Eddie Rickenbacker, a World War I hero and Medal of Honor recipient, once said “Courage is doing what you are afraid to do. There can be no courage unless you’re scared.” In The Alchemist, Santiago first meets the crystal merchant and is in desperate need of money, having been robbed by a thief in Tangier, a city through which he was passing on his way to Egypt. The crystal merchant hires Santiago as a clerk and warns him that even if he worked for a year, he would not have enough money to travel to Egypt. Consequently, Santiago decides that he will work for the crystal merchant to save enough money to return to his home city, Andalusia, where he plans on buying a flock of sheep. Having been a shepherd before setting out on his journey to
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His reason for doing so connects to the concept of Maktub, which according to the crystal merchant, translates roughly from Arabic to “It is written” (Coelho 61). The crystal merchant was not entirely confident in Santiago’s ideas, but his philosophy is that he is to do things because they are fated. He feels that a greater force had brought Santiago to his shop. As demonstrated by the notion, “Sometimes, there’s just no way to hold back the river,” he realizes that he is not able to combat against this power, which he believes has destined his shop to expand. By the concept of Maktub, the crystal merchant further demonstrates his urge to live life passively rather than as someone who has their own hopes and desires and works to achieve them. After Santiago’s improvements to the shop bring in a great deal of money, the crystal merchant is reminded of his Personal Legend to go on a pilgrimage to Mecca. He expresses to Santiago that he has abandoned his Personal Legend when he tells him, “... it’s the thought of Mecca that keeps me alive. [...] I’m afraid that if my dream is realized, I’ll have no reason to go on living” (Coelho 57). The crystal merchant is …show more content…
While working to improve things at the crystal merchant’s shop, Santiago, although not realizing it, fully employs the language “[...] of things accomplished with love and purpose, and as part of a search for something believed in and desired” (Coelho 64). This quote demonstrates Santiago’s ability to understand the negative qualities of the crystal merchant, who does not live his life in pursuit of what he desires. Santiago learns that the crystal merchant did not do things to satisfy his own desires, indicating that he did not enact change with any confidence, love or passion. Santiago, however, tries to improve things at the shop to fulfill his own desire to earn enough money to get his life back on track, which he thought meant returning to living life as a shepherd. Upon further examination, Santiago realizes that he would be acting like the crystal merchant, who was afraid to pursue his Personal Legend, if he resorted to doing what was comfortable or familiar to him. Additionally, the crystal merchant does not like change because he fears the unknown, and Santiago realizes that he too was afraid of the challenges that he would face in the desert, a strange and dangerous place. Santiago’s success while working for the crystal merchant,
His reason for doing so connects to the concept of Maktub, which according to the crystal merchant, translates roughly from Arabic to “It is written” (Coelho 61). The crystal merchant was not entirely confident in Santiago’s ideas, but his philosophy is that he is to do things because they are fated. He feels that a greater force had brought Santiago to his shop. As demonstrated by the notion, “Sometimes, there’s just no way to hold back the river,” he realizes that he is not able to combat against this power, which he believes has destined his shop to expand. By the concept of Maktub, the crystal merchant further demonstrates his urge to live life passively rather than as someone who has their own hopes and desires and works to achieve them. After Santiago’s improvements to the shop bring in a great deal of money, the crystal merchant is reminded of his Personal Legend to go on a pilgrimage to Mecca. He expresses to Santiago that he has abandoned his Personal Legend when he tells him, “... it’s the thought of Mecca that keeps me alive. [...] I’m afraid that if my dream is realized, I’ll have no reason to go on living” (Coelho 57). The crystal merchant is …show more content…
While working to improve things at the crystal merchant’s shop, Santiago, although not realizing it, fully employs the language “[...] of things accomplished with love and purpose, and as part of a search for something believed in and desired” (Coelho 64). This quote demonstrates Santiago’s ability to understand the negative qualities of the crystal merchant, who does not live his life in pursuit of what he desires. Santiago learns that the crystal merchant did not do things to satisfy his own desires, indicating that he did not enact change with any confidence, love or passion. Santiago, however, tries to improve things at the shop to fulfill his own desire to earn enough money to get his life back on track, which he thought meant returning to living life as a shepherd. Upon further examination, Santiago realizes that he would be acting like the crystal merchant, who was afraid to pursue his Personal Legend, if he resorted to doing what was comfortable or familiar to him. Additionally, the crystal merchant does not like change because he fears the unknown, and Santiago realizes that he too was afraid of the challenges that he would face in the desert, a strange and dangerous place. Santiago’s success while working for the crystal merchant,