Journal 9/8

3. What is a Personal Legend, and why do you think this will be important in the rest of the book?

A Personal Legend is one's path that they need to follow in order to have a satisfactory life. Everyone knows at a young age what their Personal Legend is, but as they get older it is overshadowed by more likable or "realistic" expectations set upon them by others. For example, when Santiago is talking to the king he says, "Bakers have homes, while shepherds sleep out in the open. Parents would rather see their children marry bakers than shepherds" (pg. 24). The king also asks why he tends sheep instead of seeking less mobile jobs and settling down. Santiago responds that he is a shepherd because he likes to travel, prompting the king to point at the baker standing in a shop and say: "When he was a child, that man wanted to travel, too. But he decided first to buy his bakery and put some money aside. When he's an old man, he's going to spend a month in Africa. He never realized that people are capable, at any time in their lives, of doing what they dream of" (also pg. 24). Santiago seems to be facing a two-way path at this point in the book- he could either try his hand at winning the merchant's daughter or follow the gypsy's advice to go to Egypt and adhere to his Personal Legend. I seriously doubt that he'll do the former because that wouldn't provide for very good reading material, but it'll be interesting to see how he interprets the advice he's been given. The Personal Legend is very important in this book, and Santiago's choices thus far seem to effect how he follows it. This makes me more conscious of every important decision he makes for the rest of the book, for each one could be either straying from the path of his Personal Legend or following it.