The Ideology of the Other: an Inspection of Group Alliances and Ideologies in The Seven Pillars of Wisdom

Abstract

Works of art, no matter how intriguing in their simulation of reality, must reflect the ideological background and systems of belief of their creators. If the work is written to bear witness to epoch changing events, then the reading through the ideologies it adheres to or dispenses with is necessary to arrive at a better and more profound understanding of the forces at work and a more valid assessment of the corollaries. Lawrence's The Seven Pillars of Wisdom subsumes ideological schemas that can be traced and analyzed via the linguistic structure of the text. The text is put under scrutiny through van Dijk's multiple ideology schematic structures. Results crop up to prove the validity of the ideological reading and the utility of the structures proposed.