The Alchemist Part 2 (Section 2)

Part 2 (Section 2)

An increasing number of Bedouins now visited the caravan, and there was news that the tribal war had begun. All of the people in the caravan were worried, but the Camel driver, that Santiago had befriended, was not that concerned. He tells Santiago that he tends to focus on the present, and doesn't overly dwell on the future or the past. Within two nights, they had come into sight of the oasis, and Santiago tried to live fully in the present. The Alchemist watched as the caravan came into the oasis, they were all very relieved as the oasis was neutral ground. The tribesmen fought their wars in the deserts but left the oasis alone. The omens had told the Alchemist that the caravan brought a man with whom he was to share his knowledge. The knowledge was passed through people so that men never forgot the language of the world. Santiago is surprised by the size of the oasis, as it is larger than many Spanish towns he had known. The leader of the Caravan gathers all the travelers and tells them that the voyage would be suspended until the war had subsided. The people of the oasis welcomed the travelers into their homes for shelter. Santiago has a distinct realization that the omens he reads have been placed in his path by God, and they mark the way to his personal legend.

The Englishman solicits Santiago's help in searching for the Alchemist, but none of the oasis people have ever heard of the name. They then try and ask about a man who heals, and one man tells them of the very powerful one, who even the tribe leaders sought for advice. He tells them that the powerful man would never consent to meet them and so they should give up. As they wait around the well for a better source of information, Santiago talks to a woman not dressed in black. The world falls still as his eyes meet hers, and he realizes that Love is an important part of the universal language. The girl names herself Fatima, which was the name of the prophet's daughter. The Englishman learns that the Alchemist lives in the south and he heads in that direction to seek an audience. Santiago goes to the same well the next day in the hope of meeting Fatima again but he discovers the Englishman. He tells Santiago of his meeting with the Alchemist, who had told him to try turning lead into gold. Santiago encourages him to pursue the practice and waits for Fatima to appear. Fatima comes to the well, and Santiago immediately confesses his love for her and expresses his desire to marry her. 

Santiago tells her that he had come to the oasis on his way to the pyramids, where his treasure lay. For her, he could consider being a shepherd again, but she tells him that tribesmen are always looking for treasure, and the desert women were proud of the tribesmen. Santiago and Fatima talk every day, and he tells her of his journey as well as the universal language. A month after their arrival at the oasis, the caravan leader tells them that the journey forward had to be abandoned as no end to the conflict seemed near. Fatima tells Santiago of the desert, and that since childhood she had dreamed that the desert would bring her a gift, and that gift had been Santiago. She wants him to continue towards his Personal legend and promises him that she had become a part of him and so he would one day return to her. There was the possibility that he could never come back but the Desert women want their husbands to roam as free as the wind. The conversation bothers Santiago and he feels restless, so he visits the Englishman. He had created a strange furnace, and Santiago could see a new light shining in his eyes. The Englishman tells him that he is on the first step of the process, and wished that he had begun to act ten years ago. Santiago goes into the desert and attempts to immerse himself into the soul of the desert. He sees a pair of hawks flying above him and notices a pattern in their flight. The pattern is a part of the language of the world. As he watches, one of the hawks swoops down, and the shepherd sees a clear image. An army of men wielding arms coming to the oasis. He understands that the omens are trying to warn him of an attack. He returns to the camp and finds the camel driver. He tells him of his vision in the desert, while the man is dismissive at first, he soon discerns the truth in Santiago's words. He tells Santiago about the seers of the desert who could see events of the future by immersing themselves in the soul of the desert. And informs him that his religion said that Allah only showed people the future when he wished to prevent the event. He advises him to go to the elders of the oasis, for they were used to hearing of omens.

He approaches a large white tent and informs the guards that he has come to see the elders in connection to omens from the desert. Santiago is told to wait, and a young Arab comes out to hear his account. Santiago is told to remain there, and night begins to fall. The fires in the oasis are extinguished as the oasis falls as silent as the surrounding desert and then Santiago is ushered into the tent. The tent is luxurious, it is filled with beautiful carpets, and many servants carrying trays of spice and tea. One of the elders asks Santiago why the desert would reveal this vision to a stranger and not those who had lived in it for their whole lifetime. Santiago is suddenly worried and begins to feel uneasy as the elders argue among themselves. The elder in the middle remains quiet, and noting his imperceptible smile, Santiago relaxes. He understands that he is secure. Once the others have finished arguing, the elder begins to speak. He talks first of Joseph, and how he, a stranger, had saved Egypt from starvation. This had happened because Egypt had followed traditions, as the people of the oasis would do tomorrow. The men of the oasis would be armed in violation of the oasis's neutral rule, if there will be an attack, Santiago will be rewarded for every slain man. However, if no attack came, the arms drawn would be used to end Santiago.

Santiago left the tent a little worried, but this worry soon subsided as he thought of Maktub, and realized that he does not regret his action even though it had brought him into such danger. Suddenly, a white horse carrying a rider, clad all in black, surfaces out of the desert in a storm of dust and loudly demands to know who dared to read the flight of the hawks. Santiago believes the man to be an enemy and humbly replies to him. The man draws a large curved sword and Santiago lowers his head, accepting his death in pursuit of his Personal Legend. The man points the sword at his head, and Santiago doesn't even consider flight. The stranger returns his sword to the scabbard and informs Santiago that he was testing his courage for it is needed in learning to read the language of the world. He asks Santiago to visit him tomorrow if he should survive the day.

The next day, two thousand armed men of the oasis killed all but one of the five hundred oasis attackers. The enemy commander revealed that his men had been desperate for food and water so had decided to attack the oasis. He was sentenced to death by hanging, and Santiago is summoned to the elders. He is rewarded with fifty gold coins, and honored with a position to counsel the elders. At night, he goes south in the direction of the alchemist and finds a white tent with a group of Arabs. He waits there until the Alchemist climbs out of the desert carrying with him two dead hawks. He asks the shepherd what he is doing at the oasis, and Santiago tells him that he is there because war prevents passage to the pyramids. The Alchemist tells him that the winds had told him of his coming and that the alchemist would have to teach him about the language of the world. Santiago believes that man might have been the Englishman but the Alchemist disagrees. They drink wine, and the Alchemist tells him to sell his camel and buy a horse. Santiago returns to him the following night with a horse, and they both head into the desert, there the alchemist asks Santiago to find life. He fails at first but then lets his horse lead the way, and the beast naturally slows down in a section of the desert. Santiago tells the Alchemist that life lay somewhere close. The alchemist finds a hole in the sand and draws from it a poisonous cobra. He draws a circle in the sand and places the serpent in it. The cobra can't seem to leave the circle. The finding of life was the omen that the Alchemist needed to give Santiago the knowledge he had. And the Alchemist volunteers to lead him to the pyramids through the perilous desert.

Santiago doesn't want to leave Fatima behind, and the Alchemist explains that he could remain at the Oasis and gain wealth and power. His understanding of the universal language would fade as he failed to heed the omens about his personal goal, and in four years, he would be unable to read any omens. He would then lead a life of regret over never pursuing his Personal Legend. Santiago agrees to go forth. The Alchemist tells him that they would leave before the sunrise, and they return to camp. Santiago manages to find and speak to Fatima, he tells her that he would be leaving the following day, and they embrace. The next morning Fatima woke to an oasis that was full of the things that had been there before but it was now empty to her for it no longer had Santiago. Santiago goes into the desert and the alchemist tells him of how he had learned Alchemy from his grandfather who had, in turn, learned it from his father. War continued to wage around them, and the Alchemist tells him to immerse himself into the soul of the desert. He draws the text of the Emerald tablet and asks Santiago to read. He is unable to do so, and the Alchemist explains that the tablet was a direct method of penetrating the soul of the world.

Analysis

Fatima is the archetypal temptress in Santiago's story, and yet she encourages him to go forth and look for his treasure. Fatima serves as the temptress because her love causes Santiago to place her above the accomplishment of his Personal Legend. He expresses this clearly when he believes that he can return to life as a shepherd to be with her. Fatima displays her understanding of the Language of the World when she talks of how dead tribesmen were absorbed into the soul of the desert. She does not fear that he will not return for in him for she understands the Oneness.

The Alchemist fulfills the role of the mentor, and he chooses to impart his knowledge to Santiago instead of the Englishman. This indicates Santiago's progress beyond the Englishman, for Santiago had sought to learn from his surroundings by observation. However, as the Alchemist himself states, the Englishman has begun to follow the right path and thus shall eventually realize his Personal Legend. The Alchemist tests Santiago before he begins to teach him, first by examining his courage, and then by inspecting his understanding of the Language of the World.