The theme of Personal Legend in “The Alchemist” book
The Alchemist book by Paulo Coelho consists of several themes; however, the theme of “Personal Legend” outshine the other themes as it is discussed throughout this book. Personal Legend theme is associated with what one has always wanted to achieve. “Personal Legend” theme is evident in the book as Santiago wished to explore the world in his life. Santiago was the determiner of achieving his dream, as his parents wanted him to have a different vision in life. In this paper, I am going to analyze this theme in detail concerning how it is unique to the Latin American perspective, how it is represented in other courses or real life, and how the theme can be related in some way.
“His parents had wanted him to become a priest, and thereby a source of pride for a simple farm family. They worked hard to have food and water, like sheep. He had studied Latin, Spanish, and theology. But ever since he had been a child, he had wanted to know the world, and this was much more important to him than knowing God and learning about man’s sins (Coelho, pg. 6). Latin American parents had a perspective of thinking of choosing their children’s goals in life. But they forgot an essential aspect that it is a person’s only real obligation to realize one’s destiny. Like any other kid, Santiago had a dream of exploring the world. He was so determined that he had to face her parents and let them know where his dreams lied. Santiago believes in living a purposeful life, and he was determined to achieve it through several challenges.
Personal Legend of many people has been killed through discouragement. The author terms these contrary obstacles that even comes from the parents. Coelho points out that it is vital to apply SWOT after recognizing one’s personal legend. For example, in Latin America, the issue of inequality is a point of concern to one’s personal legend. Due to these inequalities, the personal legend is challenged as most of them end up not realizing their personal legend as they lose hope on the way of achieving their dreams.” First, we are told from childhood onwards that everything we want to do is impossible. We grow up with this idea, and as the years accumulate, so too the layers of prejudice, fear, and guilt. There comes a time when our personal calling [legend] is so deeply buried in our soul as to be invisible. But it’s still there” (Coelho pag.8). This teaches us that it takes courage and sacrifices at times to achieve one’s personal legend.
The theme of “Personal legend “is prevalent in real life. I have come across many instances where a personal legend is applied or practiced. In social media, mostly in televisions, we are experiencing several people who are interviewed on their road to achieving their success in their career (Schröder, Schmitt-Rodermund, & Arnaud, 2011). Through these interviews, I have realized that personal legend is achievable, but it requires a lot of self-devotion. On the faces of those who successfully achieved their personal legend, smiles of joy are all over in contrast to those whose personal legend was turned off by various circumstances.
In the film “3 Idiots,” this theme is dominated as the character are forced by their parents to do the course, which is against their personal legend. One of the students in this movie who wanted to be a singer but was forced to do engineering end up committing suicide. Another character who was forced by her parents to do engineering but his dream was being a photographer ends up achieving his personal legend of being a photographer. However, he had to undergo numerous challenges through the “3 Idiots” film. Viewers can learn that personal legend is crucial to one’s self and should be respected as it brings joy when it is successfully achieved but results from sorrowing if not achieved.
This theme of personal legend can be related in different ways in the real world. Most successful individuals in the world who are successful have come clearly testifying that they are successful because they followed their heart while choosing their career (Slay, & Smith, 2011). From their testimonies, one can learn that if you realize your personal legend, you stand a significant chance of doing what you like doing best. This ensures you like what you do, and success follows automatically. However, some people have come Cleary to testify if it did not then help their parents to choose a career for them; they can’t be where they are today. This shows that not all private legend is fruitful, as some may ruin one’s life.
In “The Alchemist” book, the theme of private legend is used in a bigger percentage. Santiago had a treasure, which he comes to learn is his private legend. Santiago faces several challenges in road to private legend achievement, including from his parents. The old man Santiago meets, motivates him not to lose hope as many children lose hope to achieve the dreams they had when they were young due to various challenges. The theme of Legend is evident in real-life situations as it is experienced in day to day life. It is essential to strive and be dedicated to achieving one’s personal legend in life, as it makes one feel worthy of living.
References
Coelho, P. (2014). The alchemist 25th anniversary: A fable about following your dream. Harper.
Schröder, E., Schmitt-Rodermund, E., & Arnaud, N. (2011). Career choice intentions of adolescents with a family business background. Family Business Review, 24(4), 305-321.
Slay, H. S., & Smith, D. A. (2011). Professional identity construction: Using narrative to understand the negotiation of professional and stigmatized cultural identities. Human Relations, 64(1), 85-107.
Rajkumar Hirani. (2016, January 11). 3 Idiots. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YF6gaFjzJ_g