Some readers consider the end of Coelho's The Alchemistto be a bit of a let down; what other kind of treasure could Santiago have found to give the...

In 's
novel, , some might expect something more exciting at the end of the story.
I cannot imagine any other treasure that Santiago could ask for. He knows
that when he gets home, he knows where his material treasure will be. One of the thieves that
robs him at the Pyramids gives Santiago the answer.

I
dreamed that I should travel to the fields of Spain and look for a ruined church where shepherds
and their sheep slept. In my dream, there was a sycamore growing out of the ruins of the
sacristy, and I was told that, if I dug at the roots of the sycamore, I would find a hidden
treasure.

The thief explains the attempt to follow such a
dream as stupidity on his part. However, we realizeas does Santiagothat the
thief is walking away from his Personal Legend.

Santiago's second treasure calls to him when he has traveled home to that abandoned
church where he and his sheep had rested at the beginning of the story. He has come full circle.
However, his journey is not quite over, and he has not collected all the rewards that have been
promised to him by virtue of pursuing his Personal Legend.

The wind began to blow again. It was the levanter, the wind that came from Africa. It
didn't bring with it the smell of the desert, nor the threat of Moorish invasion. Instead it
brought the scent of a perfume he knew well, and the touch of a kissa kiss that came from far
away, slowly, slowly, until it rested on his lips.

He
recognizes that it comes from the woman he loves, Fatima. He recognizes, also, the magic in this
"gesture," and he speaks to the windto Fatimathat he is coming.

Santiago has gained spiritual satisfaction; he has won the love of the woman who
returns his feelingsthese are treasures. And he has returned home to collect the
material treasure buried beneath the treeinformation he received from
another dreamer. Perhaps if there is any anti-climactic feeling, it may be because of the
story's structure.

Traditionally, when we are younger we are told
storiesfairytales. At the end, the hero wins the hand of the beautiful princess (or he saves
her, or both) and there is treasure enough that they live in a palace, "happily ever
after." Perhaps some feel that a piece is missing in this story. Sometimes the message is
seemingly so simplebut also impressive in so subtly delivering the philosophy of the truly
valuable things in life. In the fairytale, perhaps some readers expect a
traditional endinga solid resolution. In a sense, the reader may more
easily recognize formula-like writing: the introduction, description of characters, presentation
of the overriding conflict, plot development, the turning point, resolution of the conflict,
etc.

However, authors of even some of the shortest stories have moved away
from following any kind of formula, "process-oriented" or predictable literary forms
to create a new and unique structure, as is the case with Edgar Allan Poe.

If
happiness, fulfillment, love and material gain are not enough, I cannot imagine that there could
be anything left for Santiago to wish for other than power: and if the author remains true to
the characteristics of the man he has created in Santiago, power is not
something he would want.