What indications are there that Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist could be considered an existentialist piece of literature?

A philosophy is defined as a pursuit of wisdom. Early
philosophical theory maintains that existentialism is the
concept...

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...that the individual is solely responsible for
giving his or her own life meaning and for living that life passionately and sincerely
in spite of many existential obstacles and distractions including despair, angst,
absurdity, alienation, and
boredom.

This responsibility
of the individual, according to the early 19thcentury philosopher Søren
Kierkegaard, remains even in face of the obstacles life places in one's path. Later
existentialists still saw the importance of the individual, but observed that there were
factors that influenced a person's choices: among these were the belief in the existence
or non-existence of God.

With these things in mind, it is
safe to assume that there areexistential aspects in
Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist. Demonstrations of the value of
an individual's choices are seen with what Santiago does. For example, instead of
becoming a priest as his parents would have preferred, he decides to be a shepherd
instead so that he can travel. He chooses to pursue the clues presented in his recurring
dream to visit the pyramids in Egypt. He also decides to follow Melchizedek's advice to
find his Personal Legend. When he is robbed, Santiago considers giving up his quest, but
the experiences of the crystal merchant convince the boy to move
forward.

There are also many references to faith and God in
the book. In fact, the author wrote this after going on a religious pilgrimage in Spain.
First of all, Santiago is presented as a Christ-like figure: he is a "good shepherd."
There is a reference in the book (when Santiago tells the oasis chieftains about the
vision he sees) to the Old Testament story of Joseph who was sold by his brothers into
slavery in Egypt, but became a powerful man when he deciphered Pharaoh's
dreams. Melchizedek is also a biblical figure, often associated withGod. There is also
the allusion to the Roman centurion who seeks out "the Son of God" to cure his servant.
Finally, when Santiago becomes the wind, he...

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...reached through to the Soul of the World, and
saw that it was a part of the Soul of God. And he saw that the Soul of God was his own
soul.

It seems apparent that
for Coelho, the aspects of existentialism maybe valid (though it's
hard to know that existentialism was what motivated his plot development—in other words,
that Coelho chose to specifically include the precepts of existentialism in the first
place). It is safe to say that Coelho lays great responsibility at the feet of the
individual to bring about his or her own success by his choices, but that the world—God
himself—leads the individual who opens his heart to the universe. In Coelho's view, God
is certainly central to the idea that a person must live a life that takes him to his
Personal Legend, but only with the help of God.