Displacement of Elijah in The Fifth Mountain

Abstract

Paulo Coelho is a Brazilian lyricist and novelist. He is best known for his inspirational novels. In his writings, spirituality holds an important place. The Fifth Mountain (1996) is a personal legend of Elijah, a prophet of Israel. The protagonist’s displacement for survival is the symbolic journey which shows his courage and strong will to survive even in the worst circumstances of life.
Elijah has to embark on a journey from his place in order to save his life, his religion, and his people. In spite of his trials and ordeals in a foreign land, he reaches his personal destiny. Coelho recreates a simple Biblical story and makes it an inspirational one. This paper is an attempt to study the protagonist’s journey for survival. It focuses on Elijah’s struggle to survive in a foreign land.