The Diary of a Shepherd: Santiago's Personal Journal (F1)

Below are a few of Santiago's journal entries. This is what Santiago would be writing about during 4 significant events from the first half of the book: His appointment with the gypsy, his interaction with Melchizedek, after getting tricked in Tangier, and while working with the crystal merchant.

Please note: The Alchemist's exact date is not specified but it can be assumed that it occurs sometime between the 1500s and 1800s. This can be determined because it is too early for there to be planes and other, modern technology, but Southern Spain is free from Muslim rule and there are Englishmen in Africa for work.

Entry 1:

Once again, I had that dream. Yes, that dream. Again, I found myself in the field with my sheep and, again, that strange child approached the sheep and began playing with them. Like before, this irritated me because I don't like when strangers play with my sheep; they are afraid of strangers. But, just like last time, the sheep peacefully played with the child. This had to be an omen. What else could it be? Although I have had bad experiences with gypsies in the past, and, I admit, I am somewhat fearful of gypsies, I remembered that there was an old gypsy in Tarifa who interprets dreams. So, I went.

Although I was hesitant to do so, I couldn't help but feel that the gypsy was trying to trick me into overpaying her, I told her about my dream. I explained that in the dream, the child "took me by both hands and transported me to the Egyptian pyramids" (Coelho 15). He told me that I would find hidden treasure if I go to the pyramids. That sounds great, right? Wrong! Both times, I woke up right before the child told me the exact location of the treasure.

To my surprise, the gypsy said, "I'm not going to charge you anything now," but she made me promise to give her ten percent of the riches that I find in Egypt (Coelho 16). I was FURIOUS! I traveled over to Tarifa and wasted an hour of my day just for the gypsy to tell me to "follow my dreams." Give me a break! And then, I asked her about simple trips details like "How am I going to get to Egypt," but she couldn't give me an answer (Coelho 17). This meeting was useless. I was already planning on making a trip to visit the pyramids to find the hidden treasure, so the gypsy did not help at all. I always have disliked gypsies and that hasn't changed one bit.

Entry 2:

After my useless experience with the gypsy, I found a shady place to sit and read until the sun lowered in the sky before talking my flock back through the fields. I was just getting into the book when an old man sat beside me and tried striking up a conversation. This was irritating because I was just trying to focus on my book and this man was very distracting. I continued reading, expecting it to cause the man to leave since I assumed that he was illiterate. To my surprise, the man began talking about the book, commenting on its lesson and comparing it to that of other books. 

That piqued my interest, so I began talking with the man. He said that his name was Melchizedek and that he was the king of Salem. I was skeptical about his statement, but he has read a lot of books so I can't rule it out as a possibility. 

Then randomly, Melchizedek told me that he would cut me a deal. He said,  "Give me one-tenth of your sheep, and I'll tell you how to find the hidden treasure" ( Coelho 22). Wait a minute, how does this so-called King know about my dream? He must be the husband of that gypsy that I saw. They're trying to scam me, I thought. Then, however, the man picked up a stick and wrote the names of my relatives in the dirt. This is information that I had not revealed to the gypsy. He must be legitimate.

He told me that he needs to help me discover my "Personal Legend," one's lifelong goal. I was confused, partially because I didn't think that I had a Personal Legend. I promised to give the man one-tenth of my flock and, in exchange, he reached into his cape and pulled out two stones, one called Urim and the other called Thummim. He told me that the black signifies "yes" and the white signifies "no." He told me to use them when I am unable to read omens, but he suggested, "If you can, try to make your own decisions" (Coelho 33). And with that, he left. I am yet to understand the full potential of Urim and Thummim but I can see them coming in handy during my trip to Egypt. 

Entry 3:

As I was on my journey to Egypt, I realized that I needed to take a break to rest and grab a glass of wine. I stopped in Tangier, an African port but I quickly realized a major problem. Everyone around me spoke Arabic, but I could only speak Spanish. Luckily, I found someone who was also speaking Spanish and we struck up a conversation. He told me that everyone in Tangier speaks Spanish because it's only 2 hours from Spain. This made me feel a bit self-conscious considering that I didn't speak any Arabic. Anyway, I digress. I talked to the man for a while and I really began to trust him. Before I knew it, I had befriended him.

He told me that he was going in the same direction as I. He said that we needed two camels to cross the desert. While we were walking through the market to buy the camels, I gave him the money for my camel; I trusted him with it. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a really cool sword that someone was selling at a stand. I stopped to look at it for a few seconds, but when I turned around to keep walking, my new friend was nowhere to be found; I had been tricked! The man who I had foolishly trusted was gone with all of my money. My dreams of Egypt were disappearing.

Entry 4:

After being robbed, I was left with no money, stranded in the middle of Tangier. If I wanted to ever be able to go to discover the treasure in Egypt, my new Personal Legend, I needed to make some money. I went up to a crystal merchant, and without asking, began cleaning the glasses in his window. The merchant was so pleased with my work that he took me out for a meal and offered me a job. After working at the crystal shop for a bit, I got to know the crystal merchant more and more. He was very interesting. 

He told me that he was very religious. It was his Personal Legend to do the Hajj to Mecca. That's the reason why he opened up his stop in the first place. The voyage to visit the Kaaba at Mecca is very expensive and the merchant knew that he needed to save a ton of money. I found this very relatable because his dreams of doing the Hajj to Mecca were like my dreams of voyaging to visit the Pyramids in Egypt. The merchant, however, was an example of what happens when you give up on your Personal Legend. Although he had more than enough money to go to Mecca, he had decided that he is never going to go. He told me that he doesn't want to go, "Because 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). That ideology had never occurred to me before. His words made me contemplate my journey to Egypt. Do I really need to go?

*Spoiler- Santiago does decide to travel further on his journey to Egypt.  

This is a map that is included in The Alchemist. This includes some of the places that I discuss in Santiago's journal entries such as Tanfa Spain, Andalusia, Spain (Santiago's hometown), and Tangier, Morocco.