Alchemy
No surprises here: not only does alchemy show up over and over as Santiago tries to reach his treasure, it's in the title and everything. (That would be The Alchemist, if you're just joining us.) O...
The Treasure
Anytime a character in a novel dreams about something, your symbol-alert alarm bells should go off. If a character in The Alchemist dreams about something, you should probably call up the fire depa...
Sheep
Sheep get a bad rap, and The Alchemist doesn't do much to save their reputation as ignorant followers. Watching his flock, Santiago notices that "[t]hey never have to make any decisions [. . .]. Th...
The Hawks
One day, when he's out chilling in the desert, Santiago watches a couple of hawks flying in the sky. Suddenly though, they reveal much more to him than what you could learn on The Discovery Channel...