Which statement best explains Coelho's choice in The Alchemist to have the boy work for the crystal merchant?
It shows the reader what happens when one follows his or her Personal Legend
It explains how the boy earns enough money to marry the merchant's daughter.
It provides the reader with engaging details about the city of Tangier.
It demonstrates that the path to one's Personal Legend is not a straight and obvious one.

When the boy, Santiago began to work for the crystal merchant, after eleven months and nine days they earned enough money. The boy earned enough money to purchase one hundred and twenty sheep and to return to the life of a shepherd. He also made enough money that could have taken him to the pyramid of Eygpt. This made him to work for the crystal merchant to help him gather enough money to make his journey to the pyramid of Eygpt. He makes up his mind to forge ahead in pursuit of his Personal Legend.

Therefore, Coelho's choice in the boy working for the crystal merchant shows and informs readers what happens when one follows his or her Personal Legend. The steps one can take to follow his Personal Legend just as the boy did.

In "The Alchemist", a Personal Legend simply means what one is destined in life. It's simply means to identify your purpose in life and how you pursue it. The old King of Salem, Melchizedek, taught the boy what a Personal Legend was all about when the boy met him. Melchizedek says that a Personal Legend is “what you have always wanted to accomplish”.

"The Alchemist" is a novel by Brazilian lyricist and novelist, Paulo Coelho de Souza. The story is an allegorical one which reveals the journey of an Andalusian shepherd who was on his way to the pyramids of Egypt after his dreams of locating treasure there kept coming back.