In The Alchemist, what life lessons does Santiago learn when he becomes the wind?
When Santiago and the Alchemist are captured by a tribal chief, the mentor tells the chief that the boy can change himself into the wind in order to make a wager on their lives. Santiago gets three days to examine all that he's learned thus far on his journeys and...
Unlock This Answer Now
Start your 48-hour free trial and get ahead in class. Boost your grades with access to expert answers and top-tier study guides. Thousands of students are already mastering their assignments—don't miss out. Cancel anytime.
Already a member? Log in here.
figure out a way to accommodate his mentor's challenge. After speaking with the desert, the wind, and the sun, Santiago actually teaches them that the Soul of the World is love. He explains that love is the power through which anyone and anything can change. Since these beings did not know this, they tell him to ask the Hand that created everything to change him into the wind.
"The boy reached through to the Soul of the World, and saw that it was a part of the Soul of God. And he saw that the Soul of God was his own soul. And that he, a boy, could perform miracles"(152).
Ultimately the boy realizes that he is one who can perform miracles; hence, he is able to transform himself into the wind and fly to the other side of the encampment. Basically, what he learns is the power to change through love exists inside all of us. That part about love being the force that can change us is true, but actually physically changing into the wind is pure fantasy. Other fantastical parts include the boy actually talking with the desert, the wind, and the sun; but, the principles about life, perseverance, and love are all true if we don't give up on our goals and dreams.
Where does Santiago learn to turn a man into the wind in The Alchemist?
Santiago speaks with the desert, the wind, and the sun to find the answer of how to turn into the wind, but none of these elements knows. While conversing with the sun, though, the boy's own thoughts reveal that he knows more about the Language of the World than he originally thought. During this conversation, the boy realizes that love is the most powerful force in the universe, and the sun does not have much experience with it. In fact, he recognizes that the sun, the desert, and the wind are all on their own paths of learning and cannot provide him with the answer he needs. Therefore, the sun suggests that Santiago ask the hand that created the world in order to find out how to perform the miracle he desires. "The Hand" must mean the universe or God, so Santiago prays in his heart without words. It is as though he connects his heart with that of God's and discovers the following:
only the hand understood that it was a larger design that had moved the universe to the point at which six days of creation had evolved into a Master Work. The boy reached through to the Soul of the World and saw that it was a part of the Soul of God. And he saw that the Soul of God was his own soul. And that he, a boy, could perform miracles (152).
Based on the passage above, Santiago discovers that he is a part of the Soul of the World—God—and he has the power within to perform a miracle and change himself into the wind. This is an amazing discovery because the power to perform miracles is found within himself as he connects his soul with that of the Creator's. The process of finding the answer he needs is a complex one, but it suggests that once we all discover that connection with the Soul of the World, we too can perform miracles because we are all a part of God. As a result, Santiago finds the answer he seeks within himself.
Why does the alchemist in Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist test Santiago by turning himself into the wind?
In Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist, the alchemist and the boy are captured by one of the desert tribes that is at war. The alchemist gives the boy's gold to the chief and then tells the man that Santiago is an alchemist and is so powerful that he can turn himself into the wind and destroy them all. The chief is curious and demands to see if Santiago can do so. The alchemist notes that the boy must have three days to prepare—that he will only turn himself into the wind to show them what he is capable of doing. Santiago is very much afraid, knowing he cannot become the wind.
This is why the alchemist puts Santiago in such a terrifying situation. The boy is learning the ways of the desert and the Universal Language, and feels that he is approaching his Personal Legend. However, up until this point in the story, it has been greatly academic—Santiago has been able to reason his way between the different phases that he must pass through in order to realize his Personal Legend, but he has never been required to put what he knows into practice—which would change the way Santiago looks at himself, the world, and his place in the world.
"Don't give into your fears," said the alchemist, in a strangely gentle voice. "If you do, you won't be able to talk to your heart."
"But I have no idea how to turn myself into the wind."
"If a person is living out his Personal Legend, he knows everything he needs to know. There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure."
The alchemist "pushes the envelope" by putting Santiago into a situation where he must do all that he is capable of (especially things he believes he is not capable of) in order to realize his own potential.
It is for this reason that the alchemist puts Santiago to this test: so Santiago can realize what he is truly capable of achieving.