Why are Santiago and the Englishman similar?

When you take a quick glance at Santiago and the Englishman at first they seem to contradict each other. Santiago is a boy who was sent to school to be a priest, while the Englishman is an older gentleman with a lot of knowledge on several different subjects. If you take a closer look the reader can see that they are quite similar in a few different ways. The first way being that both characters have left their home land in search of some type of treasure. Both believe this treasure to be something physical that will make them rich. Another bond between these two characters is the fact that they must both trust and depend on others to help them achieve this goal. The boy must trusts many different characters through out the story when they try to help him discover his personal treasure, some of these characters might include the king, the crystal salesman, and the alchemist. While the Englishman is putting all of his trust in the people who told him where he could find the alchemist, who he hopes will reveal the secrets of alchemy to him. Both of these characters also have an interest in alchemy. They both have a knowledge of the subject and they both know that the secret is purity. And they must both learn how to use this "secret" in order to finally discover their treasure. And finally both characters take steps in the end to finally find their treasure. Although the Englishman tried to use alchemy to create his treasure, while the Santiago discovers his treasure is truly his soul and his connection to the Earth's spirit. 

Personal Legends

While reading The Alchemist adventure has been a main theme. The main character is always in search of a new beginning or a life different than what everyone else is living. The only time he decides to settle down for a short while is when he needs money or when he decides he wants to be in love. Even during theses slow times he is always thinking about what he wants in the future; whether it's more sheep or making it to the pyramids to find his treasure. I am excited to see where his sense of adventure will bring him in the future. I am also excited to see if he actually ends up settling down with a girl that he "loves". If all of these events take place I think that the book will be extremely interesting. Plus, he's foreshadowing that the war will enter the oasis, so maybe he will even get involved in the war. I feel like he will fight in the war and then find the sword that he wanted when he was in the market place. I feel that everything will start falling into place again, and he will succeed at what ever he chooses to do. Although, I do think that as soon as he has his treasure he'll decide that what he really wants is to be a sheppard again.