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.