Character Analysis in The Alchemist-Andrew Davis

The first character whom I, as a reader was introduced to is Santiago, who is coincidentally also the main protagonist. He is depicted as a determined and rather headstrong individual who was really curious about what the vast reaches of the world had to offer him. Due to this, he denied his parent's desires for him to become a priest, and instead became a shepherd, to enable himself to explore the world and all of its offerings. Regardless of his natural adventurous spirit, he manages to stay self satisfied for a while, not really taking much note to it, until he has a dream of discovering a hidden treasure in Egypt, which around this time is when his need for adventure kicks in again. However he remains hesitant to pursue this until he comes across a strange man named Melchizedek who claims himself to be the king of Salem. After he receives the magical powers of nature from this man, Santiago sets off to accomplish this task, making this his Personal Legend, which is basically the assumed dream each person has of achieving their greatest wishes.

Another very important character who played a huge role in Santiago's endeavours (as I know of so far), is Melchizedek. He is the one, as I mentioned above, who claims to be the King of Salem, appears to Santiago as an old man who lives in the town of Tarifa. Even though he has a very brief appearance in the book, he still presents us with very important concepts that I have already seen used more than a couple times throughout the book, such as Personal Legends. In fact, this is associated with the basic main role he plays in the novel; helping people, such as Santiago, pursue their personal legends in times of doubt. He also has the ability to not only appear to people as a flesh and blood human being, but also stay with them as an idea, or even spirit. For example, even when Melchizedek is not physically present with Santiago, the magical stones he gave him somehow just will him to keep going, as if he was with him in spirit.

How could I ever forget the most important person of all? The Alchemist.  He is considered to be 200 years old, and a superbly powerful alchemy practitioner who stays at the Al-Fayoum Oasis. Although he stays there, strangely enough, many at Al-Fayoum do not even know he exists. This is especially strange, considering he has supposedly been staying there for years on end. He also possesses the Philosopher's Stone, which has the capabilities of turning any metals into gold, and the Elixir of Life, which can cure any disease. He specifically serves as a teacher to Santiago, communicating to him only in riddles, in the hopes that he can better learn through experience rather than direct instruction.

Another main character who has seen a medium of attention would be the Englishman. He is also another mysterious Alchemist; he is still in the learning process however, and is still aspiring. Similar to Santiago, he is quite adventurous. For example, he is adventurous enough to join a local caravan that is in search of The Alchemist. However, he is rather anti-social and prefers to catch up on his studies rather than communicate with other people. Regardless of this, however, he still manages to become friends with Santiago, due to their common interests in pursuing their Personal Legends. Through this friendship, so far, I have seen the Englishman teach to Santiago why book learning should be an important factor in Santiago's life, and some important facts about alchemy, such as the Master Work.