An Analysis of the Symbolism in The Alchemist

Abstract

The Alchemist is a famous novel written by the Brazilian author Paulo Coelho and it is also one of best–selling books of him. Since the first publishing in 1988, more than 65 million copies have been sold in 150 countries and has been translated into 60 languages. Through using many symbolic psychological elements, the author centered on the meaning of life, dream, love and self-realization and told the reader about the hero’s comprehension of meaningful travel and his final self-realization. Based on rare study cases of The Alchemist and author’s life,at the same time, combining the analyzes of some domestic and foreign writers comments on the novel, those existed literature or related paper still lack of a thorough analysis of The Alchemist and the specialized analysis of the symbolism in this novel. 

So on the basis of studying symbolism, through searching information of author’s life experiences and related foreign literature, combing a few comments of domestic critics for this novel, this thesis will analyze the novel through the perspective of symbolism. Consisting of three parts, this paper focuses on the analysis of symbolic elements in the novel and the life meaning in the world. The first part gives a brief introduction to the author - Paulo Coelho and his study on the alchemist. The second part first introduces the definition of symbolism, and the symbol of different fates of the people around the protagonist in the story. The third part analyzes the symbols of natural objects related to protagonist.

This novel is full of symbolism, about the person calling, the secret of life and disinterring our dreams. The story also has the comic charm, dramatic tension, and psychological intensity of a fairy tale, full of specific wisdom. Through the analysis of symbolic imagines in this novel, the readers will understand the symbolic meaning and life meaning more deeply and also let us understand much life philosophy. Meanwhile, though the describe of the process of pursuing the dream, we can get much enlightenment from the protagonist and comprehend symbolic and practical implication in this novel more deeply and profoundly. 

Key words: symbolism; dream; personal legend