In The Alchemist, what is the significance of Santiago becoming a shepherd, not a priest?
Santiago becomes a shepherd to fulfill his desire to travel the world. As a priest, he would have to immediately forgo this desire. He would have to follow the rules prescribed by others and live a sedentary life. Santiago is too free-spirited to give up on his dreams and desires....
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As a result, he becomes a shepherd instead. This allows him to get a taste of his Personal Legend, but he eventually finds that it is a mere compromise of his dreams.
As a shepherd, he gets to travel, but his travel is still limited. He goes where his flock goes and tends to them. In some ways, this is not unlike a priest who tends to his congregation. His Personal Legend is greater than this though. This is why he sells his sheep, essentially ridding himself of the life that was holding him back from achieving his Personal Legend. Once he has done this, Santiago is free to travel across North Africa all the way to the Pyramids in pursuit of his Personal Legend.
The sheep are also a metaphor for the majority of people in the world. Santiago spends a lot of time observing his sheep. He notices that the sheep only concern themselves with finding food and water. Like many people, they are letting life pass them by. Santiago comes to the conclusion that he does not want to be a sheep, or even a shepherd, since his Personal Legend lies far beyond the pasturelands of Spain and the expectations of other people.
In The Alchemist, what is the significance of Santiago becoming a shepherd, not a priest?
Santiago's inborn talent was to follow his senses and the omens of his personal legend; so, Mstykmshy certainly has answered correctly. Another aspect of Santiago choosing to be a shepherd rather than a priest was the fact that shepherds travel. Santiago was always interested in traveling to see all of Spain; little did he know that part of his personal legend was to travel half of the African continent as well. Had Santiago become a priest, he would have had to follow specific daily rules that wouldn't allow him to travel or to be free to think for himself. He wouldn't have been able to explore his inner sense to talk to nature, the universe, or himself as he discovered on his journeys. When mentioning the word "priest" one might think of stiff pants and shirt with a high white collar practically choking the wearer. This is not Santiago. Santiago's character and personality demanded freedom to explore the world, himself, and even the universe.
What inspires Santiago to become a shepherd in The Alchemist?
The desire to travel prompts Santiago to be a shepherd.
Santiago's purpose is to travel. As a shepherd, he is a nomad. He goes from place to place, and never settles down.
When Santiago was younger, his father told him that only rich people and shepherds were able to travel. The boy decided to become a shepherd.
His father gives him his inheritance early to buy his flock. The boy focuses on his sheep. When he meets a merchant’s daughter, he tells her about his sheep.
"Well, usually I learn more from my sheep than from books," he answered. (1)
The only thing the sheep care about is food and water. They have complete trust in the boy, and have forgotten their own instincts in following his lead.
When Santiago has a dream where a boy leads him to the Egyptian pyramids for treasure, he begins his quest. He meets a fortune teller and an Englishman, and searches for his Personal Legend. It is only once he has reached what he thought was his goal that he realizes that the treasure is where he left it, at home.