How can a film and a book about two different things be similar? Well, if one were to dig deep enough, they would find that the parable characteristics of certain stories can be very similar. A parable is a story that includes a hero who goes on a quest. Also, there are wise masters who help the heroes out along the way. Specifically, The Alchemist is a fiction book, and parable, that was written by Paulo Coelho in 1988. To summarize, it is about a boy named Santiago who goes out to the Pyramids, following his personal legend. He learns a lot about the “Soul of the World”, love, and many other things during his journey. In the end, he finds the treasure that he was looking for, and goes back to an oasis in the middle of the desert to marry Fatima, his true love. This book received many awards. Another story, The Secret of Kells, which is also a parable, is an animated feature film made in 2009 about a boy named Brendan who wants to become an illuminator and write in the Book of Iona, a celtic book, with the help of his friends, Brother Aidan and Aisling. It is an award winning movie. Even though there are many differences between the book and film, there are quite a few similarities between them because both stories contain similar elements of a parable and have many themes in common.
First of all, The Alchemist and The Secret of Kells are similar parables, which, again, is a story including a hero who has a quest, and a wise master. The two heroes, Santiago and Brendan, are a lot alike because they are both alone in the world. Santiago traveled by himself most of the time when he was a shepherd and also during his journey, and Brendan is an orphan. They both have personal legends, or quests. Santiago’s is to find his treasure, and Brendan’s is to become an illuminator. The wise masters they have are the king who tells Santiago that a personal legend is “what you’ve always wanted to accomplish” (21), the alchemist, who helps Santiago out a lot during his journey, and Brother Aiden, who taught Brendan how to write in the book and become an illuminator. So the book and movie are similar because of their parable characteristics.
One theme in the book and film was that love should never hold us back from pursuing personal dreams. Santiago had to leave people he loved, and Brendon did too. Santiago left Fatima to continue to the pyramids saying “I’m going away, and I want you to know that I’m coming back” (121), and left his family so that he could become a shepherd and see the beauty of the world. Brendan left Abbot Cellach to continue with Brother Aiden to become an illuminator. He also left the abbey after the vikings came when there were people falling off the burning path to the tower, because he needed to escape to write in the Book of Iona and follow his personal legend.
Another theme the book and film share is that “the secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world, and never forget the drops of oil on one’s spoon” (32). The king talked about this during his story about the man who needed to be responsible, but have fun too, in The Alchemist. Basically, the king is saying that one should see the beauty of the world, but not forget about their responsibilities. Santiago fulfilled his personal legend, and then went back to Fatima, so he followed the metaphor by following his personal legend and being responsible, but having fun too. Brendan fulfilled his personal legend, and then went back to the abbey to see who was left alive, so he followed it also. However, Abbot Cellach was too responsible and cared more for building the wall around the abbey to protect the abbey than following his personal legend to become an illuminator; he wasn’t as happy that way.
This last theme that both of the stories share is that people who follow their dreams are more likely to achieve great happiness. Paulo Coelho acknowledged this throughout The Alchemist. It relates to both the book and film, because some people were happy because they followed their dreams, but some people weren’t. Santiago was happy when Coelho wrote “The boy stood up shakily, and looked once more at the Pyramids. They seemed to laugh at him, and he laughed back, his heart bursting with joy. Because now he knew where his treasure was” (167). He was also happy when he realized where his treasure was, on page 163 in The Alchemist. Brendan was happy when he wrote in the book, when he finally became an illuminator, and when he came back to the abbey to find that Abbot Cellach was still alive. Next, the crystal merchant was not happy because he didn’t go to Mecca, thus not following his personal legend. Finally, the Abbot wasn’t happy either because he didn’t follow his personal legend and become an illuminator; he stayed too responsible and built the wall instead.
My conclusion, then, is that there are many similarities between the two parables, The Alchemist and The Secret of Kells. I liked both of the stories, though the book a little better, but they have really similar themes because Santiago and Brendan are both following their personal legends, or dreams. Some other books similar to these are Harry Potter, the Percy Jackson series, and Diary of a Wimpy Kid, because Brother Aiden said “Finish what you start,” and all of these books have a hero who has finished what they started. So, it is proven that a movie and film can have many similarities between them.
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