Supply of Equipment Meeting with the Mentor

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. 70

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