The Alchemist is a contemporary classic by Brazilian author Paulo Coelho. The story is a modern fable about following one’s dreams. The protagonist, Santiago, prepares for his journey through life by absorbing the wisdom dispensed by his human, divine, animal, and natural teachers. Though content with his existence, he cannot help but feel that there are experiences to be had and knowledge to be gained by traveling the world. Rather than yielding to his complacency, he opts to see the world, about which he knows little:

People from all over the world have passed through this village, son, said his father. They come in search of new things, but when they leave they are basically the same people they were when they arrived. They climb the mountain to see the castle, and they wind up thinking that the past was better than what we have now. They have blond hair, or dark skin, but basically they're the same as the people who live right here.

But I'd like to see the castles in the towns where they live, the boy explained.

In one of the protagonist’s dreams, a child tells him to seek his treasure under the Egyptian pyramids. When Santiago asks a gypsy to interpret his dream, she also tells him to go to Egypt in search of his treasure. Then, he meets an old man, Melchizedek, who claims to be the King of Salem, apparently possessing magical powers. He actually proves to be a personal motivator for Santiago, egging him on toward his “Personal Legend,” teaching him about the “Soul of the World,” and giving him magical stones as an encouragement to help him recall his lessons in times of Melchizedek’s physical absence.

Sheep enjoy life by staying in one place. They eat regularly and remain content with the food, water, and nourishment with which they are provided. Santiago identifies with the sheep. In his frustration, he is convinced that there is more that life has to offer to human beings, and Melchizedek agrees:

“What's the world's greatest lie?” the boy asked, completely surprised.

“It's this: that at a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what's happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate. That's the world's greatest lie.”

After Santiago embarks on his trek to Egypt, he meets an alchemist. They travel through the desert together, where they are accosted and robbed by Arab tribesmen. The alchemist tells their captors that, in fact, Santiago is an alchemist with special powers who will turn himself into a powerful wind in three days. Unsure how he will accomplish such a task, Santiago grows concerned. However, as the group continues to cross the desert, Santiago begins to commune with nature. He asks the wind and the sun to help him with his dilemma and prays to the “Hand That Wrote All.” The protagonist’s prayers are answered when a sizable sandstorm rages, allowing him to escape from the camp, only to appear later in a different area. Impressed with Santiago’s apparent powers, the tribesmen set their captors free.

As the fable develops, Coelho uses personification of the lake to teach Santiago another lesson about vanity. The alchemist relates the legend of Narcissus—with a twist. Vanity need not be negative.

Continuing on his quest, Santiago encounters a crystal merchant. Through this character, Coelho demonstrates an attitude diametrically opposed to that of Santiago. Whereas the protagonist longs to continue his life journey of exploration, the merchant is content to enjoy the status quo, although it is his greatest desire to make a religious journey to Mecca. His path in life is to travel the safe road so as not to experience the kind of dangers faced by Santiago as he fulfills his quest. Santiago opts out of becoming a metaphorical sheep and continues on his trip to locate his treasure.

Along the journey to Egypt, the protagonist learns another valuable lesson from an Englishman traveling through the desert. He discovers the meaning of the term “Soul of the World.” It refers to positive Karma and is the essence, or driving force, of alchemy and fits in with the author’s theme of fulfilling one’s dreams. Santiago also continues to identify several omens that foretell dangerous events: “Learn to recognize omens, and follow them, the old king had said.” These portents are heeded by the hero on his journey. In one instance, two hawks fighting in the desert symbolize a threat of an oncoming attack. Santiago finds himself once again seeking help from the wind and other forces of nature. Since the Soul of the World is ever-present, he is able to overcome fear by connecting to other humans, nature, animals, and divine power.

In the end, Santiago realizes that the treasure is not material wealth. In fact, he discovers the treasure was buried beneath the very tree he was sleeping under before he began his quest. The didactic journey he has experienced, with the help of others, has taught him priceless life lessons.

Various human characters teach Santiago important lessons. For example, even someone as seemingly insignificant as the gypsy woman teaches Santiago a lesson about listening to and going after his dreams. Had Santiago not spoken with her, he might have continued to ignore the importance of his dream. She teaches him that dreams are important and should be sought after. He learns a similar lesson from the crystal merchant, who teaches Santiago to obtain his dream and make it come true, moving beyond just knowing he has a dream.

Early in the story, readers see that Santiago has been learning about contentment from the sheep that he diligently cares for. The sheep have and need so very little, yet they are content and give freely of themselves.

They were content with just food and water, and, in exchange, they generously gave of their wool, their company, and—once in a while—their meat.

Much later in the story, Santiago gives the sheep a great deal of credit for teaching him about a universal language that exists within all of nature. That knowledge helps him to understand that everything is connected.

But the sheep had taught him something even more important: that there was a language in the world that everyone understood, a language the boy had used throughout the time that he was trying to improve things at the shop. It was the language of enthusiasm, of things accomplished with love and purpose, and as part of a search for something believed in and desired.

Throughout The Alchemist, Santiago learns valuable lessons from everyone and everything he encounters. If there is a specific teacher-student relationship that you are interested in, I recommend asking a more specific question, as it will be difficult to provide a thorough answer to your question as it has been asked. That said, I will provide a very brief explanation of the main lessons learned from some of the major teachers in this story.

The Alchemist teaches Santiago that he must always listen to his heart as his heart is connected to the Soul of the World. Even though his heart is a strong voice within him, it can still steer him away from his Personal Legend. Therefore, he must listen to it with a discerning mind.

The crystal merchant, through his own negative example, teaches Santiago the danger of becoming complacent to the point of giving up on one's dreams.

Even Santiago's sheep have a lesson for him. By watching them, the boy learns that there is a value that comes from living a simple and humble life. As the story progresses, Santiago sees these traits in some of the people he meets and knows how to recognize their value to him and to the Soul of the World.

The Englishman shows Santiago the power of knowledge and learning from books. However, Santiago learns that there is a limit to what someone can learn from purely reading and that true understanding must also come through experience.

Melchizedek teaches Santiago what is perhaps the most enduring lesson of the story. He tells Santiago that Fate is a lie. Instead, we all have control in our destiny and the power within us to achieve our Personal Legends.

Even the Sun and Santiago learn from each other. However, in this case, it is Santiago who teaches the Sun a lesson. He tells it that all things have their own Personal Legend and that once it has been achieved, it is time for him or her to pursue a new one.