Heroic Motif in Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist

Abstract

The Alchemist, a magic fable written by Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho has a heroic motif. This study analyzes that motif on the basis of theory of mono myth, proposed by Joseph Campbell in his book Hero with a Thousand Faces. Santiago, the main character of the novel undergoes the three major phases: departure or separation, initiation or trials and return. This corresponds to the three sections of the mono myth described by Campbell. The present work has been divided into four chapters. The first part is the general introduction; second part describes the theory of mono myth. The heroic motif in the novel is proved in the third part by the help of textual analysis. Finally the fourth part includes conclusion.