Making Allies and Dealing with the Enemies
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that morning in the marketplace, he had never again made use of Urim and Thummim, because Egypt was now just as distant a dream for him as was
Mecca for the merchant. Anyway, the boy had become happy in his work, and thought all the time about the day when he would disembark at Tarifa
as a winner. You must always know what it is that you want, the old king had said. The boy knew, and was now working toward it. Maybe it
was his treasure to have wound up in that strange land, met up with a thief, and doubled the size of his flock without spending a cent Coelho, 1993:
56.
The datum above illustrates how Santiago abandons his quest of searching treasure in Egypt by having business and deciding to use his money to increase
the number of his flock. Besides, by working at crystal shop, Santiago can learn to speak Arabic and increase his ability in doing business. Basically, Santiago is a
strong-minded and strong-willed person. He suggests some tactics to the crystal merchant of how to increase the selling. He does many things because he wants to
realize his dream. The dream is not searching the treasure in Egypt anymore. At that moment, Santiago’s dream is for becoming a great businessman and having a
great number of sheep. However, the function of this stage is testing the hero with trials so that he will be able to face the great ordeal ahead. It means that it is
impossible that Santiago is truly abandoning the real dream. The following is the depiction of a converse situation faced by the hero:
But Im going back to the fields that I know, to take care of my flock again. He said that to himself with certainty, but he was no longer happy
with his decision. He had worked for an entire year to make a dream come true, and that dream, minute by minute, was becoming less important.
Maybe because that wasnt really his dream. But as he held Urim and Thummim in his hand, they had transmitted to him the strength and will of
the old king. By coincidence
—or maybe it was an omen, the boy thought
—He suddenly felt tremendously happy. He could always go back to being a shepherd. He could always become a crystal salesman again.
Maybe the world had other hidden treasures, but he had a dream, and he had met with a king. That doesnt happen to just anyone Coelho, 1993:
64-65.
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Santiago experiences a converse situation that brings him toward the former dream. Santiago has almost a year staying in Africa. He has saved enough
to get back to Spain and buy double the sheep he had the year before. When he tells the merchant that he i
s going to leave, he gets the merchant’s blessing. However, the merchant says that even though Santiago has enough money to get
to Mecca he will not go there. The merchant also knows that Santiago will not buy the sheep. Then, when Santiago packs up his stuff, Urim and Thummim fall out
from his pouch. He realizes that he has not thought about the old king in a year. He leaves the shop without saying goodbye because he doesnt want to cry.
Suddenly Santiago realizes that he can always go back to be a shepherd or be a crystal salesman again, but he has to keep chasing after his dream and learning
new things. This moment signifies that Santiago has faced the trials. Meanwhile, he is accumulating power in preparation of the ordeal.