Identify and describe a minor character in the novel, The Alchemist - Essay Example

Running head: minor character in the alchemist 2nd July The Alchemist The Alchemist is a novel written by Paulo Coelho and it was first published in 1988. In the novel, Santiago decides to go to Egypt after having a recurring dream that there is a hidden treasure in Egyptian pyramids for him. Santiago believes that his dream is prophetic and thus decides to go to Romani a nearby town where a woman tells him to pack and leave for there is treasure in the pyramids. The paper will discuss minor characters in the novel alchemist and their contribution to the work.

Additionally the paper will explain the purpose of the minor characters.FatimaFatima is an Arab girl who meets with Santiago in an oasis on the way to the pyramids. On the way to Egypt, Santiago takes time to listen to the desert and the main reason is to discover the soul of the world. The Arab girl reaches in the oasis together with other people where Santiago starts a conversation with Fatima, during the entire conversation Santiago falls in love with Fatima and Fatima falls in love with Santiago (Coelho, 1993).

 As the caravan starts to go to the alchemist to learn the secret of alchemy who lives in the desert, Fatima as a desert woman is willing to wait for Santiago so that the hidden treasures in Egyptian pyramids can be disclosed and thus fulfill his personal legend. The purpose of Fatima is to encourage Santiago and go to Egypt and thus promised him that if he finds the treasures, they will marry. Additionally Fatima was looking for her man though she had interest in the hidden treasures. The Camel DriverThe camel driver meets with Santiago on their way to the oasis where their main agenda was to visit the alchemist in the desert.

During this time, it is when Santiago is ready to go to Egypt to find the hidden treasures. After loosing everything in the flooding river Nile the camel driver is content with his daily routine of riding the camel. The purpose of the Camel Driver is to update Santiago and make him understand the importance of the present. The Tribal Chieftain The Tribal Chieftain is the guard of the oasis since the oasis should not be attacked since it was a violation of rules of the desert. After Santiago shares a vision with the tribal chieftain of two hawks fighting in the sky meant that it was an army entering the oasis to destroy it and attack those who were around.

The interpretation of the vision makes the tribal chieftain to arm the men and prepare them well incase if they are attacked by enemies. The purpose of the chieftain is to make sure that in the oasis omens are listened carefully and thus when around one should be aware of desert man eaters and other animals. Conclusion After going to Egypt Santiago begins to dig and finally finds nothing buried in the ground where thieves rob his money and beat him up. But one of the thieves remembers about the hidden treasures in an abandoned church and later Santiago goes to the church where he finds the buried treasures in sycamore tree.

This illustrates a lot of distracter before one has achieved the goals since on a look of the plot Fatima, the camel driver and tribal chieftain distracted Santiago from attaining the goals of buried treasures. ReferencesCoelho, P. (1993). The alchemist. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco.