Tuesday 26 May 2009

In Coelho's The Alchemist, what happens when the alchemist and the boy are both taken into the military camp?

When the
alchemist and the boy are both taken to the military camp, the alchemist uses all of Santiago's
money that he has saved for years to buy them three days time to save their lives. The alchemist
tells the chief of the tribe that the boy is an alchemist who could destroy their whole camp by
one swift command of the wind. The chief calls his bluff by saying that he wants to see the boy
do that. The alchemist says that he needs three days, but he won't destroy the camp; he will
only turn himself into the wind to demonstrate his powers. Santiago can't believe what the
alchemist just put him up to prove. He doesn't know how to turn himself into the
wind! 

Over the course of the three-day grace period, Santiago talks to the
desert, the wind, and the sun. They all can't help him. He discovers that he needs to talk to
the Soul of the World in order to pull off this trick. As a result, he learns that he is a part
of the Soul of the World and that same soul is a part of God. In addition to the Soul of the
World being God's soul, he also realizes that God is love. If everything is connected in the
world, and God, love and the Soul of the World are all one, then he is also part of God. If he
is part of God, then he also has the power to turn himself into the wind. Needless to say,
Santiago discovers the power within himself to save his and the alchemist's life by turning
himself into the wind in front of the military tribe. They are so impressed by the boy's power
that they allow the two travelers to go on their way towards the pyramids.

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