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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
An analysis of the concept of Fate as used by Coelho in The Alchemist, and the way in which predestination and free will are treated in the course of the narrative. Bibliography lists one source.
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3 pages (~225 words per page)
File: JL5_JLalchem.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
ways somewhat contradictory. Early in the narrative, the King says that his book "describes peoples inability to choose their own personal legends. And it ends up saying that everyone believes
the worlds greatest lie . . that . . our lives become controlled by fate" (Coelho, 2003, 20). If everyone believes this, and lives their lives according to that belief,
then we could argue that it does not really matter whether fate controls or not: the point is that people behave as if it does.
However, it is evident that the boy in the story, Santiago, is different: he is on a quest, or pilgrimage, to explore his own
personal legend, find his own treasure at the end of the journey - in other words, to carve out his own fate rather than allowing himself to be controlled. From
this point of view, we might think that Coelho is arguing for a complete lack of predestination: the future is not already decided, but is created by human actions. Fate,
in other words, does not exist. However, this is not what the narrative tells us, either.
It is a "lie" that people are controlled by Fate, but at the same time, ones personal destiny is already laid out and what is more, there are signs and
portents which one must watch for, which act as signposts towards the path one should take. When Santiago is told that God leaves this path marked by omens for those
who can see them, he does not even have chance to reply before he observes just such an omen - a butterfly, which signifies good luck.
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