The society fears change. It is the nature of humanity to be uncomfortable being out of their comfort zone. In, Paulo Coelho’s, The Alchemist, Santiago meets an old man who is a
crystal merchant that has anxiety and Santiago starts working for him. He finds out that the
crystal merchant always wanted to go to Mecca but does not because the crystal merchant thinks
that he will lose his purpose, this teaches and motivates Santiago to keep following his Personal
Legend. A theme for this event is that change is one’s biggest fear and one’s biggest treasure.
The crystal merchant is an example of what will happen to one if they fear change and
not follow their Personal Legend. As the crystal merchant wakes up with anxiety-like he does
every day, the narrator states, “He had been in the same place for thirty years: a shop at the top of
a hilly street where few customers passed. Now I was too late to change anything” (Coelho 47).
It hints that the crystal merchant fears change because he has been in the same place for 30 years.
This quote also supports the idea that change is a treasure because the community he is in
changed, his shop used to be popular, and now only a few customers even pass by. The narrator
uses the words “too late to change anything” to emphasize that the crystal merchant fears change
because it is never too late to change. It is too late for him to change because he fears it and that
is his excuse for not changing. The crystal merchant told Santiago that everyone that went to Mecca was happy doing it.
When Santiago asks him why he did not go he responds with, “I’m afraid that if my dream is
realized, I’ll have no reason to go on living” (Coelho 57). The narrator implies that the crystal
merchant fears change without saying it. The crystal merchant knows that change will be a good
thing, but he is still scared to do it. He knows that if he goes to Mecca he will be happy but still
does not do it. The narrator suggests that if he completes his dream that he will pass away by
saying that he will have no reason to live. Santiago takes away what he learns from this situation
and keeps chasing his Personal Legend and he gets a literal treasure from it.
The fear of change that the crystal merchant has takes a hit on his life. He can live aw
fulfilling life if he allows change in his life, but instead he rather live with anxiety everyday and
do the same thing everyday