The Alchemist

"The Alchemist" is an allegorical novel written by Brazilian novelist Paulo Coelho. It is a novel which encourages people to pursue their dream.

The main character in this novel is a Shepherd boy Sandiago, who likes to travel around. One day, Sandiago meets the king of Salem. The king encourages him to go and find out the big treasure which was buried near the pyramid that Sandiago had dreamed of for two times. During Sandiago's travel to Africa, he encounters a lot of difficulties. His money was stolen by thieves, and the caravan he joined to across the Sahara desert was forced to stop in an oasis for certain reasons. However, Sandiago still doesn't give up his dream.

The concepts that the author wants to convey to the readers through this novel are that every one in the world has his or her own destiny and goal to follow, and striving hard for your own destiny is not only your job but the way you live in the world. Besides, some people may give up their dream because of marriage or their family, but in this novel, the author explains that love will not stop people from pursuing their dream; therefore, if a person gives up pursuing his or her dream because of love, it is not the true love.

The sentence that impressed me the most in this novel is "When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it."(From: The Alchemist) It conveys the concept that once a person tries his or her best to pursue something, he or she can attract others to help him fulfill the dream, which gives courage and confidence to those who wants to pursue their goal.

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