Comparing to Hamlet and The Great Gatsby

The Alchemist, The Great Gatsby and Hamlet all exemplify the themes of Courage and Pursuit of Dream.

The Alchemist is a tale of a Spanish shepherd named Santiago, who goes in search of his personal legend. He follows an advice from an old king and sells his sheep to get there. But he gets robbed on the way so he works with a crystal merchant. When he gathers enough money he joins a caravan and starts a tough journey through they stop at a oasis where he meets Fatima and fells in love with her. He then meets with the real alchemist who shows him the final way to get to his treasure.

The alchemist is a novel about lost hope, courage, luck and moral values. Santiago gets help from various people on his journey to find his personal treasure.

Santiago and Hamlet are very courageous and shows the act of bravery many times.

Santiago shows bravery when he stands up against the alchemist. Alchemist asks him pointing his sword on Santiago's neck, “Who dares to read the meaning of the flight of hawks?” (Coelho 109) Then Santiago answered him back saying, “It was I who dared to do so.” (Coelho 109)

Hamlet is also very courageous, since he inherited courageousness from his father.

Hamlet shows bravery when he had to confront the ghost he asks the ghost, “Bring with thee airs from heaven or blasts from hell, Be thy intents wicked or

charitable, Thou comest in such a questionable shape That I will speak to thee.” (1.4, 41-44)

But Hamlet doesn’t stop there he says , “It will not speak. Then I will follow it.” (1.4, 63)

Santiago and Hamlet also show bravery in making life changing decisions throughout the novel while following their target.

Santiago decides to go on a very dangerous and exhausting journey through the desert. This shows when the caravan’s leader tells him that, “I hold the power of life and death for every person I take with me. The desert

is a capricious lady, and sometimes she drives men crazy.” (Coelho 71)

Hamlet also shows bravery performing the treasonous acts throughout the novel. Having treasonous thoughts was believed to be a sin in Elizabethan times. Hamlet plans to kill king Claudius when he tells his father’s Ghost, “Haste me to know 't, that I, with wings as swift

As meditation or the thoughts of love, May sweep to my revenge.” (1.5, 29-31)

Santiago and Gatsby are both chasing their dream throughout the novel.

Santiago gets robbed on the first day of his journey to look for his treasure. But his struggles weren't over as he explains, “when I decided to seek out my treasure, I never imagined that I’d wind up

working in a crystal shop, he thought. And joining this caravan may have been my decision, but where it goes is going to be a mystery to me.” (Coelho 68)

Gatsby’s dream was to get daisy back in his life. “Of course she might have loved him, just for a minute, when they were first married --- and loved me more even then, do you see?” (Fitzgerald 159)

Shows Gatsby's Desperateness after shattered dream of getting daisy back.

We have seen many literary devices in all the text that we have studied in our class Ex:

Foreshadowing Metaphors Similes Symbols

Courage: In Hamlet and The Alchemist protagonist show courage in many ways and achieve their goal at the end. Hamlet is able to kill Claudius and Santiago finally gets his treasure and his love.

Pursuit of Dream: Both Gatsby and Santiago are chasing their dream throughout the novel and Gatsby receives partial success in his American Dream with becoming rich but doesn’t get his love. While Santiago gets both, he finds his love at the oasis and wealth from the treasure.