The Alchemist is subtitled "A Fable About Following Your Dreams." Fables are cautionary tales that have a point to make. The universal point this story makes is that everyone has a special destiny, and yet not everyone resolves to attain it because it takes hard work. Reaching one's destiny requires leaving behind familiar surroundings. It also demands persistence, the ability to change when appropriate and the willingness to respond to omens that point the way.
Like the title character, most of the characters in this story are not given names. In a traditional fable, characters are often animals that represent a specific trait. The characters here are humans, but they are only identified by what they do or whom they represent. The main character, a young Spanish shepherd, does have a name, Santiago, which is a derivative.....
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