire for adventure, and that desire kept him going in his early stages of the journey to find his destiny. Santiago was better off on his journey because of his adventurous heart, but he still needed to have bravery to be able to continue on his journey.
Several examples show that it was vital for Santiago to have had a characteristic of courage in order to continue on his search for his ultimate goal. The first way that Santiago’s courageous trait helped him on his journey to his destiny was when he gave some ideas to the crystal merchant for his shop. When he first saw the crystal shop, the boy said to the merchant, “I can clean up those glasses in the window, if you want … the way they look now, nobody is going to want to buy them.” (43) Santiago was extremely brave to advise the shopkeeper on his own store, and even more so to offer assistance for it. Yet, because of this daring outburst, the merchant took interest in the boy, and, afterwards, hired him to work in the shop. Santiago was then greatly benefited by his time he spent working for the shopkeeper. He learnt about Maktub, how some people do not want to realize their destiny and much more, which all becomes part of his basic knowledge that helps him begin to understand the Soul of the World more and more. Later, Santiago met Fatima at Al-Fayoum and instantly fell in love with her. When he met her the second time, he boldly stated that he loved her and wanted to marry her. Fatima was so flabbergasted that she dropped her pot, yet that brave statement captured her heart. By him stating this, he taught her about the Universal Language and she became a part of him. In all of their later conversations, Fatima aided Santiago in understanding love, such as how it could survive under any circumstances. This relationship and knowledge that Santiago obtained helped him be more motivated in his search for his destiny. When tribesmen pulled the boy and Alchemist over to a military camp, the Alchemist told them that Santiago could turn himself into wind. The tribesmen were curious to see that happen, and, thus, gave Santiago three days to perform the miracle. If the boy successfully completed the task, then the soldiers would let him free, and, if not, Santiago would die. When the third day came, Santiago bravely gathered the tribesmen and had them seated around him. With everybody staring at him, the boy begins to try to turn himself into wind, not at all unnerved by being so unprepared. After explaining that the reason he wanted to turn himself into wind was his love for Fatima to the desert, wind and sun, Santiago prays to “the hand that wrote it all” and finally turns himself into wind. Because the boy was brave enough to perform this miracle to the tribesmen, they spared his life, and thus he was able to continue on his pursuit of his destiny. Santiago is helped in a number of ways to find his treasure by his trait of courage, however honesty is a trait that will lead the boy to his final destination on his road to his destiny.
There are a variety of instances in which Santiago used his honest characteristic to succeed in his pursuit for his destiny. When Santiago is knocked down by a mysterious horseman in Al-Fayoum after he reported his vision of war in the oasis, the hostile stranger questioned who dared to read the meaning of the flight of the hawks. Instead of remaining silent or even lying aloud and saying that he never had the vision, Santiago confessed, “It was I who dared to do so.” (105) As it turns out, the strange horseman was actually the Alchemist who was testing Santiago. If the boy hadn’t spoke up and told the truth, then the Alchemist would have thought twice about accepting him as an apprentice, or he even might have abandoned the thought altogether. And, if the Alchemist had never mentored Santiago, the boy would most likely be way off course on the path to his destiny. Later, when the boy and his mentor were traveling through the desert, Santiago brought up something personal about his heart. “’… my heart is agitated,’ the boy said. ‘It has its dreams, it gets emotional, and it’s become passionate over a woman of the desert. It asks things of me, and it keeps me from sleeping many nights, when I’m thinking about her… My heart is a traitor… It doesn’t want me to go on.’” (123) Santiago was telling the Alchemist something extremely personal. He was most likely embarrassed at explaining to the Alchemist just how his heart feels about Fatima, let alone that his heart was a traitor. Yet he was truthful and open instead of saying his heart was pure, or perfect. And, because of this confession, the Alchemist was then able to give advice to Santiago about his heart, such as listening to it always. Santiago would clearly not fulfill his destiny had he not been constantly listening to his heart, who warned him of danger and protected him from it as well. Afterwards, Santiago was digging in the desert for hours without any sign of his treasure when two thieves approached him. They took his gold and watched him dig. When there was still no trace of buried riches, the men started beating him ruthlessly. Finally Santiago blurted out he truth, that he was digging for treasure. What he did not predict was that, due to this, the robbers stopped beating him, laughed and spared his life. After that, one of the thieves spoke of a recurring dream that he had of treasure being buried at a place Santiago had once spent the night in Andalusia. His truthfulness not only spared his life, but also helped him find his treasure. There are a number of examples that show how Santiago’s honest characteristic aided him in succeeding in his pursuit for his destiny.
After having the dream about the pyramids of Egypt, Santiago persevered in trying to realize and accomplish his destiny and find his treasure. In The Alchemist, a boy named Santiago is able to fulfill his destiny due to his adventurous, brave and honest personality. After reaching his destiny, Santiago is a more self-assured, developed and independent person, who has fallen in love, discovers his treasure and found himself along the way. The message deeply embedded in this story is that when all possessions are left behind, the only baggage one takes with them is oneself. Santiago left his job, sheep and family behind, and, set out in search of his destiny and himself.
Since Santiago was adventurous, he was greatly helped on his journey in a variety of ways. Santiago’s parents wanted him to be a priest, but the boy became a shepherd and, because of this, realized that his purpose in life was to travel. Santiago was brought up to be a priest, so he had been attending seminary since he was 16 years old. Had he not had that love of adventuring in his heart, he would have never changed his mind and became a simple shepherd. Being a shepherd, he traveled constantly, and lived a nomadic life. It was then that he realized his purpose in life was to travel, but little did he know how far. Santiago realized just how far off he was to journey when he felt the levanter. Something about him was thrilled to think of adventuring to Egypt, while another part was reluctant to leave his beloved sheep. The wind was sent by the Soul of the World, attempting to keep him on the path to his destiny by tantalizing him with the all the adventures he could have on his journey to Africa. The Soul of the World succeeded when Santiago gave in, due to him being an adventurous boy, and set off on his travels. When finally in Tangier, Santiago was alone. He was stuck in the marketplace shortly after he had had been cheated. However, instead of calling himself an unfortunate victim who had been taken advantage of, he said, “I’m an adventurer, looking for treasure.” (40) This is because he had a desire for adventure, and that desire kept him going in his early stages of the journey to find his destiny. Santiago was better off on his journey because of his adventurous heart, but he still needed to have bravery to be able to continue on his journey.
Several examples show that it was vital for Santiago to have had a characteristic of courage in order to continue on his search for his ultimate goal. The first way that Santiago’s courageous trait helped him on his journey to his destiny was when he gave some ideas to the crystal merchant for his shop. When he first saw the crystal shop, the boy said to the merchant, “I can clean up those glasses in the window, if you want … the way they look now, nobody is going to want to buy them.” (43) Santiago was extremely brave to advise the shopkeeper on his own store, and even more so to offer assistance for it. Yet, because of this daring outburst, the merchant took interest in the boy, and, afterwards, hired him to work in the shop. Santiago was then greatly benefited by his time he spent working for the shopkeeper. He learnt about Maktub, how some people do not want to realize their destiny and much more, which all becomes part of his basic knowledge that helps him begin to understand the Soul of the World more and more. Later, Santiago met Fatima at Al-Fayoum and instantly fell in love with her. When he met her the second time, he boldly stated that he loved her and wanted to marry her. Fatima was so flabbergasted that she dropped her pot, yet that brave statement captured her heart. By him stating this, he taught her about the Universal Language and she became a part of him. In all of their later conversations, Fatima aided Santiago in understanding love, such as how it could survive under any circumstances. This relationship and knowledge that Santiago obtained helped him be more motivated in his search for his destiny. When tribesmen pulled the boy and Alchemist over to a military camp, the Alchemist told them that Santiago could turn himself into wind. The tribesmen were curious to see that happen, and, thus, gave Santiago three days to perform the miracle. If the boy successfully completed the task, then the soldiers would let him free, and, if not, Santiago would die. When the third day came, Santiago bravely gathered the tribesmen and had them seated around him. With everybody staring at him, the boy begins to try to turn himself into wind, not at all unnerved by being so unprepared. After explaining that the reason he wanted to turn himself into wind was his love for Fatima to the desert, wind and sun, Santiago prays to “the hand that wrote it all” and finally turns himself into wind. Because the boy was brave enough to perform this miracle to the tribesmen, they spared his life, and thus he was able to continue on his pursuit of his destiny. Santiago is helped in a number of ways to find his treasure by his trait of courage, however honesty is a trait that will lead the boy to his final destination on his road to his destiny.
There are a variety of instances in which Santiago used his honest characteristic to succeed in his pursuit for his destiny. When Santiago is knocked down by a mysterious horseman in Al-Fayoum after he reported his vision of war in the oasis, the hostile stranger questioned who dared to read the meaning of the flight of the hawks. Instead of remaining silent or even lying aloud and saying that he never had the vision, Santiago confessed, “It was I who dared to do so.” (105) As it turns out, the strange horseman was actually the Alchemist who was testing Santiago. If the boy hadn’t spoke up and told the truth, then the Alchemist would have thought twice about accepting him as an apprentice, or he even might have abandoned the thought altogether. And, if the Alchemist had never mentored Santiago, the boy would most likely be way off course on the path to his destiny. Later, when the boy and his mentor were traveling through the desert, Santiago brought up something personal about his heart. “’… my heart is agitated,’ the boy said. ‘It has its dreams, it gets emotional, and it’s become passionate over a woman of the desert. It asks things of me, and it keeps me from sleeping many nights, when I’m thinking about her… My heart is a traitor… It doesn’t want me to go on.’” (123) Santiago was telling the Alchemist something extremely personal. He was most likely embarrassed at explaining to the Alchemist just how his heart feels about Fatima, let alone that his heart was a traitor. Yet he was truthful and open instead of saying his heart was pure, or perfect. And, because of this confession, the Alchemist was then able to give advice to Santiago about his heart, such as listening to it always. Santiago would clearly not fulfill his destiny had he not been constantly listening to his heart, who warned him of danger and protected him from it as well. Afterwards, Santiago was digging in the desert for hours without any sign of his treasure when two thieves approached him. They took his gold and watched him dig. When there was still no trace of buried riches, the men started beating him ruthlessly. Finally Santiago blurted out he truth, that he was digging for treasure. What he did not predict was that, due to this, the robbers stopped beating him, laughed and spared his life. After that, one of the thieves spoke of a recurring dream that he had of treasure being buried at a place Santiago had once spent the night in Andalusia. His truthfulness not only spared his life, but also helped him find his treasure. There are a number of examples that show how Santiago’s honest characteristic aided him in succeeding in his pursuit for his destiny.
After having the dream about the pyramids of Egypt, Santiago persevered in trying to realize and accomplish his destiny and find his treasure. In The Alchemist, a boy named Santiago is able to fulfill his destiny due to his adventurous, brave and honest personality. After reaching his destiny, Santiago is a more self-assured, developed and independent person, who has fallen in love, discovers his treasure and found himself along the way. The message deeply embedded in this story is that when all possessions are left behind, the only baggage one takes with them is oneself. Santiago left his job, sheep and family behind, and, set out in search of his destiny and himself.
The Glass is Half full
“I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.” (Jimmy Dean) Nobody can ultimately predict or control where life brings them, but I can always change the way I perceive any incident. That will then determine how it affects me emotionally. My characteristic of optimism and ability to change how I perceive life will help me achieve my destiny. This characteristic embedded within me will grow stronger and stronger over the years until a surge of depression can be conquered easily and a rush of frustration can be overcome in no time. Each day I am building up my optimistic force inside of me until, by the time I graduate this quality will be bursting from me, reflecting everything I say, do and think. This is significant because even through the struggles that will come when I am in college, I will be able to rid myself of all awful feelings and feel pleasant and be able to focus on my studying. And when college is over and there will be no studying to do, I can spend less time sulking and more time pursuing my destiny. Though I am not sure what it is exactly, focusing upon my destiny and seeking it with all of my heart will lead me to it, with no sorrows of the world to bring me down. I will complete my destiny with the help of my optimism and ability to perceive life differently.
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