Personal Legend in the Alchemist by Paulo Coelho (Essay Sample)

Sometimes as human beings, we wonder what life's purpose is. Some think it's to make money, some say it’s meaningless. It’s an interesting thing to think about, and a question that is hard to answer. In the novel The Alchemist written by Paulo Coehlo, we are introduced to Santiago and his journey to achieving his "Personal Legend". A personal legend is put simply, your ultimate goal/achievement in life. Now, this begs the question, what if you don’t accomplish your personal legend? Would you live a life full of regret? It isn’t possible to live a fulfilling life without achieving your personal legend, because in the end you will regret choosing not to pursue it. 

Throughout the novel, there are various examples showing why you should pursue your legend. The old man can be an example, he claimed to be the king of a city named Salem and he believed in pursuing a personal legend. He is content with his life and spreads his knowledge to others. His stance on personal legend is that pursuing a personal legend is "a person's only real obligation." (Pg. 24). The king of Salem is an older man, and his wisdom is valuable. He has lived through his youth and helped those who are in the spot he was in previously. Another example of why you should pursue your legend Santiago himself. He pursued his legend and obtained his riches. Another thing that he gained was the ability to learn all of the lessons on his way there. Clearly, at the end of the book, he obtains his various treasures (material + miscellaneous lessons) and it ultimately pays off.

If you don’t pursue your legend, what is your life for? Your body is a vessel, and you are the captain. You need to navigate your boat to your goal. You could argue that even if Santiago hadn’t obtained his riches, he’d still be capable of living a happy, fulfilling life. The problem with that is that he’d always think of what it could have been, and he’d never accomplished his goals. The whole thing with personal legends is it is your ultimate goal. Think about it this way, do you have a long-term life goal? How would you feel if you didn’t accomplish the said goal? I don’t think I’d be able to enjoy my life the way I desired to. In reality, life isn’t worth living if you are unable to achieve your personal legend. I’d hate my life if the thoughts of what it could have been would haunt my mind. But sometimes you can just live in ignorance, like how the crystal merchant would "have no reason to go on living" (Pg. 53) if he realized his legend. As seen in this quote, the merchant prefers ignoring his personal legend. He lives in blissful ignorance. He knows that at his age, it is too late to pursue his legend. He is aware that he would regret it. For another example of ignorance, we could use the robbers as an example. The robber had a recurring dream where he was told that  “at the root of the sycamore, I would find a hidden treasure” (Pg. 167). The thing is he didn’t think anything of it, and he didn’t pursue it because he is “not so stupid as to cross an entire dessert just because of a recurrent dream.” (Pg 168) and didn’t obtain his potential riches. Instead, Santiago gets to it.

So what does this show? I think that the information presented shows why you should pursue your personal legend. If you choose not to pursue your legend, your life may be less fulfilling. In my life, my personal legend is finding a job at a tech company doing software engineering. I know that if I don’t commit my time and energy to it I will not achieve it. Maybe you also have your own dreams and aspirations, and I hope you too pursue them.