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The following datum is a depiction of how the mentor gives Santiago the equipments:
Take these, said the old man, holding out a white stone and a black stone that had been embedded at the centre of the breastplate. They are called
Urim and Thummim. The black signifies yes, and the white no. When you are unable to read the omens, they will help you to do so. Always ask
an objective question Coelho, 1993: 30 The stones will help Santiago in discovering what will happen in the
future. Besides, it is said that “in the Bible, the stones called Urim and Thummin
were the only form of divi nation permitted by God” Coelho, 1993: 69. Once in
the moment of desperate, Santiago can use the stones. “He asked If the old man’s
blessing was still with him then he took out one of the stones . It was yes”Coelho,
1993: 41. The stones have helped Santiago lower his hesitations to make a decision. Hence, both knowledge and magical equipments are useful to encourage
Santiago to overcome the fears. This part is also used to keep the story rolling as Santiago is receiving the call and eager to begin the journey.
5. Crossing the First Threshold
In The Alchemist, the stage of crossing the first threshold is the most critical moment in act one on which the hero decides to take the journey and
leaves the ordinary world. According to Vogler 1998: 128, although the hero has received the equipments and knowledge as encouragement from the mentor, the
hero must confront a dilemma if he should enter the special world or not. Thus, the dilemma is the main conflict that Santiago must deal with. These parts
illustrate the dilemma and how Santiago encounters it:
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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
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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
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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.
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b. Making Allies and Dealing with the Enemies
Another function of this stage for the hero is to make allies or deal with enemies. A good partnership between hero and his allies can turn to be the
sidekick or team that will accompany his journey. While a rival or an antagonist always becomes his enemy that always tries to defeat him along the journey. The
allies are not always those who have similar purpose from the first until the end of the story. They could be mere or subtle characters who try to help the hero.
Meanwhile, the enemies are not always the main rival but those who always try to cheat or prevent the hero from accomplishing the quest. This datum is one of
several depictions in the novel representing how Santiago tries to make allies: Id like you to take me there if you can. I can pay you to serve as my
guide. You have to cross the entire Sahara desert, said the young man. And to
do that, you need money. I need to know whether you have enough. The boy thought it a strange question....He took his money from his pouch
and showed it to the young man......The boy trusted his new friend. He had helped him out in a dangerous situation. He took out his money and
counted it.....They walked together through the narrow streets of Tangier.... the boy never took his eye off his new friend. After all, he had
all his money. He thought about asking him to give it back, but decided that would be unfriendly. He knew nothing about the customs of the
strange land he was in. Ill just watch him, he said to himself.
Then he realized that he had been distracted for a few moments, looking at the sword. All around him was the market, with people coming and going,
shouting and buying, and the aroma of strange foods, but nowhere could he find his new companion Coelho, 1993: 38-39.
From the story above, it is seen how Santiago tries to look for allies
instead of dealing with the enemies. The watering hole, a bar, is also used to present other characters having the possibility to become an ally or enemy. Still in
the bar, Santiago not only observes and gets some information about this new
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circumstance but also tries to get new friends in order to get guidance to reach Egypt. He has supplied with the knowledge of omen, that is why, when someone
approaches him in the bar, he thinks that this coincidence is the omen, signifying that an ally is coming to help him.
Actually, this coincidence could be a test whether Santiago can really read the omen or he just guesses every coincidental event as omen. Besides, his need of
friend is also a test whether he enables to choose allies or instead welcoming the enemies to trick him. When Santiago walks together with his new companions
through the narrow street of Tangier, he doesn’t realize that those men he has
deemed as friend are thieves. The hubbub of the market and the glitter of goods in the market distract him from overseeing his new friends. When he is tempted by
the beauty of a sword, he loses his new friends who have brought all his money. This fact shows that Santiago unconsciously trusts the thieves as his allies until he
realizes that he actually deals with enemies.
c. Encountering Trials or Tests
Testing is the most important function of this stage. The first test in the special world is usually so difficult that puts the hero into chaos and despair.
Those situations usually induce the feeling of frustration and persuade the hero to the needs of going back. As discussed previously, the experience of being stolen
is Santiago ’s first test that makes him very desperate. Some tests probably have
been faced in the ordinary world, but the sphere of the Special world is very different in its rules, physical terrains, feels, circumstances, and the tests in the
special world are oftenly more dangerous. Thus, the experience when Santiago is
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a stranger in the strange land of the special world and all his money has been stolen is categorized as testing. The following datum is a depiction of how
Santiago is in frustration of encountering the first test: He had nothing, not even the money to return and start everything over. He
was so ashamed that he wanted to cry. He had never even wept in front of his own sheep. But the marketplace was empty, and he was far from home,
so he wept. He wept because God was unfair, and because this was the way God repaid those who believed in their dreams Coelho, 1993: 39.
Santiago, after realizing that he actually has been cheated by his new companion who has brought all his money, was deeply distressed by the fact that
he fails. However, the first test doesn’t have the quality of death or dangerous
treatment. Thus, though the hero can’t go back to the former world, he still
survives. Moreover, after the first test, the hero will be put in a series of trials or challenges in order to prepare him to face the greater ordeal ahead. The following
datum presents another test of several tests in the novel that Santiago must encounter:
Do you want to go to work for me? the merchant asked. I can work for the rest of today, the boy answered. Ill work all night, until dawn, and
Ill clean every piece of crystal in your shop. In return, I need money to get to Egypt tomorrow. The merchant laughed. Even if you cleaned my
crystal for an entire year, even if you earned a good commission selling every piece, you would still have to borrow money to get to Egypt. There
are thousands of kilo meters of desert between here and there. There was a moment of silence so profound that it seemed the city was asleep. No
sound from the bazaars, no arguments among the merchants, no men climbing to the towers to chant. No hope, no adventure, no old kings or
destinies, no treasure, and no Pyramids. It was as if the world had fallen silent because the boys soul had. He sat there, staring blankly through the
door of the café, wishing that he had died, and that everything would end forever at that moment. Coelho, 1993: 46-47.
After Santiago successfully recollects again his encouragement to continue the journey, he decides to earn money by working at crystal merchant’s shop.
