In his poem "Ithaca", C. Cavafy tells us that a journey is about the experiences and knowledge gained while travelling towards a destination, which are of greater importance than the destination itself; the latter simply facilitates the journey. This idea of journey relates to P. Coelho's story "The Alchemist" because the book also closely follows this view. In the book, the protagonist, Santiago, discovered that whilst his destination, Egypt, did not hold the treasures that …showed first 75 words of 1086 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1086 total…Ithaca", C. Cavafy informs us that many obstacles on a journey are brought up by ourselves. With determination and positive thinking we will achieve our goals with minimal obstacles. "The Alchemist" saw eye-to-eye with "Ithaca" on this point also because the book enforces that you should never give up. Only the fear of failure will prevent you from achieving what you want, and if you think positively the world will help you to achieve it.