Tribhuvan University
                Cultural Implications of Myths in Paulo Coelho's The Pilgrimage
                 AThesis submitted to the Central Department of English T.U
                    in partial fulfillment of the Requirement for the
                      Degree of Master of Arts in English
                             By
                          Indra Bahadur Karki
                           Roll No. 685
                        Admission Year: 2065-66
                       TU Regd. No.  6-2-40-1828-2005
                       Central Department of English
                          Kirtipur, Kathmandu
                           March, 2017
                            1
                         Tribhuvan University
                       Central Department of English
                          Letter of Approval
          This Thesis entitled “Cultural Implications of Myths in Paulo Coelhos The Pilgrimage”
       submitted to the Central Department of English University by Mr. Indra  Bahadur  Karki has
       been approved by the undersigned members of the Research Committee:
          Members of Research Committee
                                   Internal Examiner
                                   External Examiner
                                   Head/Chairperson
                                   Central Department of English
           Date:
                            2
                          Acknowledgements
          First of all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my honorable supervisor Mr.
       MaheshPaudyal, lecturer at the Central Department of English, Tribhuvan University, for his
       continuous guidance, supervision and invaluable suggestions. His affectionate words of
       suggestions and keen interest in the study have highly motivated me to present the study in this
       form. Without his advice and assistance, this work might not have been completed.
          I would like to extend my deep appreciation to Prof. Dr. Amma Raj Joshi, the head of
       the Central Department of English for his inspiration and support in making this project move to
       completion. Similarly, I would like to express my gratitude to Dr. Beerendra Pandey, Mr. Hemlal
       Pandey, Mr. Harihar Jnawali, Mr. Saroj Ghimire and all lecturers for their valuable comments,
       constructive suggestions and kind encouragement.
          My special thanks go to my father Lal Bahadur Karki, brothers Bhoj Bahadur Karki,
       Krishna Karki and Tika Karki, sister Rupa Karki, and all my relatives for their encouragement to
       prepare this dissertation. I want to remember my wife Durga Karki and son Devendra Karki too
       for their support.
          I am very much thankful to my friends Rajendra Kumar Karki, Ananda Prasad Koirala,
       Rajesh Suwal, Diwakar Khadka, Subab Thapa Magar, Khadga Thapa, Birendra Thapa and
       Narayan K.C., who urged me to go on and helped me with kind assistance and companionship all
       the time.
       March, 2017                      Indra Bahadur Karki
                            3
                            Abstract
          This research tries to map the relation between an individual and tradition, especially at a
       time when tradition has seemingly fallen into disuse at the hand of the younger generations. The
       research studies the story of Paulo Coelho, who in the initial phase of his life drifts away from
       the ways of his ancestors, and later returns to the same tradition to seek clues to success in life.
       He is required to win a sword for success, for which, he takes up a pilgrimage to Santiago de
       Compostela. His decision refers simultaneously to culture, myth and several rituals his ancestors
       teach him as a member of the society. Therefore, this research studies his action in relation with
       the impact of myth and culture upon an individual. For doing so, the research has used different
       aspects of myth criticism, including archetypal criticism, and ideas have been drawn from
       scholars like Levi Strauss, Northrop Frye, Joseph Campbell and Carl Gustav Young to explain
       how myths, archetypal images and traditions exert impact on the life of an individual.
                            4