The Alchemist

That evening, Santiago walks south. He comes across a tent that is “inhabited by genies” (72) and waits outside. The alchemist appears with “two dead hawks over his shoulder” (72). They enter the tent. Inside, the alchemist lights a fire and they talk; Santiago believes that the alchemist is another person “to help him toward his Personal Legend” (73). The alchemist offers to point Santiago toward his treasure; Santiago responds that he is already a rich man and he already has Fatima. They drink wine and Santiago relaxes. The alchemist tells him to rest and, the next day, to swap his camel for a horse because “camels are traitorous” (73).

The next night, Santiago returns with a horse. The alchemist demands that Santiago “show [him] where there is life out in the desert” (74) and they ride together. Santiago struggles and the alchemist tells him that “life attracts life” (74). Santiago rides until his horse slows, trusting that the animal knows the language of life. They inspect the desert and the alchemist drags a cobra from a hole. He uses his scimitar to etch a circle in the sand, which he uses to encase the cobra. This is proof enough and the alchemist offers to guide Santiago across the desert. If Santiago stays, the alchemist warns, he will be happy a while before the urge to seek his treasure becomes all-consuming; he will spend his days rich but unsatisfied because he did not pursue his Personal Legend when he could. They release the cobra and return to the oasis. Santiago agrees to go with the alchemist.

Before dawn, Santiago is shown to Fatima’s tent. They walk together and talk. He promises to return to her. They walk back to Fatima’s tent and she cries. When daylight arrives, she knows that Santiago has left. From this point on, “the oasis would be an empty place for her” (78). The desert will represent “the hope for his return” (78). Santiago and the alchemist ride through the desert. He tells Santiago not to “think about what you’ve left behind” (78) but it is difficult. They ride for a week, avoiding the still-raging war. On the seventh day, they stop early and the alchemist congratulates Santiago for being near the end of his journey. He explains that other aspiring alchemists failed because “they were only looking for gold” (79). As they eat, the alchemist reveals the code that is written on the emerald tablet. This, the alchemist explains, is a “direct passage to the Soul of the World” (80). Everything can do this, the alchemist explains, as long as Santiago listens to his heart.

They spend another two days in silence, approaching a more violent area. Santiago tries to listen to his heart, but it is agitated and difficult to understand. Over the next three days, they pass by armed tribesmen. They pass by without incident and Santiago’s heart “began to speak of fear” (81). That night, they sit and discuss the matter and the alchemist assures Santiago that he will never be able to quiet his heart and that he should always listen to it, even when it is scared. Over the coming days, Santiago loses his fear and his desire to return to the oasis. After more discussions, Santiago can finally sleep deeply and—that night—“his heart began to tell him things that came from the Soul of the World” (82). Hearts try to speak to people and tell them to follow their dreams; but occasionally people’s hearts worry that people will suffer because they don’t follow their hearts. Santiago begins to understand his heart and swears to always listen to it. The alchemist understands and tells Santiago to continue to the pyramids but warns that the Soul of the World will test him in order to determine that Santiago has learned all his lessons.

The next day, three armed tribesmen search Santiago and the alchemist. They find Santiago’s money, as well as the Philosopher’s Stone and the Elixir of Life in the alchemist’s bag. The alchemist’s explanation of these items amuses the tribesmen, who allow the alchemist and Santiago to pass. This is also a lesson, Santiago learns: “When you possess great treasures within you, and try to tell others of them, seldom are you believed” (84). The further they travel across the desert, the more silent Santiago’s heart becomes. He becomes friends with his heart; it reveals times in the past when it has secretly helped him. They pass by a tribe’s camp that has armed guards stationed on every corner. Just as they are past the camp, just as Santiago announces that “there’s no danger” (85), and just as the alchemist gets annoyed at him for doing so, they are stopped. The alchemist stares the men in the eyes, however, and assures them. They are allowed to proceed. Santiago is amazed; the alchemist says that “your eyes show the strength of your soul” (85).

Finally, they arrive to a place that is two days away from the pyramids. Before they part, Santiago asks to be taught alchemy, how to transform lead into gold. The alchemist knows true alchemists who found the philosopher’s stone “because they understood that when something evolves, everything around that thing evolves as well” (86); he has met accidental alchemists, who unconsciously found the stone because they had the gift already inside them; and he has met men only interested in gold who never found the stone. The alchemist reminds Santiago that the desert was once a sea and then they ride toward the pyramids.

As the sun sets, Santiago’s heart alerts him to a danger. Soon, they are surrounded by 100 horsemen. Santiago looks into their eyes and “their eyes spoke of death” (87). They are taken to a camp and accused of being spies. The alchemist points to Santiago and says that Santiago is an alchemist who has brought money for the tribe. He hands over Santiago’s gold, warning that Santiago could “destroy this camp with just the force of the wind” (88). The tribe give Santiago and the alchemist three days to prove this claim. They exit the tent; their horses have been confiscated so they are confined to the camp. Santiago is angry that the alchemist gave the tribe all of his money. Once he has calmed down, he confesses his fear; he does not know how to turn into wind. He will have to learn, the alchemist says, as his life depends on it.

On the first day, a nearby battle leaves many wounded. Santiago asks the alchemist how to turn himself into wind. The alchemist seems unconcerned; he already knows how to do so. On the second day, Santiago sits on a cliff in the desert and listens to his heart. On the third day, he is called to a meeting with the chief and told to turn himself into wind. Santiago takes them to the cliff and tells them to wait. He talks to the desert, saying that he wants to return to the woman he loves, who is out in the desert. He talks with the desert about the nature of love. The desert agrees to help as best it can and a breeze begins to blow. Next, Santiago asks the wind for help. Santiago has inside him “the winds, the deserts, the oceans, the stars, and everything created in the universe” (91). He asks to be turned into the wind “for a few moments” (92) so that he can talk to the wind. This intrigues the wind. Santiago teaches the wind about love. As a “proud being” (92), the wind is annoyed with Santiago’s words. It has to ask heaven how to turn Santiago into the wind and Santiago asks it to do so.

The wind blows strong enough to fill the sky with sand. The tribesmen panic as their horses become scared and their weapons fill with sand. Santiago speaks to the sun about the Soul of the World. His words make the sun shine more brightly. The wind blows harder, blotting out the light so as not to blind Santiago. They talk more and Santiago tells the sun that “when we love, we always strive to become better than we are” (94). The sun does not know how to turn Santiago into the wind. It tells him to speak “to the hand that wrote all” (94). The wind, delighted, blows hard enough to almost destroy the tribe’s camp. The tribesmen become scared. Santiago prays. At last, he understands that the Soul of the World is “part of the Soul of God” (95) and that “the Soul of God was his own Soul” (95). Santiago realizes that he can perform miracles. For generations, the tribespeople will tell legends of “a boy who had turned himself into the wind, almost destroying a military camp” (95). When the wind stops, Santiago has moved to the far side of the camp. This sorcery terrifies the tribesmen but the alchemist and the chief smile. The former has found his disciple and the later has seen a boy who “understood the glory of God” (95). The chief provides the alchemist and Santiago with an escort to wherever they want to go.

They ride a whole day until they arrive at a Coptic monastery. The alchemist dismisses the escorts. Three hours from the pyramids, he tells Santiago that he must finish the journey alone. First, however, they enter the monastery and the alchemist lights a fire. He turns lead into gold to show Santiago that it is possible. The gold is split into parts and given to the monks, to Santiago, and to the alchemist. The final piece is given to the monk in case Santiago should return and need it. The alchemist and Santiago mount their horses and the alchemist tells a story about ancient Rome: The father of a poet and a soldier is told that one of his son’s words will be remembered for many generations; when the man dies, an angel shows him the future; it is not the poet’s words that are remembered, but the soldier’s, who converted to Christianity after meeting Jesus Christ.

The alchemist tells Santiago that “every person on earth plays a central role in the history of the world. And normally he doesn’t know it” (98). They bid one another farewell. Santiago rides for hours, focused on his heart. Finally, his heart warns him about “the place where you are brought to tears” (99). Santiago clambers along the dunes under the moonlight. He sees the pyramids, falls to his knees, and weeps. He has learned “all he needed to know, and had experienced everything he might have dreamed of” (99).

He sees a scarab beetle on the dune and begins to dig. He digs all night but finds nothing. His heart tells him to “dig where his tears [fall]” (100) so he continues to dig. Behind him, footsteps approach. Santiago is scared and remains quiet as the people explain that they are refugees from the tribal wars and they are in need of money. They grab Santiago out of the hole he had dug and find his piece of gold. In the men’s eyes, Santiago sees death. They decide that there must be more gold where he has been digging. They dig and find nothing so they beat Santiago. Finally, Santiago explains that he is digging for treasure. The men assume he is lying and leave, taking the gold. As they go, one man leans down and tells Santiago that he “shouldn’t be so stupid” (101) as, two years ago, the man laid down in this exact spot and dreamed of a ruined church and inside was a shepherd and his sheep. He was told that if he dug beneath the tree in the church, he would “find a hidden treasure” (101). Then, the men disappear. Santiago stands up and the pyramids seem to laugh at him. His heart bursts with joy “because now he knew where his treasure was” (101).