Paper Idea

I see the theme of The Alchemist to be finding what truly makes you happy.  Coelho analyzes different forms of happiness, like freedom, independency, riches, stability, etc.  Like in the story, the idea of what makes someone happy and how long it takes to find it are did for everybody.  On the surface, the story shows Santiago choosing between being a humble shepherd to riches.  If you look deeper though, it analyzes other forms of happiness, like love, lifestyles and relationships.
There has a been a lot of research about happiness.  What makes people happy?  For example, a common discovery is that money doesn't necessarily compute to happiness.   I will analyze what "happiness" really is, like Coelho tried doing in his story.

one source is an article on www.psychcentral.com

Alchemist

Throughout the story, Santiago is struggling to figure out what he want to do in his life.  As the story goes on, his vision of what will make him happy changes.  He is at first content to be a shepherd.  He then decides he wants to find his Personal Legend.  He is met with struggles and conflicts and starts to think maybe his quest is one he shouldn't take.  Throughout the story thus far, he has finally decided his Personal Legend is worth trying for, and he is going to take the risk to do it.
The second thing I see going on in the story is Santiago is increasingly learning how to understand the people, animals and things around.  He starts understanding the "universe" around him.  At the beginning of the story, he thought being able to read and knowing stories was impressive.  He is starting to realize that you can learn much more just by observing and paying attention to what is going around you.