Sunday, March 3, 2013

How did Santiago feel when he spent a lot of money in Africa in The Alchemist?

When he's in Africa, Santiago doesn't spend too much money but is somewhat careless with it, and ultimately, it is stolen from him. The man who steals it from him pretends to be his friend who wants only to protect him from thieves. Unfortunately for Santiago, his new friend turns out to be one of those thieves.
First, Santiago's new friend takes money from him to pay for two camel in order to get them both to the pyramids. Then he takes Santiago to the market, all the while holding all of his money for him. Santiago sees a beautiful sword, is distracted, and then realizes that his new friend has disappeared along with all of his money.
Santiago then realizes that he is "a stranger in a strange land" with "nothing, not even the money to return and start everything over." He feels "sorry for himself," and "so ashamed that he wanted to cry." He then does cry, blaming God for being "unfair."

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