In The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho and The Young Hunter by JD Salinger, the notion of past and present played an important role by introducing and developing a theme. The characters in both novels wish to relive their past but at the same time agree to keep things as they are. One of the themes of The Alchemist is about achieving your own 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 the introduction of these themes. The narrator and protagonist of The Alchemist, Santiago, meets a crystal merchant after being robbed of all the money he earned from selling his sheep in Tangier. Muslims are required to feed hungry people because the Quran says so. Santiago, however, is not Muslim, so he didn't know this until he had cleaned a pile of the merchant's crystal goblets. It was a win, win, and soon after Santiago began working for the merchant. During his time working there, the merchant showed Santiago another reason why it is so important for one to pursue one's 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: to go to the pyramids of Egypt where he will find a great treasure. Up to this point, Santiago already understands that reaching your personal legends is a pretty cool idea. I mean, who doesn't want a treasure, right? The Crystal Merchant is shown 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 follow the five obligations of Muslim law. The fifth obligation is that every Muslim visits the holy city of Mecca, a...... half of paper...... and not much happens, but that doesn't mean nothing changes. Both themes of these two books are similar because they were brought to light due to the past. Pain comes with growth but we will get through it and you should follow your dreams because if you don't you will regret it. The two characters bring these themes to light in different, almost opposite ways. The crystal merchant failed to realize the importance of pursuing his Personal Legend until it was already too late, but Holden began to come to terms with adulthood and overcame the fear and pain he had felt throughout the novel . For The Catcher in the Rye the past is left in the past, but in The Alchemist the past will always be deep in the crystal merchant's mind. Works Cited The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho