In The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho and The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger, the notion of past and present has played a large role in the introduction and development of a theme. . A character in both novels longs to relive his past, but at the same time, he is okay with keeping things as they are. One of the themes of The Alchemist concerns the realization of one's personal legend; and one of the themes of A Catcher in the Rye about the pain of growing up. These characters and their stance on the past and present were catalysts for introducing these themes. The narrator and protagonist of The Alchemist, Santiago, meets a crystal merchant after being robbed of all the money he earned selling his sheep in Tangier. Muslims are required to feed hungry people because the Quran says so. Santiago is not Muslim, so he only found out after cleaning a pile of crystal goblets from the merchant. It was a win, a win and soon after, Santiago started working for the trader. During his work there, the trader showed Santiago another reason why it is so important for someone to pursue their personal legend (if you don't already understand, personal legends are basically destinies). At this point in the novel, Santiago's personal legend has already been revealed: going to the pyramids of Egypt where he will find great treasure. So far, Santiago already understands that making your personal captions is a pretty cool idea. I mean, who doesn't want treasure, right? The Crystal Merchant is presented as a prime example of someone who failed to pursue his own personal legend. Being a very religious man, he believed that his personal legend was to respect the five obligations of Muslim law. The fifth obligation is for every Muslim to visit the holy city of Mecca, a...... middle of paper ...and not much happens, but that doesn't mean nothing changes. The two themes of these two books are similar because they were brought to light because of the past. Pain comes with growing up, but we will overcome it and you should follow your dreams, because if you don't, you will regret it. Both characters highlight these themes in unique, almost opposing ways. The crystal merchant didn't realize the importance of continuing his personal legend until it was already too late, but Holden began to accept adulthood and overcame the fear and pain he felt throughout the novel. For The Catcher in the Rye, the past is in the past, but in The Alchemist, the past will always be present in the mind of the crystal merchant. Works Cited The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho