Preview

How the Theme 'Appearances vs. Reality' Is Shown as a Reflection of Actuality in the Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
259 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
How the Theme 'Appearances vs. Reality' Is Shown as a Reflection of Actuality in the Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho
Often, in life, things that we think are missing, are 'under our noses' all along. If we lose something and stress about it half the time it's in our pockets, and we're worrying over nothing. It is the same thing in the Alchemist. In this text, a young shepherd, Santiago, searches for his personal legend (purpose in life). He sells his sheep and travels to Egypt in search of treasure he dreamed was under the pyramids. On the way, he learns about himself, and falls in love. When he reaches the pyramids, he digs and digs to find the treasure he had buried there. A man approaches him, and asks him why he was digging, and Santiago tells him about the dream. The man scoffs at him, and tells him about a dream he had, that treasure was hidden under a tree by a church. Santiago remembers the tree from the man's description and comes to the realization that the treasure he was searching for, was in the place he had left, to search for it. So while it appeared that Santiago had to go all over the world to find his treasure, in reality, it was right beside him all along. This also made it appear as though his search for treasure and his personal legend was futile. But in reality, it was quite the opposite. Santiago had to travel to learn about himself and learn about the 'soul of the world'. And only by doing this could he fully discover his personal

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Arthur Gordon creates an ironic twist at the end of “The Alchemist’s Secret” by making the setting and mood of the story a complete opposite from the ending. The setting of the story is innocent enough, with a “little herb shop” on a “crooked street in the shadow of Notre Dame”. The words “gaslit shop” connotate an old fashioned (or, in the case of this story, just old) and cozy room. It is shocking to the reader when it is uncovered that the store is where the Doctor arranges to kill people for a living. Once the reader becomes accustomed to that idea, the visitor is viewed as a cold, cruel person. Although initially he is nervous, (“said the visitor nervously”, glanced around uneasily”) he is found to be ruthless. “The visitor’s face was…

    • 213 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Allegory of the Cave

    • 424 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Allegory of the Cave is a metaphor that can be seen to describe many aspects and situations in life that one had no control or choice over. The reason Plato uses many metaphors in his allegory is to think or ‘philosophize’ about the world around us because in fact our understanding of the world is very limited. This is due to the fact that we live in a world of shadows and not reality to whom very little is actually known about by everyone. The metaphors are seen to actually represent a society with all its people, truths, hidden meanings, problems, solutions etc… The meanings transferred in the allegory of the cave apply to philosophy because it shows the philosophers position in society. It gives the philosopher the opportunity to philosophize/think about what exists/reality and what does not exist in our surrounding environment. To society, the allegory of the cave contemplates many issues related to man in his society. Such issues include human’s ability to be ignorant or knowledgeable, free or imprisoned, stubborn, lazy, active, etc… by choosing either to or not to search for answers to many of the issues that arise continuously. Moreover, The Allegory of the Cave is about ignorance and learning because the men in the cave are ignorant or unaware of the outside world that exists except for the shadows that they saw passing by on the walls. The man who is freed engages in the process of learning from the moment he is released from the cave and is forced to adapt to the new conditions and situations that now surround him. In addition, the chains are used to symbolize the limited amount of information that a person has about reality. For whatever reason, this limited amount of information can be considered to be a type of ignorance. Last but not least, as humans in this world, many of us are really ignorant…

    • 424 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In studying all of the symbolism included, it becomes apparent that the Allegory of the Cave is a representation of the philosopher’s place in society, and the other prisoners reaction to the escaped prisoner returning is representing the reaction people have of philosophers, and becoming aware of the truth philosophers hold. The Allegory of the Cave illustrates book 5 and 6 for us by showing the effect education has on the human soul, and how education helps us move through the different parts of the divided line, then will eventually take him to the form of the…

    • 264 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist, a boy named Santiago goes on a journey to follow his Personal Legend. Someone’s Personal Legend exists as something they have wanted to accomplish from birth. However, a “mysterious force” convinces people that they cannot realize their Personal Legend. People like Santiago have the ability to overcome this force and therefore can rediscover their Personal Legend. However, fear can hinder people from reaching their Personal Legend, which Coelho demonstrates through the craft elements of dialogue and mood.…

    • 979 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The journey that “prisoners” of that cave take is in the ultimate goal to attain knowledge of the abstract world. By doing so, the few who left this place establish themselves above the slaves that are still living within the depths of the cave(521, a). The interesting part of this allegory is that it shows that this cave has an entrance and hence shows the possibility there is a light out of the tunnel and be able to reach the enlightened state. Plato clearly explains the difference between the people that are left behind the cave and those who ventured out on their journey to discover the universal truth: “…the author of light and itself in the intelligible world being the authentic source of truth and reason” (517, c). All of this is especially relevant in Plato’s thinking. He specifies in his Republic only a few will manage the reach the status of Philosopher-King and hence grasp the universal truth. It is up for the Guardian class to accomplish such a task through hardships and tough education throughout their lives to prepare them for this difficult task. It also justifies his vision that not all men are born with equal status and therefore the Noble lie. With this allegory, he is able to show the Noble Lie idea and firmly affirms that not all men can become “gold” and that only a few will manage to endure the hardships of the light and become the philosopher-king. One who chooses such a path hence refuses to live his life in ignorance and by doing so, forgets the past: “Would he not find his eyes so dazzled by the glare as to be incapable of making out so much as one of the objects that are now called true” (516, a) It is the existentialist value that men have responsible for their own self community and in…

    • 1443 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    "The Allegory of the Cave", is a metaphor of our world. The cave symbolizes our ignorance. If we do not experience something personally, the situation must not exist. The way we pinpoint situations are based on our three levels of thinking. The first level would be our imagination. We could see a shadow of an apple and if we would not what an apple was, we would picture it as a ball or something familiar. The next level would be our senses. Once we could touch, feel and see but yet still have no experience we would still be easy to manipulate and mold. Our intellect is the third level. Our intellect is our ability to think, to face ideas and build our own opinions and views of the world around us. Our level is dependent on our upbringing, religion, culture, and environment. Along with experience, this is how we depict certain situations, however in no way does this mean our depictions are true.…

    • 854 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Disguises can come in many forms, some of which are so carefully constructed one may not even realize that it is a disguise or, they can also be obvious to the person to whom you wish to hide. Eric Wright’s “Twins” and Nelson Bond’s “Vital Factor” are short stories whose central theme of appearance versus reality is seen through the analysis of the plots and its’ characters. Subsequently, both the murderer and Wilkins are not whom they speak, having a single minded focus can both save the wife and deceive Crowder, and using much time to conceive a master plan goes corrupt for the husband and Crowder.…

    • 1043 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Alchemist

    • 1020 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Main Theme: I believe the theme of this novel is Dreams. Santiago’s dream of a treasure in Egypt reveals to him his Personal Legend and sets the entire plot of the Alchemist into motion. Whether or not an individual believes in dreams creates a dividing line between the “enlightened” and “unenlightened” characters in the novel. It is a mixture of ever character 's dreams that play a different scene.…

    • 1020 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In conclusion, throughout the novel, The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho, Santiago learns, “Remember where your heart is, there you will find your treasure.” First of all, Santiago learns some very important lessons. Next, Santiago learns about the true meaning and language of love. Finally, Santiago discovers where his true treasure really is. By listening to his heart, Santiago learns how to face his decisions. When anyone decides to go with their heart, they will eventually find their treasure. After all, if you follow your heart, it will always be the right…

    • 660 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Allegory of the Cave by Plato questions truth, reality, and demonstrates how we are similar to the prisoners within the cave. Every person has a personal “cave” and only with knowledge and understanding can we escape from the captivity ignorance.…

    • 505 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Alchemist Analysis

    • 807 Words
    • 4 Pages

    His first encounter with the Alchemist shows him that he has been correct to follow the path of his Personal Legend. Although the information taught to him over his travels is confusing to Santiago, he believes it, and changes his thinking understand more of the world. With his understanding of the universal language, of the signs and signals, Santiago evades death. The Alchemist begins meeting with Santiago, teaching him more about the Soul of the World, saying, “The wise men understood that this natural world is only an image and a copy of paradise. The existence of this world is simply a guarantee that there exists a world that is perfect. God created the world so that, through its visible objects, men could understand his spiritual teachings and the marvels of his…

    • 807 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Journey by Peter Kreeft is lively and entertaining allegory, which takes the reader through mysterious caves and leads to various pathways in the search of the truth. Guided by Socrates and the narrator, reader passes many questions of vital importance and finds their solutions. Together with the narrator we encounter forks in the road. Each fork tempt us false ideas and conception that sounds like the truth, which takes us to perplexity. Together with the narrator we are trying to find out purport and the only truth.…

    • 847 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    As the story goes on, there is one man among the group in the cave who is suddenly freed from his bonds and is compelled to look around. He sees the fire behind the group, the curtain, and the objects passing by that cause the reflections. He therefore comes to the realization that what he has believed as real objects are actually imperfect representations of…

    • 1521 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout The Alchemist, readers see a clear view of how they are to discover the meaning of life. The first is by discovering their personal legend. People are supposed to go out and seek their life’s destiny. The second is by defeating fear. There is nothing to fear but fear itself. We shouldn’t worry about the past or future. In fact, we should be focusing on the present. When we take the focus off of our fears we begin to focus on the present and realize what we’ve been missing. Paulo Coelho portrays two main themes throughout The Alchemist: pursue your personal legend and dangers come when you fear.…

    • 487 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Allegory of the Cave also represents an extended metaphor for the state of human existence, and for the transformation that occurs during philosophical enlightenment. When the light of the sun shines on the freed man, this is allegory for enlightenment and perception of the truth. The minor concerns of the world as he has viewed it previously are now seen as falsely held perception and he is eager to share enlightenment with others.…

    • 350 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays