Listen to Your Heart
“What’s the worlds greatest lie? The boy asked, in complete surprise. “It’s this: that at a certain point in our lives we lose control of what’s happening to us, and our lives are controlled by fate. That’s the world’s greatest lie.” (Coelho PG 17)
In the book ‘The Alchemist’ there is a boy called Santiago. Santiago lives in the Spanish land of Andalusia until his father sends him away with all the money their family saved for him to be come a priest. But when Santiago came back he told his father he didn’t want to be a priest he wanted to be a sheppard. During Santiago’s journey he encounters some problems which he gets past with bravery, determination and confidence.
“Who dares read the meaning of the flight of the hawks?’ he demanded so loudly that his words seemed to echo through the fifty thousand palm trees of Al-Fayoum. “ It is I dared to do so,” said the boy. He was reminded of the images Santiago Matamoros, mounted on his white horse, with the infidels beneath his hooves. The man looked exactly the same, expect that now the roles were reversed. “It is I who dared to do so,” he repeated, and he lowered his head to receive a blow from the sword. “Many lives will be saved, because I was able to see through the soul of the world.” (Coelho pg 105)
Bravery is something Santiago has a lot of. When Santiago meets the alchemist he appears out of nowhere, on a big white horse. Once the horse settled down the alchemist pulls out a sword and puts it to Santiago’s head. Then he asks Santiago who speaks the language of the world. Santiago replies by saying he spoke the language of the world. While Santiago is talking with the alchemist he stands his ground even though he is scared out of his mind. Then it looks like the alchemist is going to strike down Santiago but instead he only draws a drop of blood. This proves Santiago will put his life in danger to achieve his destiny and he really wants to achieve it. When Santiago arrives in Tangier he stops at a bar where he meets what he thinks is his new friend. The new boy tells Santiago he can help him get to the pyramids and he takes the money Santiago had left over from the boat ride. He takes Santiago through the busy streets. But when Santiago stops to look at a beautiful sword the boy runs away with the cash Santiago gave him at the restaurant. When Santiago realizes the boy ran off without him he waited there hoping he would come back. But when Santiago remembers he has Urim and Thuminum he stays strong and push further ahead to his destiny. This proves Santiago is brave enough to take the risk of completing his even though he might go through some hard times along the way. When Santiago and the alchemist are captured by a tribal group at war the alchemist gives them all the money Santiago had and that bought them three days. By the end of the three days Santiago had to turn himself into the wind. When the alchemist told them what that Santiago would turn himself into the wind they were all a bit frightened, including Santiago. Santiago had no clue how to turn himself into the wind and he let the alchemist know so. The alchemist replied by saying you can’t give into your fears. By the end of the three days Santiago still didn’t know how to turn himself into the wind. But he stood strong knowing that if he failed the alchemist and he would be kept prisoner. Santiago listened to his heart and he realized he could perform miracles. This proves Santiago is brave enough to stand up for himself and this saved the alchemist and the boy.
“The people who come here have a lot of money o spend, so they can afford to travel,” his father said. “Amongst us, the only ones that travel are shepherds.” “Well, then I’ll be a shepherd!” (Coelho pg 9)
Another thing Santiago has a lot of is determination. At the beginning of the book Santiago is sent away by his father to become a priest. When Santiago comes back he tells his father that he wants to be a sheppard. His father tells Santiago that only the rich can travel but if he wanted to travel he would have to become a sheppard. The next day his father gives him enough coins to buy a flock of sheep. This proves Santiago determination is stronger than the will of others. Instead of Santiago becoming a priest Santiago denies what his father wants and pursues what he wants. This is the first step Santiago takes to completing his destiny. Later Santiago runs into the crystal merchant. When they meet the crystal merchant’s shop is a mess. So Santiago asks for a job cleaning all the crystal. After Santiago worked for the crystal merchant for a while he decides to make a sign that would go at the bottom of the hill to attract customers. This says that Santiago is trying to help the crystal merchant because although he isn’t a mentor or teacher he teaches Santiago about destiny without really knowing it. When the Englishman and Santiago make it to the oasis, the Englishman tells Santiago to ask the locals if the know anything about the alchemist. All the people he talks to turn him down until he runs into Fatima. This shows that Santiago has enough determination to help the Englishman to achieve his destiny and in doing so he understands more about his own destiny.
One final thought is that I think Santiago has is confidence. Once again when Santiago meets King Melchizedek he tells Santiago that he has to complete his destiny otherwise he will end up like the baker. Wealthy but never truly happy. This spikes Santiago’s confidence. He wants to be happy and he is with his sheep but when Melchizedek tells Santiago that the whole universe helps you achieve he sets off immediately. This show Santiago has enough confidence behind him to leave everything behind to be happier than he is already. This means he is sure that he can complete his density. When Santiago meets with the tribal chieftains he tells them that he saw an omen in the desert and that the oasis was going to be attacked by a group of raiders. The tribal chieftains believed him but they said if one of the guns wasn’t used by the end of the day it would be used on him. During the time Santiago said they could take action or not but if they didn’t it would affect the entire oasis. They asked why a stranger to the desert could be able to read the omen when they had been there for generations. Even though they had been here much longer than Santiago’s short stay he had enough confidence to believe he was right because he understood the soul of the world. Santiago gets this confidences from listening to his heart
Determination is a trait that I think many people have but is very important if you want to complete your desti
ny. I think I am one of the people who has a lot of determination. I believe that I stick with something I want to accomplish with the deepest parts of my heart until it wont go down any deeper. With determination people can accomplish many things and I think that could be me. I strive to do well in school even though it may sometimes seem that I don't get my work in. Determination has allowed me to become better ant things I would have never been good at before.
Painting by Thomas Cole
