Paulo Coelho (Final Draft)

You got off to a good start with your research, and the thesis is strong.
However, his is not yet an academic APA style paper. Pls go to BB and open the folder for Week 5. Study the sample author paper, and revise this essay– being sure to include APA formatting and an annotated bibliography.
Paulo Coelho

It is often said that courage and determinism enable people to seamlessly manage daunting tasks and pursue their innermost dreams even when faced with detractors. Perhaps this notion is a perfect encapsulation of Paulo Coelho’s life because his story is one of struggle (Famous Authors, 2016). Born in Brazil on August 24, 1947, Coelho’s most celebrated work is the critically acclaimed novel “The Alchemist.” However, the journey to writing stardom was not always smooth for him. For starters, he narrowly survived becoming a statistic in the Brazilian child mortality rate. His narrow escape compelled his mother to dedicate him to the Catholic Church because she deemed his survival a miracle. This directly impacted his upbringing because, for the most part, his wondrous mind was suppressed by the confines of the Catholic Church. However, his writing awakening ensued after visiting a pilgrimage in Spain at the ripe age of 36. Paul Coelho employs symbolism to convey the spiritual journeys undertaken by characters in his novel.

The Alchemist

Paulo Coelho uses his hit novel, The Alchemist, to encapsulate the need for one to find their purpose in life. The concept of spiritual journeying is centered on a boy who goes searching for what he describes as “his legend ” (Gomez, 2020). Coelho does not limit the locational sense of his readers because “The Alchemist” encompasses Spain and several countries in North Africa. The richness of the literary works is compounded and supported by often diverse and complex characters. For instance, in the boy’s quest for his legend, he is shadowed by several characters who all contribute to his journey. There is the Alchemist, the crystal merchant, the Englishman, and the king. Indeed, it is no exaggeration that this is an allegorical take on Coelho’s own journeys to Spain and interactions with Che Guevara. Moreover, Coelho’s spiritual upbringing is perhaps the reason for the spirituality essence in his works. The protagonist boy in the novel obtains the idea to search for his legend through a series of dreams.

Likewise, the Alchemist is rich in the symbolistic writing style of Paulo Coelho. The boy’s journey is motivated by treasures he endlessly dreamt about. Objectively, the treasures can be viewed as an allegory to the often deceptive endeavors people indulge in after envisioning them. True, sometimes, the endeavors are fruitful and yield relative success. In this instance, it is always smooth for the boy because his journey is met with several difficulties. Also, Paulo Coelho’s symbolistic description is clear and vivid. From his writings, one can feel the lush and green grasses of the Andalusian fields and see the complexity of the architectural design in the buildings. Not to mention the burning desert sands, hot wind, and the overbearing sand. These may not be pertinent to the symbolism in the novel, but Coelho employs them to enrich the symbolism in the novel.