Source of Wisdom Meeting with the Mentor

67 The levanter increased in intensity. Here I am, between my flock and my treasure, the boy thought. He had to choose between something he had become accustomed to and something he wanted to have. There was also the merchants daughter, but she wasnt as important as his flock, because she didnt depend on him. Maybe she didnt even remember him. That wind had brought the Moors, yes, but it had also brought the smell of the desert and of veiled women. It had brought with it the sweat and the dreams of men who had once left to search for the unknown, and for gold and adventure — and for the Pyramids. The boy felt jealous of the freedom of the wind, and saw that he could have the same freedom. There was nothing to hold him back except himself. The sheep, the merchants daughter, and the fields of Andalusia were only steps along the way to his destiny Coelho, 1993: 27-28. The dilemma is when Santiago has to choose between to stay in Andalusia region, feeding the flock or to go out of Andalusia, taking the journey. The levanter represents the Africa since it is the name of the wind that blows from there. Meanwhile, the treasure is hidden in an unknown place in Africa. However, Santiago says that he is envy toward that wind which has the freedom to go everywhere. Thus, he decides to own the same freedom as the wind. It means that he takes the part of transformation and undertakes the journey to adventure. Moreover, this stage of crossing the first threshold signifies that the hero reaches the border of the two worlds by illustrating it with the physical activity of crossing like sailing from the ordinary world to the special world. Generally, in some stories there are plots which describe things to symbolize the border among the two worlds like bridges, canyons, cliff, gates, walls, oceans, and so forth. In this story, the border of the two worlds is depicted below. “At the highest point in Tarifa there is an old fort, built by the Moors. From atop its walls, one can catch a glimpse of Africa. Melchizedek, the king of Salem, sat on the wall of the fort that afternoon, and felt the levanter blowing in his face….Melchizedek watched a small ship that was 68 plowing its way out of the port. He would never again see the boy Coelho, 1993: 33. The datum above is the depiction of the border between Tarifa, the city in Andalusia, and Tangier, the city in Morocco-Africa. It is said that the wind the levanter is blowing from Africa through the sea or strait of Gibraltar toward Spain, as well as Santiago’s ship is plowing out the port from Tarifa in Andalusia to Tangier in Morocco-Africa. By showing the walls at the highest point of Tarifa and Laventer, it can be interpreted that the event depicts the hero ’s departure from the zone of ordinary world to the unknown or special world.

6. Tests-Allies-Enemies

After the hero successfully faces the first threshold of dilemma or conflict, he enters the area which Vogler called as the “Special World”. In this stage of tests-allies-enemies, there is a drastic contrast of atmosphere to the former world that will make the hero, no matter how skilful he is, becomes a freshman again. In most western tales, at first the hero comes to the special world, then they will enter to which Vogler call ed as the “Watering Holes”. The watering hole is usually a bar or saloon which is used to observe and gets information about the new place and its rules. It is also used to get guidance to achieve the quest. Besides, this stage is the moment when the hero encounters a lot of trials and meets people who would be his allies or enemies. Since this stage takes a long and complicated part of the story, the data for this stage are classified into three points.

a. The Watering Hole: a Drastic Contrast to the Former World

In The Alchemist, the sign to identify the stage of the special world is that Santiago appears in a bar in Africa where he finds the difference between his 69 homeland and this new world. The bar signifies the watering hole where Santiago can observe and get information about the new place. There, he finds the new rules, new people, new customs, and even new language. This drastic contrast signifies the movement or change of the rhythm which is useful to understand more about who Santiago really is. The quotation bellow shows a reflection of the watering hole and the drastic contrast of the special world from the former world that Santiago encounters with: “How strange Africa is, thought the boy. He was sitting in a bar very much like the other bars he had seen along the narrow streets of Tangier. Some men were smoking from a gigantic pipe that they passed from one to the other. In just a few hours he had seen men walking hand in hand, women with their faces covered, and priests that climbed to the tops of towers and chanted —as everyone about him went to their knees and placed their foreheads on the ground Coelho, 1993: 33 “He was in a different country, a stranger in a strange land, where he couldnt even speak the language. He was no longer a shepherd, and he had nothing, … Coelho, 1993: 38 When Santiago arrives at the bar, he feels alien not only to the terrain but also its people. He finds different customs, tradition, and rules. Santiago can’t speak their language. Even though he has studied Latin and theology in the seminary, and spent two years to be an explorer in Spain, in the land of Africa he becomes a stranger and must learn many things about the local currency. For example, he has already known that the people of the land are descendants of the Moors, but in this land he just recognizes the way they practice their belief. Then, he also learns the new rule that in this land wine is banned because their religion forbids it.