The Reaction to the Alchemist
The Reaction to the Alchemist In life, it is hard to come across a good book. Millions of books are published each year, all over the world. J.D. Salinger, the author of the Catcher In The Rye says, “What really knocks me out is a book that, when you're all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it. That doesn't happen much, though.” That statement is in fact true. When you come across a good book, it should be treasured. Paulo Coelho, the author of The Alchemist, is the “terrific friend” that readers of this novel wish they could call up at any time. The book itself could be passed down from generation to generation, and the meaning within the text will still be the same. As Ernest Hemingway says, “There is no friend as loyal as a book.” In this sense, The Alchemist is this book. The story starts off with a young sheep herder named Santiago. Santiago always traveled and loved herding sheep with a passion. He loved his sheep and he felt that his sheep loved him. One day while wandering, he meets the old king. Once the old king tells Santiago he needs to go find his “Personal Legend”, his whole life begins to change in an instant. Listening to what the old man says, he sells all his sheep, and sets off for his quest. During his journey, he realized he experienced more problems than he ever did on his journey than when he was back at home. However, although his journey takes some drastic turns, he meets the love of his life, and becomes “one with the world”. At the end of the story, he meets the Alchemist, who teaches him how to do so, and how to follow his heart. Finally reaching the Pyramids, he finds no treasure but realizes that it was back at home, where he was from the start of the story. The theme of the story is the journey is sometimes greater than the treasure itself. The Alchemist is by far one of the most influential and philosophical books of